Connecting registers or “crossing the break” is a consistently puzzling aspect of teaching and playing the clarinet. When a student must significantly change something about how they play in order to enter the next register, it reveals a fundamental deficiency whose correction would benefit all aspects of their playing. Learn how proper fundamentals of air velocity, tongue position, embouchure and hand/finger position make it much easier to “cross the break” when the time comes.
David Cook
- Biographical Information
David Cook is Associate Professor of Clarinet and Chair of Instrumental Performance Studies at Millikin University, Principal Clarinet of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and clarinetist for the Appian Duo (with Emily Grabinski, piano) and the Greyline Duo (with Alexandra Rodriguez, flute). He was previously a member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lieurance Woodwind Quintet, and the wind quintet Fiati Five.
Past appearances include the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest®, the College Music Society National Conference, the NACWPI Conference, and the American Single Reed Summit. David’s book Clarinet Conditioning: Warm-Ups and Perspectives, featuring contributions from clarinetists including members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, is published by Conway Publications.
David holds BM and BME degrees from Central Michigan University, MM degrees in clarinet performance and chamber music from the University of Michigan, and the DMA degree in clarinet performance and the MM degree in music theory from the University of Oklahoma. His principal teachers include Suzanne Tirk, Chad Burrow, Theodore Oien, and Kennen White. David is a Buffet Crampon USA Performing Artist and a member of the Silverstein Works PRO Team. davidcookclarinet.com