I am not a Clarinet player but I like to play it, b/c I like learing differnt instruments. I was playing a Concert Bb Scale ( C Scale ) and I was doing 2 ocatves. First Ocatave is easy but when I get past the A it gets hard and squeaks on me. So do any of you guys have any good advice?
When you first start, make it easier on yourself by aligning the reed to perfectly fit the mouthpiece. It makes everything just "that" much easier.
There's no easy way to work yourself past what's called the "break"... Reed strenght is not as important as long as your past 2 and a half, I would just keep trying. Before going to the higher notes, I would suggest you first go ALL the way down to low E if you can first, and then press the octave key while tightening your mouth.
By telling you to do this and that, won't really make you a better player. I can tell you that you can tighten your umbrochure to get each note, but it's kind of impossible if it's not a natural thing to do.
make sure your fingers are covering the holes COMPLETELY and keep your bottom lip tight
i tutor younger clarinet players and they have trouble w/ the same thing
If it's your fingers not covering the holes there is one easy way to find out:
Ask someone you know who can play the "high" notes to help you. Then you twist the body of the clarinet, and put the mouthpiece in your mouth. Then your helper can try to play the fingerings for you.
As fenderchic says it's the most common mistake when you can't play those notes
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