Adult beginner books?

[dubrosa22]

I've been playing alto sax for around 2 years and I've come into possession of a fine Yamaha 34II which is currently awaiting my pickup from a friend's in few weeks (and probably a little tune up by my tech).

Besides obviously learning the fingering and a new embouchure - can anyone recommend a good beginner book for an adult?

I've picked up Stein's 'Art of Playing Clarinet' but I need some more practical exercises, fingering charts, good starter music etc.

I'll be looking at finding a teacher in June when my work settles down a bit more.

Thanks

[tictactux]

I began with Peter Wastall's "Learn as you play Clarinet". There's even a companion CD (sold separately) for it. I found the examples easy to learn and play, with not too steep a learning curve. I'd recommend it.

(I don't know if it qualifies as an "Adult" book, but at least it doesn't have pictures of funny animals pointing at notes and other kiddie stuff in it.)

Edit: I see you're already playing sax - in theory you can go through your old sax books, at the expense of not using the clarinet's full range, but with the advantage that you already have the pieces in your ear and can concentrate on the clarinet proper.

[jbtsax]

In the U.S. the Rubank series has been used successfully for many years as a method of study for private lessons. It contains four books in the series: Elementary, Intermediate, Advanced Book I, and Advanced Book II. An adult who already knows how to read music and has some background in music should be able to go through the first two books rather quickly.

[saxhound]

+1 on Rubank. After you work through those four books, you will be ready to tackle some of the serious clarinet stuff like the Klose etudes, Cavallini Caprices, and the Mozart and Von Weber concertos.

[dubrosa22]

tictactux: Thanks for this suggestion. I have the Westall saxophone book and it made an excellent adult beginner book I thought and have recommended it for any new adult sax player - I'll definitely hunt around for the clarinet version.

jbtsax & saxhound: Again I have the sax versions of the Rubank series. They have proved (and still prove!) to be exceptional for exercises and etudes. Knowing now they are also excellent for clarinet I'll hunt those down also.

Overall I plan on using a lot of material I already have but I want to approach the range of the instrument properly in the best manner possible - I don't want to limit myself to my alto sax's range!

Thanks guys I'm very excited to be started the clarinet soon!

[Merlin]

Best clarinet method I've used is the Galper Clarinet Method Books 1 & 2 - Waterloo Music Publications.

Nothing else comes close, IMO.