Your Fall Practice Reset: A Fundamentals Checklist
I'll be honest: my practice got a little loose this summer.
Between travel, the festival, and everything else, my routine slipped—and I know I'm not alone here.
With 565 miles left on our drive home from Classical Tahoe, I found myself in a literal liminal stretch of time and distance. Somewhere around Salina, Kansas, after staring at a highway that looked almost exactly the same for six hours, I had plenty of time to think about what I wanted this next season to look like.
That in-between space made me think about something I’ve been coming back to lately: we don't have to wait for a new year to reset.
Fall is its own kind of beginning.
Before rehearsals, auditions, and the semester pick you up and carry you off and running, there’s a small window where you can pause, look at what has slipped, and decide what you want to bring forward.
Start with the fundamentals
The same threshold applies to your playing, not just your calendar.
If your summer practice became inconsistent, this isn't a reason to panic or try to make up for lost time by practicing for hours.
Instead, use this transition to return to the basics.
Ask yourself:
- What parts of my practice routine have slipped?
- What fundamentals need attention?
- What do I want to feel more comfortable or consistent with before the season gets busy?
- What kind of practice routine can I realistically maintain once rehearsals and other commitments return?
The goal isn't to suddenly become a completely different musician.
It's to give yourself a solid foundation to build from.
Use the space while you have it
One of the biggest advantages of this moment is that you may still have a little room to breathe.
Once the semester, rehearsals, auditions, performances, and everything else are moving at full speed, it becomes much harder to stop and rebuild your routine from scratch.
So take advantage of the transition.
Reset your practice space. Revisit the fundamentals. Establish a routine that feels sustainable. Pay attention to the things you know you'll need once your schedule gets fuller.
You don't need to fix everything at once.
You just need to start creating some structure before the season starts creating it for you.
And remember: a reset doesn't have to be dramatic to be meaningful.
Sometimes, getting back to the fundamentals is exactly what you need to move forward.
This week, three things:
📘 A packet to reset your fundamentals
🎯 A 28-day system so you don't have to wonder what to practice
🎤 A live workshop with our August clarinetist feature
📘 THE FOUNDATIONS PACKET
If you haven't grabbed it yet, this is exactly what it sounds like: a daily regimen for conditioning. Over 20 pages walking you through the fundamentals stack (and why it matters), exercises covering air, embouchure and sound development, posture and position, finger dexterity, articulation, technical agility, and flexibility/range — plus what we call activations and expansions, and why they're crucial to your improvement.
This is the reset-before-the-reset. Before you touch a scale system or a workshop, this is where your fundamentals actually live.
Get the → Foundations Packet
🎯 THE 28-DAY SCALE RESET
Here's the pitch, honestly: how nice would it be if every day, someone just handed you exactly what to practice? No deciding which scale book, no guessing which etude. Like having a chef, but for clarinet.
That's the Scale Reset. 28 days of downloadable packets in every key — scales, etudes, excerpts and more — plus 4 non-major/minor packets (chromatic, whole tone, improvisation, and a flash card set), 3 bonus video lessons on fundamentals (the fundamentals pyramid, articulation, and building a practice routine), an invite to the Scale Reset Facebook group with occasional live sessions, inspiring listening recommendations, and a printable calendar to track it all.
It's designed with the intermediate or advanced player in mind, but scales with wherever you are — use as much or as little of each packet as fits. Clarspiration, 28 days straight.
Join the → 28-DAY SCALE RESET
🎤 JENNY MACLAY, LIVE IN CLUB DCA
Speaking of Club DCA — if you're not in yet, here's what it actually is: expanded clarinet content, special featured clarinetist workshops and masterclasses, pop-up group lessons, exclusive "close friend" stories on Instagram, and a direct line of connection with us and other clarinetists. It's $5/month, cancel any time, and you're in within minutes — full access on desktop or the mobile app, right at your fingertips.
And this month we're thrilled to have Jenny Maclay (Jenny Clarinet) with us — soloist, recitalist, orchestral player, chamber musician, pedagogue, and content creator based in Paris, who's lived everywhere from the Faroe Islands to Svalbard and is heading back to the Arctic this winter for a series of concerts on Polar Night!
Here's what's coming:
⭐ IG Live: In Conversation — August 19th, 1PM ET / 7PM CET
⭐ IG Takeover: Behind the Scenes — August 27th, all day
⭐ Masterclass: Building a Better Warm-Up Routine — August 30th, 12PM ET / 6PM CET
The warm-up masterclass in particular is the perfect pairing with everything above — foundations and scales are the material, but a real warm-up routine is what makes them stick day to day.
If you've been meaning to join Club DCA, this is a good week to do it.
Be part of → Club DCA
Your fall calendar is filling up! Let's make sure you're not leaving your fundamentals behind!
Ixi & team dca
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Clarinetists, leveling up. On stage and off. I'll be honest: my practice got a little loose this summer. Between travel, the festival, and everything else, the routine slipped (and I know I'm not alone here)! With 565 miles left on our drive back home from Classical Tahoe, I'm literally in this liminal stretch of time and distance. Around Salina KS, staring at flat highway that looked exactly the same as it had for six hours, I had a lot of time to think about what I want this next season to look like. [I wrote more about that liminal space — and shared five ideas on "living in seasons" instead of chasing balance — in this week's Music360 newsletter. [Read the full newsletter →] With the goal of getting into a good routine, and before the season picks up for all of us, I wanted to put a few things in front of you that I'm using myself to reset. I want to get specific, because that ^ same threshold applies to your playing, not just your calendar. Before rehearsals, auditions, and the semester pick you up and carry you off and running, this is the window to reset your fundamentals, especially while you still have a little room to breathe. This week, three things: 📘 A packet to reset your fundamentals 📘 THE FOUNDATIONS PACKET If you haven't grabbed it yet, this is exactly what it sounds like: a daily regimen for conditioning. Over 20 pages walking you through the fundamentals stack (and why it matters), exercises covering air, embouchure and sound development, posture and position, finger dexterity, articulation, technical agility, and flexibility/range — plus what we call activations and expansions, and why they're crucial to your improvement. This is the reset-before-the-reset. Before you touch a scale system or a workshop, this is where your fundamentals actually live. Get the → Foundations Packet 🎯 THE 28-DAY SCALE RESET Here's the pitch, honestly: how nice would it be if every day, someone just handed you exactly what to practice? No deciding which scale book, no guessing which etude. Like having a chef, but for clarinet. That's the Scale Reset. 28 days of downloadable packets in every key — scales, etudes, excerpts and more — plus 4 non-major/minor packets (chromatic, whole tone, improvisation, and a flash card set), 3 bonus video lessons on fundamentals (the fundamentals pyramid, articulation, and building a practice routine), an invite to the Scale Reset Facebook group with occasional live sessions, inspiring listening recommendations, and a printable calendar to track it all. It's designed with the intermediate or advanced player in mind, but scales with wherever you are — use as much or as little of each packet as fits. Clarspiration, 28 days straight. Join the → 28-DAY SCALE RESET 🎤 JENNY MACLAY, LIVE IN CLUB DCA Speaking of Club DCA — if you're not in yet, here's what it actually is: expanded clarinet content, special featured clarinetist workshops and masterclasses, pop-up group lessons, exclusive "close friend" stories on Instagram, and a direct line of connection with us and other clarinetists. It's $5/month, cancel any time, and you're in within minutes — full access on desktop or the mobile app, right at your fingertips. And this month we're thrilled to have Jenny Maclay (Jenny Clarinet) with us — soloist, recitalist, orchestral player, chamber musician, pedagogue, and content creator based in Paris, who's lived everywhere from the Faroe Islands to Svalbard and is heading back to the Arctic this winter for a series of concerts on Polar Night! Here's what's coming: ⭐ IG Live: In Conversation — August 19th, 1PM ET / 7PM CET The warm-up masterclass in particular is the perfect pairing with everything above — foundations and scales are the material, but a real warm-up routine is what makes them stick day to day. If you've been meaning to join Club DCA, this is a good week to do it. Be part of → Club DCA Your fall calendar is filling up! Let's make sure you're not leaving your fundamentals behind! Ixi & team dca
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