-Use lots of air, but not so much you can't control it. Sometimes its better to have a strong sound then a wimpy one, but if you use too much, you go out of tune.
-Keep your reed wet. It makes a better sound, because the wetness allows it to vibrate more freely. Also, soak it in your mouth for a few minutes before putting it on your instrument. The whole reed, not just the part your mouth touches.
-Keep a fingering chart handy. For all woodwinds, the fingerings are more intricate then those of brass instruments, but we don't use as much mouth manipulation as them.
-Keep the corners of your mouth tight. This keeps you in tune and helps you control the sound better, especially when in the atmospheric high notes.
-When you take your clarinet out, hold a note, it doesn't matter which, and move your instrument towards and away from your body. Find the point where it sounds the best, and do your best to stay in that spot when you play. Eventually, you might want to try it with every note, because some might have a slightly different spot then others. (My 'A' needs to be closer to me to be in tune) Also note, this can change with your instrument, because no two instruments are alike.
-Practice your scales. This goes for every instrument, but on clarinet, we get a lot of quick runs in the music that tend to be scale fragments. If you know your scales, it will be easier to play those. Scale knowledge also helps sightreading.
-Don't get frustrated if you don't get something right away. Take it slow, and build it up to speed.
-If you can't seem to hit a note, take the notes you do know and either scale down or up until you hit that note. This si especially good for the high notes; go 3-4 notes lower and then go up to that note. also, don't try to learn a new note if it is far away from those you know. (EX, don't try to hit a high 'g' above the staff if the highest note you know is a high 'c' in the staff.)
-If you are having troubles with sound, like airiness, try adjusting the reed. Remember that reeds ae never perfect too. One reed might work ell at one position, but the next one you try might not work in that spot. Keep working with it until you get the best sound. if you can't seem to get a good sound, or no sound at all, even after tedious adjusting, it might be a faulty reed(very common, so you're bound to come across one in the near future) If you think a reed might be faulty, just put it aside and try a different one.
-Open your throat. This takes a bit to master, but it helps the sound so much. If you don't get this right away, or are having troubles elsewhere, you might have to put it aside. Later on, you are going to want to learnt his, but for a beginner, it might be considered an advanced technique. (I didn't learn until my junior year last year, when I was at regionals and the 1st chair clari in front of me had his neck blowing up like a blowfish. That SHOULD happen)
I think that's all I got. Hope this helps, and good luck!
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