From The Clarinet Magazine:
Inspired by his clarinet study with Leon Russianoff from 1970 to 1977 and reflecting his decades of teaching and working as a professional clarinetist, Steven Klimowski’s Clarinet Workout could also be titled “A Practical Method to Develop the Technique and Method to Play Anything!” At least, that is my impression of the careful pedagogy Klimowski shares in his five-page introduction, with detailed suggestions of how to use the 71 pages of exercises utilizing every major and minor key (harmonic minor). The student is well-advised to strongly consider Klimowski’s “routines,” as they importantly teach how to practice any technical challenge. With equal parts awareness training and the concept of “divide and conquer,” Clarinet Workout uses a combination of exercises most closely aligned with the J.B. Albert 24 Scales and Exercises but also includes elements from Baermann’s Complete Method, Third Division, with the inclusion of exercises on dominant seventh chords and fully diminished chords.
Two pages are allotted to each key in this spiral-bound book. Noteworthy is the varied approach to arpeggios where the player is not only called on to play printed exercises, but also to expand an arpeggio from the basic ascending pattern using an add-a-note style from both the bottom and top of the clarinet range, which for this book is altissimo G.
Another distinguishing feature is the inclusion of a second version of C major and minor, D-flat major and C-sharp minor, D major and minor, and E-flat major and minor for low C bass clarinets using the bass clarinet’s lowest notes. Altissimo G is the top note.
For my own students, to whom in the past I recommended the Albert book, I think this is superior due to its inclusion of dominant seventh chord patterns and the thoughtful and flexible approach to practicing and learning.
– Gregory Barrett