Can anyone explain how to do slides, like the one that the soloist plays in the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue? It sounds really great and I`d love to learn how

its kinda hard to explain. First you drop the pitch by using you mouth and simultaneously slowly slide your fingers off of the holes one by one. But be careful not to uncover 2 at the same time, cuz then there will be no sound. Try doing this on a G (third octave) and sliding up to a C. So in this instance, drop the pitch w/ ur mouth, (like dipping) then slide your left ring finger off of the hole, then while still dipping, slide your left middle finger off of the hole, while still holding down the metal part of the key, then slide your left index finger off of the B key while still dipping then when you are fingering a C, bring the pitch back up.
Hope this helps

What I do is I start from chalameou(guessing spelling) G to open G. I blow tons of air to keep the sound pumping and try to nudge each finger off little by little. After a while I got use to it and can do it extremely fast.

I play a version of Rhapsody I transcribed for a personal clarinet choir. The easiest way to do the gliss. is to do the trill, stop on the G and work your way up the notes staying in the key, then once you hit fourth line D, severely drop your jaw, but not so much that you squeak or fuzz out. Then you just peel your fingers off of the rings. What I recommend doing to be honest is to take a junker clarinet (PLASTIC ONLY!!!) and put a lotion on your hands...make sure they are not greasy, but that they are moisturized enough so that your fingers can easily slide off leaving you with a smooth slide instead of an uneven one. Another tip is that the transition from A to B is very tricky if you slide your fingers off and forget about the rings that are holding pads down. With the A to B slide you need to slide your LH Middle finger off the ring but let it rest next to it slightly keeping it down so the pad doesn`t pop up resulting in a clean Bb to B note transition. You want to ever-so-gently lift that ring finger to release the pad so that you get every "note" in between Bb and B.

It`s also a problem for some people to slide over the "break" between F and G...same rules apply here that did with the A to B. One exception is that before you lift the ring set on the lower joint you start sliding off of the G so that the pad popping up doesn`t affect the tone really. Don`t forget to bring the C at the top of the slide back into tune once you finish it...BTW...it takes LOTS of practice! It`s definitely useful, though. I impressed many a band director doing that since 7th grade! I have a very amateur recording of the rhapsody written for my clarinet choir (kind of: it`s all recorded by me and doesn`t have the two bass clarinets that are written in it). Email me if you want to hear.

-Dennis (sarasotahair@yahoo.com)