Clarinet Lessons in Hawaii

How clarinet learning works in Hawaii

How does clarinet fit school music in Hawaii?

Hawaiʻi public schools have no single grade at which clarinet study begins, so a student’s school route depends on the opportunities at their own campus. The state calls for equal access to arts education in grades K–12 and requires two fine-arts credits for a public high-school diploma, which music can fulfill. At Ewa Makai Middle School, introductory band welcomes first-year students in grades 6–8, while Mililani ‘Ike Elementary’s beginning orchestra teaches strings, not clarinet. Private lessons can give a clarinetist a path to build skills alongside school music.

Who runs what for Hawaii clarinetists?

Hawaiʻi’s music organizations serve different purposes: the Hawaiʻi Music Teachers Association (HMTA) runs student competitions, masterclasses, workshops, and recitals, while the Hawaiʻi Music Educators Association (HMEA) promotes music education across the islands. On Oʻahu, the Oʻahu Band Directors Association (OBDA) organizes student solo and ensemble events. These distinctions matter because a student’s route depends on the kind of opportunity and where it is held; HMTA’s competition, for example, is a separate path from OBDA’s Oʻahu events.

Auditions and events in Hawaii

How does a clarinetist reach Hawaii's top student honors?

A clarinetist’s solo route begins with the Hawaiʻi Music Teachers Association (HMTA) state competition, which places clarinet in its woodwind category for students ages 5–18. For the 2026 competition, the student and teacher both had to be Hawaiʻi residents, and the student had to study with that teacher for at least six months. A first-place state winner advances to the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Southwest Division video round; division winners move on to national finals. The 2026–27 MTNA groups are Junior, ages 11–14, Senior, ages 15–18, and Young Artist, ages 19–26. The video submissions deadline is December 2, 2026, and national finals are April 2–6, 2027, in St. Louis.

What do auditions ask you to prepare?

For Oʻahu Band Directors Association (OBDA) Solo & Ensemble, choose a properly licensed piece and use the association’s reference list to identify its grade level. Performance limits are five minutes for Grades 1–2, seven minutes for Grades 3–4, and ten minutes for Grades 5–6. In weekly lessons, an event piece usually takes three to six months to prepare, giving you time to make the solo secure and shape its tone and phrasing before performing.

What else is there to enter?

HMTA offers workshops, masterclasses, and recitals alongside its competitions, so clarinet students have ways to learn and perform without making competition the goal. Its Hawaiʻi State Music Competition includes a woodwind category for young clarinetists, and first-place state winners can continue to the MTNA division round. The state competition is held in October, with a winners’ concert in November.

Homeschool and private school students

A homeschool student can pursue clarinet study privately, but Hawaiʻi’s stated homeschool festival registration rule applies to the Hawaiʻi ASTA Solo & Ensemble Festival, a string event rather than a clarinet route. HMTA’s state competition includes clarinet in its woodwind category, so it offers a separate solo path for eligible Hawaiʻi students ages 5–18. A private teacher can help a student build toward that opportunity and identify school or ensemble participation options that fit their circumstances.

Starting at any age

Starting a child on clarinet

Clarinet often suits a child around the time they are ready to manage a small instrument and coordinate breath with fingers; school-band entry in Hawaiʻi is not uniform. Ewa Makai Middle School opens introductory band to first-year students in grades 6–8, while comprehensive music programs are limited across the state. Starting privately before or alongside school gives your child individual help with a clear tone, comfortable breathing, and fingerings, so a school ensemble feels more approachable when one is available.

A teen in Hawaii

A teen can begin clarinet privately even if school band was not part of their earlier years. Hawaiʻi’s school music opportunities differ by campus, and the state’s clearest solo path for a clarinetist runs through HMTA’s woodwind competition and then the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) route. Weekly lessons give you or your teen a steady place to build playing and prepare a solo while keeping schoolwork and other commitments in view. The teacher can shape the pace around the student’s experience and goal.

Starting or coming back as an adult

Adults can learn clarinet at any age, even if the first goal is simply to play a favorite melody with confidence. The Maui Community Orchestra in Wailuku welcomes adult musicians of all levels on orchestral instruments, so a clarinetist can work toward playing with an ensemble there. A dedicated teacher meets you where you are, whether you are holding the instrument for the first time or returning after years away, and helps build breath support, tone, and reading skills at a manageable pace.

Finding the right teacher

What should a good clarinet teacher do?

A good clarinet teacher listens for a steady tone and comfortable breath, then builds finger coordination and music reading without asking a new player to rush. For a student interested in Hawaiʻi’s woodwind solo route, the teacher should also help choose suitable repertoire and shape a confident performance. Fit matters because children, teens, and adults learn at different paces and bring different goals; a patient match keeps practice purposeful. At Lesson With You, you can choose a teacher yourself or ask us to recommend one, and every teacher holds at least a bachelor’s degree in clarinet.

How do live online clarinet lessons work?

A live online clarinet lesson lets the teacher hear tone, articulation, and phrasing in real time, and see hand position and posture through your camera. Set the device where the student and instrument are visible, with enough room to play naturally; a clear microphone position helps the teacher respond to the sound. Lessons happen one-on-one over Zoom each week with the same dedicated teacher, so there is no commute and the routine is easier to keep. A student in Honolulu or Schofield Barracks has the same choice of teacher and the same lesson. Lesson With You offers a free first 30-minute lesson with no payment method needed.

What $35 a week gets you at Lesson With You

A teacher with a degree in clarinetEvery Lesson With You clarinet teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree in clarinet.

CanonBachelor’s in Clarinet

Meet the teachers below

The same teacher every weekLive, one-on-one lessons with one teacher who knows your goals.

Practice goals every weekEach lesson ends with what to practice before the next one.

Switch or pause anytimeSwitch teachers at no cost, or pause with 24 hours' notice. There's no term to sign up for.

Clarinet in Hawaii

Where to hear clarinet

Across the islands, Chamber Music Hawaiʻi presents concerts by resident ensembles from September through June and tours performances and workshops to communities around the state. Its Student Advantage Program provides free concert tickets to K–12 students. Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre offers free student and teacher tickets through Opera for Everyone, giving young musicians another way to hear live classical performance.

Where to play with others

On Kauaʻi, Līhuʻe-based Kauaʻi Community College’s Jazz Ensemble and Wind Symphony welcome community adults and school students without an audition through college registration. These offer clarinetists a route into jazz or wind ensemble playing, with a different entry point from an auditioned youth orchestra. A player can choose the ensemble that best matches the music they want to make with others.

Clarinet around Hawaii, area by area

Honolulu area

Beyond the youth orchestra route, Honolulu Wind Ensemble welcomes new members and waives its $2 rehearsal contribution for anyone unable to afford it, giving clarinetists another way to play wind ensemble repertoire. For listening, full-time students with valid ID can attend Honolulu Chamber Music Series concerts for $15 per ticket. Chamber music offers a close view of how a clarinet can blend and converse with other instruments.

Kapaa area

Kapaʻa offers free traditional Hawaiian music, hula, and fire knife shows at Coconut Marketplace, including a local music and hula show on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. In Līhuʻe, Kukui Grove Center hosts a free live music concert every Friday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. These performances are opportunities to hear live music, though they are not clarinet ensembles.

A little clarinet history in Hawaii

Clarinet has a visible place in Hawaiʻi’s classical music life, from the Royal Hawaiian Band’s Friday noon concerts on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace, where students can hear its clarinet section, to the work of local players. Big Island native Steven Agasa began clarinet in third grade, and clarinetist Max Arakaki became the first clarinetist to win the Kamuela Philharmonic Youth Concerto Competition. These examples give a young player a sense that the instrument belongs in the state’s concert tradition and can lead to serious solo playing.