How to play glissando or portamento on clarinet
The terms glissando and portamento are often used interchangeably in colloquial usage, though they describe related but distinct phenomena: a glissando denotes a discrete, stepwise slide between pitches, while a portamento refers to a continuous, smooth transition from one pitch to another without discernible intermediate steps. On the clarinet, the portamento effect is achieved primarily through a combination of embouchure adjustment, controlled air pressure, and gradual finger movement, and is among the most recognizable extended techniques available to the instrument.
The technique appears frequently across a wide range of musical genres and ensemble contexts — from orchestral and concert band writing to chamber music, jazz, and contemporary composition. It is perhaps most famously employed in the opening measures of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (1924), a passage that has become a defining moment in the clarinet’s solo repertoire.
In the video below, Dr. Chaipruck Mekara demonstrates how to execute the glissando and portamento on the Bb clarinet in three steps, using the opening of Rhapsody in Blue as a practical example.
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