Does the clarinet need a lot of vital capacity        To learn clarinet or need vital capacity. Practice clarinet than saxophone need more vital capacity, than trumpets, trombone and other brass instruments or bassoon (large tube) and other large wooden tubes, even because of playing mouth type and other factors, than flute and other woodwind instruments use less gas. In fact, as long as the cardiopulmonary function is normal, the upper teeth are basically neat, it is suitable for learning. Learning clarinet requires a certain amount of vital capacity. When playing clarinet, you must breathe with your abdomen, not your chest, and use a relaxed and constant mouth to fill the tube.