Doublereed Archive - Posting 000024.txt from 2005/04

From: "Keith" <100012.1302@-----.com>
Subj: [DR-L] RE: doublereed Digest 4 Apr 2005 07:15:00 -0000 Issue 518
Date: Mon, 04 Apr 2005 04:24:32 -0400

Phil,

I'm a clarinettist, engineer and do my own instrument maintenance. I've
followed this debate with interest. The clarinet has similar issues (though
the keywork is certainly less complex than the oboe). We have small and
large pads that are both normally closed and normally open.

I do believe that the principle you outline, of getting the tension
sufficient to close all the normally-closed pads and then balancing the rest
to (approximately) this finger force is correct. I do notice immediate
difficulty if there is any unbalance. But I think you have to restrict this
to keys that are played in the same way. It is usually going to take more
finger force to close a key that operates a large pad than to close a small
open hole.

And I agree that it is essential for fluent playing to have the fingers in a
relaxed, not tense, state. I even use this as a diagnosis as to whether I
have mastered a passage. If I feel finger tension then I have not. Another
point is that if a key is too light compared with others (even if it seals
properly), then one will tend to play this note too fast.

Concerning the finger strength argument, we clarinettists certainly know
about this. Our little fingers have to do an inordinate amount of work
(thanks largely to filling in the gap between the octave and twelfth, and
the huge holes down there) compared with other wind instruments. And since
the holes are bigger at the bottom, there is no option but to make these
keys heavier. Building up the strength of these fingers is part of clarinet
training. Never challenge a clarinettist to little-finger wrestling. So I
think your argument is correct there.

I actually think that finger independence is a bigger problem, especially
for the third fingers of each hand. They seem to retain an unevolved memory
of the time we had webbed hands and feet.

It is true that clarinets and flutes are very agile. My opinion is that this
is a voicing/acoustic issue rather than keywork, that is, they speak more
easily when one changes note. But I don't play the oboe so may be quite
wrong.

As for the manufacturers knowing best ... well, they may know best but they
do not necessarily have the quality controls built in to ensure that this
happens in every case at the price that they sell it for. It is quite common
in the clarinet world to overhaul a brand-new top-quality instrument right
away, and there are even techs who specialise in this market.

Keith Bowen
President, Kammermusik Workshops, Inc.
www.kammermusikworkshops.org

>
> Date: Sun, 3 Apr 2005 20:29:23 EDT
> To: doublereed@-----.org
> From: PhilFrei@-----.com
> Subject: springs and finger tension
> Message-ID: <159.4e445136.2f81e463@-----.com>
>
> Hi again -
>
> Different topic.
>
> I went through with getting stronger springs put on the A and
> G keys. So far, no springs have broken or fallen out and all
> the notes still play. I'm crossing my fingers for luck and
> keeping an eye out for loose rods, etc.!
>
> At this point the cross-fingering keys are pretty even in
> terms of tension.
> So far it is working out okay. I think I like it and am going
> to keep it. It will probably be a couple weeks or months
> before I'll know for sure.
>
> (For example, the experiment of resting the thumb on the
> octave key lasted a couple months, before going back to the
> "rolling" technique, once I realized that adjusting the
> height of the octave key and weight of the octave spring and
> increasing the A and G weights eliminated the need to be so
> much on top of the key to get it down in time.)
>
> I found there is a lot of resistance to the idea of even
> touching a spring, let alone trying to make them stiffer. It
> seems logical that one would want them lighter, particularly
> if one has the experience of struggling with a stiff A-flat
> or D-flat key on a student oboe. But I believe those keys
> (Ab, Db) can be brought down in tension to a properly set F#,
> and G and A brought up to F# without making those notes
> harder to play. After a certain point, increased stiffness
> would certainly slow things down, but matching the F# seems
> to be well below that level.
>
> One objection I've heard from several sources is that the
> fingers have different strengths. As true as this is, it
> seems to me we learn from childhood how to exert exactly the
> same amount of pressure with each finger despite the
> differences in strength. How else could a waiter, for
> example, hold up a serving tray with one hand?
>
> It seems clear to me that if a finger exerts more pressure on
> it than the others, it will be slower to rise. This can be
> seen by doing a simple scale, e.g., C-D-E-F#-G-A-B-A-G-F#-E-D
> and repeating (sextuples). If one consciously places more
> weight on any finger, that finger's note will tend to sound
> longer when you start getting up to a decent speed.
>
> So my theory is that if the springs are set up so that the
> key pressure is even, then it will perhaps be easier to train
> the fingers to use an even amount of tension, aiding
> technical execution. We'll see how it goes. One still has to
> train the fingers, there's no avoiding that. But perhaps it
> will be easier from a starting point of even tension, rather
> than working out a system of compensations for the different keys.
>
> There are also arguments that the technicians at Loree know
> best, and to just accept that. But I think my reasoning is
> scientifically sound and at least merits a tryout. We are so
> used to being told how awkward and difficult the oboe is. But
> maybe it doesn't have to be so. Maybe the flute, clarinet,
> sax have an easier time playing lots of notes because their
> keywork is pretty much even in tension. I know the flute is
> very even, but I wonder about clarinet and sax. Do they have
> keys as widely differing as our G and F#? Or do they tend to be even?
>
> Anyone who's in the area and wants to come over try the oboe
> is welcome to drop me a line.
>
> - Phil Freihofner
>

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