Klarinet Archive - Posting 000161.txt from 1996/10

From: Robert Brown <rjbrown@-----.ORG>
Subj: Re: Thumbrests for beginners
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 15:28:40 -0400

My son's teacher removed his thumbrest and reinstalled it upside
down. This was done to combat his bad habit of resting his right
index finger on the Eb/Bb side key. The discomfort of the
upside down convex rest can be overcome with a piece of rubber
tubing. This may not solve your problem, but it does provide another
location for the thumbrest.

> Is it possible to install an adjustable thumbrest on a plastic
> clarinet, and is it ever desirable?
>
> My-mother-the-beginning-clarinetist is having trouble keeping the
> right-hand tone holes covered when she uses the pinky keys (low F,
> E), and she feels the thumbrest is in an awkward place for her hand.
> She realizes that learning to cover the holes takes practice, but
> when I told her that adjustable thumbrests exist and are even standard
> on some professional clarinets, she thought that perhaps she doesn't
> need to struggle as much as she is. Any thoughts? She is playing
> on my spare clarinet, a plastic Bundy.
>
> Thanks,
> Claudia