Klarinet Archive - Posting 000173.txt from 1997/02

From: Tom Ascher <U15310@-----.EDU>
Subj: basset horn fingerings
Date: Fri, 7 Feb 1997 11:08:57 -0500

I think I've solved the problem. I got out my tuner to see exactly what the
pitch is in the altissimo range and found that the problem was with the F#,
not the F.

I found that one of the fingerings I had used gave me a note too flat, the
other too sharp.

The solution was to add the G# key to bring the pitch up slightly. So I'm
playing an F# with one finger pressing down the top B key (but not over the
tiny hole that goes through the center of the key on the basset horn) the next
finger over the second key down, the left pinky on the G# key and the right
pinky on the Eb key, and of course the thumb on the register key.

Incidently the previous poster asked if I'm playing a real basset horn or
a "phony" large bore Leblanc. Well, I am playing a large bore Leblanc. But
this doesn't make it an alto in F, as the basset has the extended bass range.
Although I guess you could think of this as an alto in F with 2 more notes in
the bass!

Anyhow, I am finding that my basset works with the standard fingerings in the
altissimo range (with the "half hole" pressed down in the drilled top key) and
with the exception of needing to put down the G# key on the F#. Actually I
tried this with my A clarinet and using the extra G# seemed to work better with
the F#. So maybe my fingering chart is wrong for the Bb/A clarinets as
well? Do others hold down the pinky G# when playing the F# above the stave?

=====================================================================
Tom Ascher Internet: u15310@-----.edu
University of Illinois at Chicago Phone: (312) 413-3665