Klarinet Archive - Posting 000970.txt from 1997/09

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Not Really About Greenlines Anymore
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 00:08:39 -0400

On Sat, 20 Sep 1997 SusiPontow@-----.com wrote:

> I know this doesn't have much to do with this thread. But when I was reading
> about having someone else do the fingerings while you blow, in regards in
> eliminating the feeling preference of the player, this confused me. Whenever
> I talk about the feeling of an instrument, it has nothing to do with how it
> feels to my fingers. When I find a clarinet that feels good, it means that
> it has just the right amount of resistance to the air stream -- I guess it
> feels good to my diaphragm and windpipes.
>
> Susan
> SusiPontow@-----.com

Susan, I wrote to say that I would want my hands on the fingers and horn
rather than someone else's or a machine's (when testing). How do you know
if the right amount of resistance is there if your fingers are not
covering the holes? Try this......turn the barrel and mouthpiece around
and have someone else finger the instrument while you blow into it. Feels
pretty weird ( a test I do with many beginning players and younger
students)....because the horn seals differently for everyone... I was not
talking about the aesthetic feeling of wood, plastic, etc.

Not only is this a constant, it is the constant Bill Brannen uses in his
new instrument service, based on the principal that a horn that seals
correctly (and I use the word "correctly" in a broad application here)
will play better than one that does not.

I told the listserv that I will not argue the point of materials, etc.
again. My posting is to help clear up any confusion that Susan may feel
regarding the discussion she has alluded to.

Roger Garrett