Klarinet Archive - Posting 000564.txt from 1998/07

From: merlinw@-----.ca
Subj: [kl] Keywork improvements
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 00:39:35 -0400

On 07/19/98 20:36:26 you wrote:
>
>Some of us have been deeply and passionately involved with our sliver
>key discussion. Some of us [myself included] consider it useless and
>would prefer having clarinets without it. But, are we arguing about the
>truly most useless mechanical contrivance on our instruments? I
>contend that the bottom right hand ring has no real purpose in life, and
>being a devout minimalist, would like to be rid of it!
>The resulting tone hole could at tube exterior surface level and
>therefore be a smaller diameter. It would then be
>easier for little fingers to cover. It would appear much as the bottom
>left hand tone hole.
>Less is better!!

I kinda like the idea of eliminating the third ring on the RH. However, I have a friend who refuses to play any clarinet that does not have a LH third ring. That extra rings allows a G-Bb tremolo, and makes the Ab-Bb trill easier. Personally, I found it easier to have Steve Fox add a bis key to my clarinet to facilitate the same passages.

I also think that all clarinets should be equipped with a LH Ab-Eb key. Seems silly not to have duplicates for all of the little finger keys.

Merlin Williams
merlinw@-----.ca
http://www.netcom.ca/~merlinw
(A member of the Sax Ring!)

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