Klarinet Archive - Posting 000955.txt from 1998/11

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] re:Flat Fingers
Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 09:57:28 -0500

Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 21:52:41 -0500
From: "Mark Charette" <charette@-----.org>
Subject: Re: [kl] THIRD FINGERS STRAIGHT?
>Edwin V. Lacy and Mark Charette, whose opinions always deserve respect,
>both took issue with Roger Garrett's dictum that a clarinetist's third
>fingers should be straight.
Ah, but I didn't. I brought forth a counterexample to a piano teacher's
rule. I brought this up with my piano teacher a few years back, and she
told me "You can keep your fingers flat when you play like Horowitz."
I did a fair bit of research on Horowitz, and came to the conclusion
that he _always_ played with flat fingers and dropped wrist, even when
he was very small (some anecdotes by former teachers brought this to the
forefront in a few biographies I read).
He fought his teachers, and won in the end. Would he have been as good
had he lost the fight? I don't know, but I doubt it.
<snip>
>The
>reason is simple. It's what works best for most of us.
And a good teacher (who will also be a good student) will see what works
for the few who don't fit the mold.
----

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I studied Piano (pedagogy) with one of Horowitz's 5 (he only taught 5
students his whole life), and he did not teach , nor use the flat fingers
technique.
David Blumberg
reedman@-----.com
http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Music/Blumberg.html
http://members.aol.com/cwindz/galper.html

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