Klarinet Archive - Posting 001188.txt from 1999/01

From: Note Staff Unlimited <notestaff@-----.ch>
Subj: [kl] Pinky keys
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 18:16:09 -0500

Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu schrieb:

> Roger Garrett in describing Schifrin's clarinet mentioned that the
> thumb keys have been replaced with additional touchpieces to be operated
> by the pinkies.
>
> For those of us who have played bass clarinets and basset horns with
> thumb keys, such a change would be wonderful. I had three thumb
> keys on my low C bass clarinet and could never get much in the way
> of technique with them. Sliding from one to the other gave a built-
> in sluggishness that I could never overcome. Fortunately, the
> repertoire for the b.c. does not demand much speed in that range.
>
> - snip -
>
> But the basset
> horn, bass clarinet, and very possibly the soprano basset clarinet
> has a normal hand position in which the right thumb movement is
> inherently problematic.
>
> I was wondering when manufacturers would get around to looking at
> the problem. It is not an easy one to solve and I hope that
> Schifrin's approach proves fruitful.
>
> =======================================
> Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
> leeson@-----.edu
> =======================================

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My sympathies! I've also had my share of frustration with the clumbsy
sollution of four thumb keys for the basset notes. I have the same solution
on my basset clarinets and bass clarinet except that the order is reversed.
Now also on the basset horn (which I bought from Don Christensen by the way).
I never really could get used to *all* pinky keys for the basset notes. And I
prefer the sound of the narrow bore instruments over the sound of the French
basset horns anyway. (You're right Dan, alto clarinets in F!) I think a
combination of Eb and D for pinkies and C# and C for the thumb would be
better.

I was near the point of having a pinky key made to double the low Eb on my
basset clarinets ... but with a lot of elbow grease and nose grease (on the
thumb!) and not too much money to have it done, I managed without.

There is a clarinettist from (or who studied in) Hanover (with H. Deinzer)
who bassettized a clarinet himself. His name is Joachim Klemm if I remember
correctly. Ulrich Schneider from Musik Gillhaus in Freiburg im Breisgau (my
clarinet repair genius!) told me about him. This basset clarinet had only TWO
thumb keys for ALL FOUR BASSET NOTES. He could play it standing as well. From
the description, I couldn't really visualize it and so I can't repeat the
description now a couple years later. I just remember that the keys could be
depressed somehow in two directions. Would be interesting to see it.

David
David Glenn
notestaff@-----.ch

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