Klarinet Archive - Posting 001501.txt from 1999/01

From: Note Staff Unlimited <notestaff@-----.ch>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bore sizes
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 07:24:15 -0500

Richard Bush schrieb:

> Dear Tony,
>
> Being British and a fan of the B & H clarinets, could you tell us about
> a mechanism that crops up in Brymer's book. The mechanism in question,
> and appearing as photographs twice in the book, is called the Acton
> patent vent mechanism. This mechanism improves the inherent shortcoming
> and acoustical compromise of the low B natural as played with the middle
> finger, which in reality is a "fork" fingering (pad of lower ring key
> closed, open finger hole, closed finger hole). The photos appear as
> figure 13 (after page 52) and again as figure 33 (after page 100).
>
> I have never seen this mechanism in person nor ever had an opportunity
> to play on an instrument with it. To you and anyone else reading this,
> please tell us about it?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------

This mechanism is also present on my 1972 Wurlitzer Reform-Boehm Clarinets.
There is hardly a discernable difference in sound between low B fork and
second finger fingerings. Ditto for F#. A *little* more difference on high
Eb.

I remember a fellow college student who played 1010's pointing out that she
had it on her instruments and that it should be good. I had Buffets at the
time and couldn't be bothered to see the point since I didn't like the sounds
of the1010 players I had heard up until then. Now that I have it myself on
the Wurlitzers, I think of her sometimes.

Advantage is obvious: the tone is just as good with second finger as with
fork.
Disadvantage: the ring key for the first finger right hand is relatively hard
to depress which can slow you down slightly sometimes. Never had a mechanical
problem with it (as Tony stated) nor is my high F sharp - it's a little low
in fact (as Avrahm Galper stated) but I have used a different fingering for
F-G trills often....

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

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