Klarinet Archive - Posting 000449.txt from 1999/10

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Altissimo
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 19:17:47 -0400

For the person who asked what is "half holing"

This simply means covering half of the top left hand finger hole on those
altissimo notes where the basic fingering shows the hole as being left
completely open.

Benefits/disadvantages.

1) For some people on some notes, it will lower the pitch.
2) It may make some wide slurs easier
3) It may stabilize a note. Some instruments tend to be a bit unstable in
the altissimo. Although such instability can frequently be tracked down to
a pad somewhere that isn't seating properly.

When to teach it?

I have to agree with the others that this should be left to students
entering advanced work. For a timeline, I use the Rubank series as a guide.
The begining method books intended for two years use, takes the student to
altissimo G and does NOT introduce half holing. The intermediate book is
intended for one year and mostly consolidates and reinforces the material
learned in the first two years. In the advanced books, half holing is
introduced but it is only mentioned in a few drills and on the fingering
chart as an option not as a standard. So generally that would mean three
years or more of fairly serious study before the half hole is introduced.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

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