Klarinet Archive - Posting 001208.txt from 2000/12

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Eb Lever
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2000 08:23:25 -0500

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil Leupold" <leupold_1@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Eb Lever

> --- Forrest Davie <mcpusc@-----.com> wrote:
>
> > I was browsing a web site selling clarinets and they
> > referred to a model as "the only student clarinet with
> > an Eb lever". What does this refer to? my clarinet
> > (not very good) has Eb keys. Whats the deifference?
>
> They were likely referring to an auxiliary left-hand pinky Ab/Eb,
> located between (rising immediately above) the low E/clarion B and
> low F#/clarion C# keys. This extra key is offered typically only
> on the higher-end models of a given maker's line of clarinets. All
> bass clarinets come with this "extra" key as a standard feature.
>
> Does anybody know why it took so long for somebody to include it on a
> soprano clarinet model? Was the R-13 Prestige the first Buffet model
> to include it? Was the Concerto the first for Leblanc?

This lever has been available for quite some time by many makers. It has
generally been a specialty option though not standard. Watch the auctions
on eBay long enough and check serial numbers and you can find it on horns
that are 100 years old.

If you have access to old brochures, you can find that companies typically
had these available as special order items on some of their standard
instruments for quite some time. You just don't see them very often.

Why isn't it standard? Simple. Law of supply and demand. Not enough
people want it to make it worthwhile to put it on all instruments.

While I would like to have one myself, here's a partial list of the pros and
cons.

Pros
1. Ease of fingering when there are many sharps, flats, or certain
combinations of accidentals. It eliminates the need to slide in many
passages.

Cons
1. Slight extra weight
2. Slight increase in cost (assuming it were standard on all instead of a
specialty item like now)
3. It is one more key to go out of adjustment.
4. Once a person has practiced diligently, sliding isn't difficult.
5. There will still be passages where it doesn't help.

Dee Hays
Michigan

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