Klarinet Archive - Posting 000485.txt from 2002/09

From: Sean Osborn <feanor33@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Could use eefer help
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 17:24:33 -0400

Well, there could be several reasons why the high notes are not good -
individual reasons, or a combination. It is difficult to tell the problem
over email, but Paul offered a good suggestion. It's hard to play high on a
very soft reed. Pete Hadcock's book offers lots of good fingerings. My
favorite for high F# is just the regular fingering with the RH fork key
open to help raise the pitch. My favorite G is th/reg. 1 3, 1 2 Eb/Ab
resonator. G# can be either th/reg and right index finger + resonator, or
th/reg. 1 3 (or just 2), 2 fork resonator. Are these clear fingering
indications. In my piece, I found it tough to use my regular G# for the
second movement because the pitch kept dropping when I played fff, so I had
to fish around for some really sharp fingerings, yet ones that could take
the pressure. G and G# are interesting because there are literally 20 ways
to finger each.

Good luck.

Sean

> Grabner wrote<
> Well, I hate to confess this, but anything above my F# (for which use
thumb, register key, one and two of left hand, and the Eb/Bb key, and is
pretty good) comes out as a hellish squeal of indterminate pitch.
>
> I consulted my Peter Hadcock book and tried several of the fingerings he
suggested. I was able to find a couple of good high G's.
>
> So far, my G#'s and A's are awful.
>
> Does anyone have suggestions? Sean, you must have played this piece 100
times.
>

Walter:
If you remember, I had similar questions about this very subject several
months ago on this list, with very little response. I am happy to find I am
not the only person in this world with these problems, though we described
them a little differently. It was the consensus that probably the only cure
would be a change in mouthpiece to one which would function better in this
register. It seems to me that the very nature of the instrument requires a
different approach to performance in this register and I suspect that after
we find a mouthpiece reed combo that sort of works, we will also have to
retrain our basic oral cavity to react in a more suitable manor to perform
in this register on this instrument. As of this date I have not found the
mouthpiece reed combo that will work, but I haven't had the time or money to
devote to the search. I have changed the facing on my current mouth piece
to a longer facing with a narrower tip opening and I have opened the size of
the chamber baffle some. This has resulted in improvement but I am still not
to the point of consistency in response and intonation.
Paul Harris
www.geocities.com/osbornmusic/
www.mp3.com/metopera/

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