Klarinet Archive - Posting 000285.txt from 2004/06

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Crossing the break - guide/exercises/logic
Date: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 08:45:41 -0400


Umar Goldeli wrote,
>I have recently embarked upon my "clarinet
>journey" and have just met the concept of
>"crossing the break" and the joys of finger
>contorsion.
[snip]
>are there any such exercises to get the brain
>and fingers around the concepts of prefingering
>right hand and pinkies etc etc? I've been looking
>around and can't find anything which explains the
>logic and methodology as well as exercises.

I'm an amateur, but FWIW.... To improve smooth transitions between
chalumeau and throat tones, I practiced playing back and forth between
bottom line E and second space A, on one continuous breath, by rocking the
upper side of the left index finger on and off the A key (instead of
lifting the whole index finger up off the hole and then putting it down on
the A key). Then I added a similar exercise, going back and forth between
first line E and mid-staff Bb, rocking the left index up to the A key *and*
rocking the left thumb on and off the register key, instead of lifting the
thumb. The reason for the rocking motion isn't just economy of motion but
also smooth transition, since lifting those fingers off the keys causes a
"burp" of open G in between the notes. Rocking onto the register key then
becomes automatic when you work on the harder transition to the clarion,
between A and B, Bb and C, etc..

One trick for jumps involving a lot of fingers is to leave the right hand
fingers down on the throat tones. See where you can get away with doing
that on your clarinet. Since many clarinets are very sharp through the
throat tones anyway, leaving the right hand fingers down also helps to
flatten those notes down to the right pitch (except on instruments that go
*too* flat).

From a later message:
>Out of curiosity however - when playing a piece for
>the *first* time - does an experienced player "read
>ahead" and know when such a disasterous fingering
>is coming up - and just prior to said contorsion - do
>the prefingering? Or is it always a matter of playing
>the piece - arriving at the spot, somewhat clumsily
>changing fingering the first time - but making a mental
>note to prefinger for the next time you play?

I like to read through a score silently *before* playing it and mark any
fingering choices that might be difficult to spot "on the fly," then play
very slowly and carefully the first time through (even if that means
stopping to think), so that I play all or most of the notes right the first
time. For me, that first run-through tends to stick. My fingers memorize
what they do the first time and automatically try to make the same mistakes
in the same spots forever after. It's a lot easier to teach correct muscle
memory the first time through than to unlearn an incorrect move.

Lelia Loban
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban
Re-defeat Bush in 2004!

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