Klarinet Archive - Posting 000726.txt from 2000/01

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] High D
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2000 05:35:24 -0500

On Fri, 21 Jan 2000 23:09:39 -0800, jonsmith@-----.net said:

> > High D (above the staff)
> >
> > Everyone knows the fingering for this note: Left hand - second and third
> > finger plus the
> > Right hand - index finger and Eb key.
> > And of course, the Left hand thumb hole closed, with the speaker key
> > open.
> >
> > I have no new fingering to divulge. What I want to say is, the
> > majority of times when high D is played, the Right Eb key can be
> > depressed PRIOR to playing the high D.
>
> I was taught to add the half-hole with the left hand first finger for
> everything above C; it seems to help the tone.

Usually that's recommended for ease of transition from a note in the
clarinet register. It can affect the pitch adversely -- but only you
can tell whether it does in your case.

I'm sure this has been gone into a number of times on this list, but it
might be worth recapitulating: a fingering for D" that some people don't
know is:

LH: thumb, no speaker/register key but throat Ab key, first finger or
not (according to pitch requirements), second and third fingers;

RH: first and third fingers, Ab/Eb key.

(Yes, you can cover first finger hole LH and open the Ab key
simultaneously:-)

This is useful for drifting in, in 'Death and Transfiguration', say.
It's also good for the second phrase in the Baermann Adagio.

There are several other fingerings of this type, substituting the throat
Ab key for the speaker/register key. The general philosophy is that
because the Ab hole is larger and lower than the speaker/register hole,
the resultant note is sharper, and so you have to have a longer
effective tube.

Try with a 'normal' top note fingering; then switch from
speaker/register key to throat Ab, making the note sharper; then
compensate with added fingers till you get back to the correct pitch.
A given fingering may work better on one clarinet than another.

The sound is floatier, even flutier, and the note speaks more readily.
(It can also be easier to find a unison with, say, an oboe, because the
sound is less complex.)

I suppose I should say that these fingerings, while very useful on
occasion, aren't a magical cure for anyone who is still struggling with
fundamental problems in the upper register.

By the way, it's useful to write down any particularly good fingering
you find. This is especially true on period instruments of course; but
I once did a performance of the Copland concerto (on a modern
instrument, naturally) in which I used several unusual fingerings to
great effect, I thought; but I've since forgotten at least one that I
discovered and was quite proud of at the time.

"Seated one day at the organ....."

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... When I get a better mouse trap built, mice will be an endangered species.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org