Klarinet Archive - Posting 000394.txt from 2005/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Buffet Tosca Clarinet / Optional Key & Finger Memory
Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2005 21:45:02 -0400

At 05:58 PM 4/26/2005 +0200, Joseph Wakeling wrote:
>Bill Hausmann wrote:
>
>>I think it is related to the similar problem I face when attempting to
>>play a clarinet with an alternate Eb key for the left pinkie: because I
>>know it is there, I unconsciously reach for it, whether I want to use it
>>or not. I find it almost impossible to avoid most alt Eb keys (actually,
>>the Tosca was the least problematical I have dealt with in that regard).
>
>
>That problem vanishes with a little familiarity. :-)
>
>I do make use of the alternate Eb key, though infrequently---I expect I
>would do so much more if I was a pro and even more so if I was playing a
>lot of modern music. There's a passage in the second movement of the
>Stravinsky Three Pieces, for example, which seems to lie easier using the
>LH Eb than the regular one. The only problem is that I have never really
>integrated it into my practise regime (practise regime? What practise
>regime?). My fingers know where it is (and isn't) perfectly well but the
>fluency of movement can be a bit off in some cases, e.g. in an E major
>scale (where it is noticeably more tricky to use than the regular finger
>sequence, but that may be just due to my aforementioned lack of practise).

I think my problems with alt Eb keys are exacerbated by the fact that my
fingers are pretty long, so I probably naturally hit those left pinkie
levers a little farther down than most. It is unfortunate, too, since I
think I would very much like to have that fingering option available,
especially since those long fingers make the left pinky C lever relatively
awkward to hit.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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