 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-02-01 02:16
Personally I set speaker key touches so they're sitting above the thumb ring, then the left thumb can simply nudge it down and when held down it's still sitting slightly above the level of the thumb ring. If it has to drop below the level of the thumb ring, then that can risk the left thumb uncovering the lower edge of the thumb hole if the player has skinny thumbs.
Same with plateaux clarinets, altos, basses and any others with a left thumb plate as that's more comfortable than having the speaker touch drop below the level of the thumb plate as the edge of the thumb plate won't be gigging into the thumb and also means the left wrist doesn't have to rotate in order to hold the speaker touch down.
I've seen some clarinets where the body has been recessed so the tip of the speaker touch will drop down into it and sit way below the level of the thumb ring. On these ones I've usually filled in the recess with cork to the same level as the joint surface, radiused it and corked the speaker key in the usual manner but still giving the speaker key sufficient venting.
On Albert/simple system and also German and Oehler systems where the left thumb tube is flush with the joint surface, then that's more comfortable than having the speaker touch sat above and resting on the joint surface as is having the tip of the speaker touch curved down to provide a nicely rounded edge to nudge onto.
That also makes things more comfy on some Boehm systems with thin speaker touchpieces instead of leaving the undersides flat and trimming or grinding the key cork completely flat so it sits against the joint surface.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-02-01 22:57)
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2021-02-01 06:15
I could not see any attachment. But anyway, I didn't think it matters. My fingers and thumbs go anywhere I want them to.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-02-01 12:42
I forgot to delete the last paragraph as I couldn't find the photo I wanted to attach.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2021-02-01 18:04
I once put a pair of 1010s in for repair. When I got them back I was horrified to find the tech had bored recesses into the upper joints on both Bb and A so the heal of the speaker went further down. He never even asked whether I wanted that done and as far as I was concerned it was unnecessary. ChrisP describes the recess technique.
Now I always make it a rule to tell techs not to remove any wood and to speak to me first if there is an issue. It’s not as if the tech was new to the game either, though known more as a Buffet specialist. He was good and well known, based quite near Tower Bridge in London, who departed to warmer climes some years ago. Some will know who I mean.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2021-02-01 18:30
My thumbs have a pronounce curve up toward the tip so I actually prefer having MORE material under the thumb. I don't recall now which clarinet it was, but I had played a clarinet with a rather thick touch piece and LOVED IT.
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2021-02-02 14:00
For what it's worth, my impression of all Buffets that I've tried in shops recently is that the register key tip is set too low when it comes out of the factory. You can be playing along above the break only to have the note drop down because the register key hasn't opened properly. The key needs bending so that only a little tilt of the thumb is enough to open it. Obviously, this will be different for different players - but I would have thought it better to err on the side of too open than too closed. It's easier to bend the key to close the gap than to increase it.
A related problem, sometimes encountered, relates to the length of the register key. If the lower end is slightly too short, the thumb can get pinched in the gap between the thumb ring and the end of the register key. The tolerances are quite demanding if this aspect is to be completely comfortable.
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Author: Johan H Nilsson
Date: 2021-02-02 18:58
The distance between the thumb tube and register key also matters. If too close, the register key has to be below the top of the thumb tube, otherwise it will be depressed by accident.
A little flip with the thumb joint should be everything it takes to switch register.
The register key on the Selmer basset horn is irritatingly low. I didn't want to bend the key so I put cork on it.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-02-02 21:56
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The geometry on some Selmer basses leaves a lot to be desired - the lever-style touchpiece either with the teardrop-shaped touch or fin-shaped one (like MkVI saxes) attached to the lever is better than the sax-style one hinged on the left, but with some constructive bending it can be positioned and angled better.
Attached photos are of a Series 9 bass as it was when it came in. I didn't manage to get any photos of it after as I dropped my camera and the photos came out all stripy and even more out of focus than normal.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2021-02-02 22:06)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-02-02 22:04
Tony, I assume the speaker key has three basic functions on Classical-era clarinets as it's not only functioning as the speaker and throat Bb, but also the throat G# key which I'd assume will need a lot of venting for that note to give it clarity, then reduced or controlled venting for throat Bb and the upper and altissimo registers.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2021-02-03 22:34
Yes, that's right. But it's a simplification to consider just the venting of the key in isolation.
Much more crucial is the rest of the fingering for that G#. Depending on the actual instrument, a common fingering could be: sp o | o x x | x o x | x
The venting alters the pitch, and so alters what 'resonance' fingering you need. You need reliable versions of G# and A#, preferably with a not too complicated transition between them.
In general, I find less experienced players to be very unaware of slightly unusual wrinkles on standard modern instrument fingerings. They might try adding LH little finger F#/C# to their top G, for example – it can be a help, again depending on the instrument, in Beethoven 8 trio.
Tony
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2021-02-04 17:02
It's worthwhile trying this speaker key fingering for G# on a modern instrument too, I'd say. I find that sp o | o x x | x x x | F/C key is optimal on one of my modern (1889!) Buffet Bbs. (If you try, notice how important the F/C key addition is.) The 'address' to the instrument (embouchure, tongue position, strength of airflow) is also crucial.
The clarion G# an octave above occurs at speed in the last movement of Tchaikovsky piano concerto #1 in a finger-twister that can be troublesome if you don't have a LH D# key. It goes, 'di | daa di diddle-di | dee' in 6/8 time, the notes being C# | B__A G#C#D# | E.
The way round it is to play the G# as sp x | x x o | x x o | and PRACTISE making acceptable the transition between the bright-tending A and the duller G# using this fingering. And notice, the LH C# key that you're about to use helps the quality of the note considerably if you add it on the G# too....
When I talked about this fingering about 10 years ago here, people said no, it's much too weak a note. The word to notice here is the IT – the clarinet is not an isolated object but one part of a system in which YOU are a very important part.
There IS no IT.
Tony
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The Clarinet Pages
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