 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-08-11 22:02
okay - i decided to go back to basics to see if that would help me progress, and guess what? i'm learning that i missed some stuff along the way. i think maybe i didnt have a good grasp on intermediate before moving to the next level and then when i couldnt get there for so long i got frustrated.
anyway - ivebeen spending all day working in Rubank Intermdiate > never actually used it. my teacher had me get a more advanced book and we probably should not have.
sooo - my question - im playing an exercise in the key of Ab. sometimes in the book it tells how to play the notes (left or right, alternates or not) but this one doesnt and i cant figure out how to play it.
its a 'chord study' and the notes involved are C above the staff descending to Ab (L), Eb (R),C (?)then back up to Ab.(L)
do you see the problem? i cant play Right Right, and if i play the C left, how do i play the Ab?
i hope i asked my question so it makes sense?
thanks, JL
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Author: Dez
Date: 2002-08-11 22:30
Two Options:
Either slide between right E flat and C or if it is slow enough you can swap from left to right on the C if there is enough time!
Hope this helps
Derek
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-08-11 22:46
A third option: Play the Eb with the right pinky as is usual. Play the C with the left pinky. Play the final Ab with an alternate Ab fingering:
TR x x o / x x o ...GBK
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-08-11 22:56
oh wow - ive been learning new ways to play notes all day! now another one
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Author: Misha
Date: 2002-08-12 03:54
Agree with GBK (third option), i just was gonna suggest instead:
xxo/xoo (not that tuneful, but if it's fast enough, it's fine)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-08-12 15:22
Misha...Actually your suggested fingering is quite high in pitch, and must be lipped down to make it even remotely acceptable.
The fingering I suggested, while of poorer quality than the normal Ab5, is at least fairly close to the correct pitch.
It is most useful in the above cited passage, and even more useful when the left pinky G#/Ab key has water in it and there is no time to swab out the clarinet...GBK
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-08-12 16:29
Even if you have an alternate that works for this passage, eventually it becomes necessary to learn to slide the little fingers from key to key as other passages will require it. There are some fine drills for this in the Rubank Advanced Vol. I for the lower register and Rubank Advanced Vol. II for the upper register. I believe these same exercises are in the Klose method book.
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Author: E. Michael Blake
Date: 2002-08-12 19:45
To underscore what Dee said, Janlynn, the Rubank books that follow the one you're in will force you to choose the least among evils in many fingering drills, with moves that call for lifting one finger while lowering another during a slur (and making it smooth). While an alternate fingering may make life easier, I've taken the approach that, while working in the method book, I have to do it the way the method book wants, in order to gain the proficiency I'll need to overcome more dreadful hurdles later. (I realize that the method book hasn't given you any guidance on this one.) The Rubank fingering chart does include GBK's fingering for high Ab/G# (but not Misha's), but Dee is right about needing to learn the Eb-C slide, so my advice is to play the drill both ways--left-pinky C to GBK's Ab, and Eb-slide-to-C with the right pinky followed by left-pinky Ab.
Interestingly, GBK's fingering is on the Rubank fingering chart only for the clarion register. The chalumeau C#/Db has only one approved fingering, the left-pinky one.
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-08-12 20:02
GBK - that fingering didnt sound very good. was hard to 'speak' but would work if i had to use it. But, i think i didnt realize something. i thot Rubank forgot to indicate what to do, but now i think they wanted the player to practice using the slide method. doesnt matter cuz i learned even more by asking my question here.
JL
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-08-12 20:59
E. Michael Blake wrote:
>
> The chalumeau C#/Db has only
> one approved fingering, the left-pinky one.
Put the "approved" in quotes. ;^)
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-08-12 21:01
janlynn: Do remember that when you see an unusual fingering, such as the one GBK offered (he is a master of weird fingerings), it may not work on every instrument. All Clarinets are not identical in their design, and while your clarinet may have good tone and nice intonation with customary fingerings, certain alternative fingerings may need some modification to work well on your instrument, and some just may not work for you at all. This is especially true with altissimo fingerings, some of which are really controversial. In fact, some Clarinets play certain altissimo notes much better using non-standard fingerings.
Regards,
John
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-08-12 22:30
janlynn...I was actually going to post the same response and John McAulay did, but he got to the bulletin board first.
I would file away the alternate Ab5 fingering and keep it in your arsenal of fingerings for just such circumstances as I've previously outlined.
Always master the "traditional fingerings" in your practice sessions, but have a few alternates at your disposal when the circumstance arises...GBK
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-08-12 23:29
By the way, the Rubank books are really intended to be used under the guidance of a qualified instructor. They would then be able to tell you that a slide was intended. Although I think the Advanced volumes do comment that they want a slide.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-08-13 13:45
Nirvana...to be able to have the entire arsenal of fingerings in one's head (and fingers) for any sight reading contest....
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Author: E. Michael Blake
Date: 2002-08-13 22:51
In the practice session after my previous posting, I tried out the alternate G#/Ab, and it seems to me to be about the same pitch as what I get with the standard fingering, but it's very stuffy; it doesn't give as clear a tone. Still, it might work nicely in rapid passages, when my left pinky doesn't want to cooperate.
To Mark C.: I thought it was apparent that my use of "approved" meant by Rubank (that is, by Gower and Voxman), and was not meant to indicate approved by all rational beings. Or did you want me to use quote marks just to make those old trailing slashes turn up again?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-08-14 01:23
E. Michael Blake wrote:
>
> To Mark C.: I thought it was apparent that my use of "approved"
> meant by Rubank (that is, by Gower and Voxman), and was not
> meant to indicate approved by all rational beings.
My use is to show that there are no "approved" fingers - just common, including the alternate levers or simple cross fingers fingerings, and then there are "special" ones that are useful in particular passages or sequences - perhaps out of tune, airy, stuffy, etc. but useful nonmtheless.
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