 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ChiTownClarinet
Date: 2016-02-01 00:45
Hello,
Recently someone told me about some exercise method books that focus on the crow's foot keys and alternations between right and left pinkies. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the author of the book(s).
Anyone have any suggestions? I want to increase my 5th finger dexterity.
Many thanks in advance!
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2016-02-01 03:23
The best I know of is the H. Klose Method for clarinet, Book I in the Practical Exercises. You can probably find it to download for free.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: SarahC
Date: 2016-02-01 03:45
watching with interest. This is a skill i want to get better at!
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2016-02-01 04:17
At the very beginning of the Lazarus Method, Book 1, he gives a couple of pages of passages that are difficult on the Albert clarinet but easily playable on the Boehm.
Play them using only the keys available on the Albert clarinet, to get practice sliding around.
Baermann Book 3 has many passages that require sliding even on the Boehm clarinet. The broken chords sections are particularly difficult, and the scales in fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths aren't far behind.
The Saint-Saens Sonata has a surprising number of finger-twisting passages involving the little fingers.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2016-02-01 04:17
It helps me to practice scales and thirds both right and left handed.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2016-02-01 05:15
I like study no. 5 (Right Hand Study) pg. 12-13 in Kalmen Opperman's "Modern Daily Studies Book One" for Clarinet for this kind of finger coordination as well as several other studies in that book. For more rigorous exploration of this problem, see Jost Michaels "Systemic Approach to Clarinet Finger Technique" for example page 76, exercises H13 to H22. Both of these are available from Van Cott online. Both books present numerous "finger busters" for the instrument that we all have to overcome.
A good book to add to these is the Henri Starlit "25 Etudes De Virtuosite" Vol 1 (Leduc). Transcription VII from Chopin (pg. 12-13) is something of a nightmare to play at first but with practice, the pinkies will fall into place. The entire book takes the clarinetist out of the usual comfort zone and presents wonderful opportunities to gain facility across both "breaks" from lower register to clarion and clarion to altissimo--a great study in developing finger dexterity as well as interval gap flexibility. Van Cott has this one too.
Post Edited (2016-04-25 21:09)
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-02-01 07:55
I use my own. Examples follow. Let "*" stand for "pivot note". NOTE - if fingers or hand start to hurt, rest or slow down. I suspect pushing these too hard before the muscles are trained could cause an RSI.
R. PINKY. Start on middle B (or low E). Clarion intended, but low register works equally.
* = clarion D
play B*C*B*C#* B*C*B*C#* B*D#*B*D#*B*D#*B*D#*
repeat with * = E, again with * = F, F#, G, G#, A, A#(r. index), B
The above works the pinky alone and also coordinated with adjacent fingers, etc. Note B is sort of a secondary pivot; the other 3 r.pinky notes can be used instead, but B seems the hardest.
L. PINKY. Main notes include B, C, C#. Pick a sequence of those. Play alternating the sequence notes with *, twice. Pick another sequence with a different middle note than the first sequence. Play alternating sequence notes with *, twice. Again with another sequence, the middle note being different than in the first two sequences (last unused choice of the three main notes.) Play alternating again, twice.
Repeat with * = B (r. pinky), C (r. pinky), C# (r. pinky), D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G# (forked), A, A#, B.
Work up clean speed.
L. PINKY G# key - if you've tried the above, you must have the idea. Work the target finger in coordination with adjacent and/or opposite fingers, in a systematic repeating pattern.
BOTH PINKYS. Play any sequence with L pinky alternating with any sequence of R. pinky. Example, circle cw with l. pinky (BC#C), circle ccw with r. pinky (D#CBC#), alternating sides. Interesting 12-note patterns result, almost jazzy. Can also insert pivot notes as desired for coordinating with adjacent fingers.
Another idea is alternating sides thus:
B(l)B(r) four times, C(l)C(r) four times, C#(l)C#(r) four times, G#D# (four times). Repeat leading with right side. Should not have any blips between same pitch changes.
I do some or all of the above as part of finger warmup, only takes a few minutes; sometimes break crossing follows (applying pivot note idea again.)
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