The Clarinet BBoard

Re: Weber Concertino Op 26

Author: SecondTry  Date:   2026-08-09 19:05 Philip Caron wrote: > Slow the video down. Drucker does not start that passage with > rh fingers down; you can see him lower them for the C. I'm not saying that you're wrong but I am saying that I don't see it. I slowed the video down around 3:15 to its slowest setting, and unfortunately its resolution isn't to today's standards. To say I don't concur is not to say I disagree, yet if anything I would have surmised from the video that the right pinky is down, and doesn't lift up, until at a minimum, the left pinky is down to effect the full fingered "B," if not later, for the next note, a full fingered "D" in which having the "C" vent open is obligatory. Of course despite the virtuoso that he was, Drucker's not the last word on this. Or to restate, I wish to separate my question from the example I provided. (I should probably look at other videos of this work and continue metronome practice the conventional way.) > > I'm no Drucker, but I use the normal fingerings there. RH down > on the first four notes is a novel idea to me, and I don't get > it. When you say you don't get it I'm not sure what you mean. Are you asking why someone would do this? This seems the most logical interpretation of your question yet you've posted far too many knowledgeable things here Philip to make me think that you don't understand why someone might do this, even if the passage is easy enough for you, that on a personal level you might ask where the benefit lies. For others reading, or if Philip is truly confused, my logic, or should I say argument in having the right hand down is at these significant speeds, where finger placement is most challenged, and where we are playing over the break, and even slightly torquing the instrument with the right and left pinkies, that having the right pinky already down eliminates any clockwise torque in the "C" and stabilizes counterclockwise torque when the "B" is fingered... ....the only cost being some initial throat tones less than fully expressed, that taken so fast, can neither be carefully analyzed by the listener, and are soon long forgotten..... Now..before anyone (or any clarinet key) gets bent out of shape, no, I don't slam keys. This is not to say that mild torquing of the instrument in either direction can't be achieved in fast play involving the full fingered "C" or "B," particularly when coming from other notes that involve few fingers down, or for someone like me who plays on occasion with a right thumb only secured double lip embouchure. For me, and I know I'm anything but alone here, trepidation about a difficult passage alone can increase the likelihood of its being presented to the audience with mistakes, apart from its difficulty. And having the right hand down insures me that the "C" is going to get played as long as my left hand lands where it should...which invariable it does. Post Edited (2026-08-09 19:05)

Reply To Message

Avail. Forums  |  Need a Login? Register Here

User Login  User Name:  Password:  Remember my login:

Forgot Your Password? Enter your email address or user name below and a new password will be sent to the email address associated with your profile.