Author: paul
Date: 1999-09-15 18:02
I have a clarinet with the left hand Ab/Eb key. I personally prefer to call it a left hand key rather than an "auxilliary" key because it isn't auxilliary to me.
To put things into a fair context, I'm still stuck in the middle of Baermann III as an adult novice, scale drill after scale drill after scale drill. You get the idea. Boring but absolutely essential stuff. And, at my lowly level of skill, the drills go v-e-r-y slowly. Agonizing. Squeaking. Squawking. Wrong fingering, wrong register, wrong page, wrong planet (oops, went too far ). Again, you get the idea. All of a suddenly, I'm doing thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, octaves, arpeggios, etc. in the key of Ab (4 flats) or E (four sharps). The left hand Ab/Eb key comes in really handy in this series of drills.
However, the left hand Ab/Eb key is not the panacea of all ills. I still have only one C#/G# key, requiring the left hand fingering. So, even with the left hand Ab/Eb key, I still have to be careful to use the right hand keys when the C#/G# key is needed.
And, whether I like it or not, I'll still have to learn how to slide to fetch the correct note. The left hand Ab/Eb key just helps me delay the inevitable.
The main idea here is to practice and practice and practice some more to know your horn's advantages and disadvantages so you can get the most out of it. Most of all, the practice will help you become a better player, no matter what horn you play.
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
