 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Cliff Scale
Date: 2003-08-10 15:44
I am wondering if any one has a solution to the high notes in Var. 1. Does anyone have a special fingering that they prefer to help the quality of sound and ease of playing?
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Author: RRMatthew
Date: 2003-08-10 16:30
This is a great piece. Play the high G with the first finger of the left hand and keep your tongue high and then use long or covered F - works great with a little slow practice.
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-08-10 17:21
I agree with the over-blown B for G fingering... I however, just used regular F finger, with left C on the lower passage. Just watch the G... It can be quiet flat if you aren't careful.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2003-08-14 04:15
For the B4-F6 leap, if you play C5 with the left hand pinky and B4 with the right hand pinky, then the long F should be pretty easy. I think this is more secure than the short F, particularly the second time when the passage should be soft.
For the C5-G6 leap, as an alternative to the "overblown B," you might also try the following fingering for G6:
RT oxx xxx C
In other words, to play the G, simply raise your left index finger. In his book of fingerings, Jay Arnold identifies this as one of the three best fingerings for this note with regard to tone quality and intonation. Curiously, Tom Ridenour does not include it in his book. Whether you like it will probably depend on how it responds for you.
Best regards,
jnk
"Instant gratification takes too long."
Post Edited (2003-08-14 04:18)
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-08-14 13:45
This is a really fun piece, and of course I wonder what you are doing in the cadenza? I believe there is a high A connection which is quite tricky to do, and this requires a fine reed that allows the freedom to get the air through the upper altissimo.
The tendency to go with B1st finger is okay provided the note tunes fairly well. If you are playing it really fast there are a few fake fingerings that might work well depending on the mouthpiece you have...its good to consult with the tuner, and also make sure the top notes in that section don't go flat!!
David Dow
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Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-08-14 16:51
Are you playing this piece with piano or w/ orchestra/band? Just wondering. In the orchestra/band version, the flutes play those high notes with you in the first variation... And you can sort of hide behind them, which isn't the best approach, but it makes you feel safe, right = ) ? In most of the recordings I've heard, the high note (F/G) is very indistinct because of the large register leap and that the flutes are doubling it (and clarinets sound more similar to flutes in such a high register).
I'm not encouraging you to wimp out or not play those notes, but Rossini wrote it that way for a reason (whatever that may have been) and there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of it!
Just something to think about.
Don Hite
PS - the flute doubling is a plus, unless the notes are out of tune, at which point it becomes a HUGE minus... nothing's ever easy, is it?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-08-14 17:03
Jack Kissinger's G6 suggestion (TR oxx/xxx F/C) is interesting and worthy of consideration. That particular fingering can be slippery to voice, but if it works with your set-up, this could be another alternative.
An alternate version of Jack's G6 suggestion, and one that (at least on my Buffets) tunes and voices a bit better is:
TR xoo/xxx F/C
Again, as in Jack's suggestion, the advantage to this fingering is that the F/C right pinky can be held down from the previous note (C5), and in this case, only 2 fingers must be raised to reach the G6.
As mentioned above, the most common way to finger the above passage is to use the "overblown B" for the G6.
Anyone (David Dow? Jack? others?) want to exchange ideas on the 2 different high A6 passages? (first page and last page) ...GBK
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2003-08-15 21:53
More than happy to exchange ideas because I will probably learn a better way to play the passages.
In the introduction, for the two passages where there is a "leap" from F6 to A6, I simply play the long F6 (which requires no right-hand vent key) and play the A6 using (what I learned as) the standard fingering (F#/C# vent), i.e.,
RT oxx ooo F#/C#
For the passage where A6 is the "turn-around" note in an ascending-to-descending scale (I don't know any other way to describe it -- perhaps an eingang?), I don't do anything particularly special. I use the short F6, the normal (as I learned it) G6:
RT oxx xxo Ab/Eb
and the Ab/Eb vent for the A6, i.e.,
RT oxx ooo Ab/Eb.
In the nasty run about 10 bars from the end of the piece, starting with the G#, I play:
G# RT oxx oxo Ab/Eb
A RT oxx ooo Ab/Eb
G RT oxx xxo Ab/Eb (could use overblown B)
F RT oxx C#/G# ooo Ab/Eb
E RT oxx ooo Ab/Eb
D RT oxx xoo Ab/Eb
F RT oxx C#/G# ooo Ab/Eb
A RT oxx ooo Ab/Eb
G RT xoo ooo Ab/Eb
I use the "overblown B" fingering for this last G6 because it is difficult for me to slur from A6 to G6 using my normal fingering for G6. Perhaps GBK's fingering is also a solution here.
Another passage that I would like to see discussed is in bars 5 and 6 of the last repeated section of the final variation. The last beat of bar 5 is a 16th note run E6,C5,B4,C5. Bar 6 begins with a 16th note run G6,F6,E6,D6. I get goosebumps every time I hear this and, on the recordings I have, it always sounds smooth and effortless. I find playing it to be anything but. I finally settled on the "overblown B" fingering for the G6. Before that, I tried using the "left-hand" fingering for C5 to my normal G6. The descending run was fine but the leap was too uncertain at tempo. Using my previous suggestion for G, i.e.,
RT oxx xxx F/C
solved the problem with the leap but I could only get the F6 which followed to speak about half the time. There has to be a better way -- again, perhaps GBK's variation of the "overblown B" may be the answer.
That's how I do/did these runs. I look forward to other ideas to try.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-08-16 04:05
There are 4 high A's (A6) in the Rossini, and each must be approached in a different manner.
For the first passage in the Introduction where there is a skip from F6 to A6, Jack's suggestion (long F6 to the standard A6 fingering) is the most
logical and practical solution.
For the second A6 passage in the Introduction (the F6, G6, A6 ascending and descending scale line) I use a different tactic than Jack's suggestion (which, by the way, is a perfectly fine choice):
Play the F6 with the standard short fingering: TR oxx C#/G# / ooo Eb/Ab
Play the G6: TR oxo Eb/Bb / ooo Eb/Ab
Play the A6: TR oxx / ooo Eb/Ab
and then reverse the pattern for the descent.
The advantage of this fingering pattern is all finger movement is confined to one hand and in the same overtone partial, which lends to smoothness and matching of colors.
The third A6 passage happens 3 measures from the end of the Introduction and can be played with either the short or long F6 fingering (I prefer the long F6) before the A6.
The final A6 passage (the chromatic run 10 bars from the end) I play exactly the way Jack outlined, including the "overblown B" fingering for the final G6 (great minds must think alike!)
The other passage in question (bars 5 and 6 of the last repeated section of the final variation), again I use an "overblown B" for the G6 in bar 6. As I put a slight tenuto on that note, I am careful to keep the pitch up and not let it go flat.
Anyone else want to throw out some additional ideas? ...GBK
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