 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: bill
Date: 1999-11-12 08:27
I have noticed that alternative mid C using the alternative fingering of the left hand pinky sometimes is very difficult to play. Is it me, the pads, or the springs. Any ideas.
Thanks
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Author: Eoin
Date: 1999-11-12 09:27
I presume you are not having a problem with standard right little finger C. Alternative C uses the same pads as standard C. If there is a problem with the pad, your right little finger might be strong enough to hold it down while the left one might not. You could say its a problem with you, but fixing the pad would solve it.
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Author: Dee
Date: 1999-11-12 13:20
Have a technician check it. It could easily be the springs or the key itself could be bent so that when you press it, it doesn't move far enough to close the pad. Or as the other respondent said, your left finger could be weaker at this time. However until you are sure that your instrument is in top notch condition, you won't be able to make that judgement.
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-11-12 14:26
You will need to learn how to use the left hand C fingering as a normal "muscle memory" reaction. You won't be able to make the clarion Eb fingering and then the C unless you have the left hand keywork functioning properly.
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Author: William
Date: 1999-11-12 15:37
Given you have checked out the other advice already given, perhaps an adjustment of the left-side c/f key would make it more user friendly. Bending it up sometimes helps (done by a repair person). Lots of practice is usually he key, however, if your horn is in good working condition. Good luck.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 1999-11-12 18:07
bill wrote:
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I have noticed that alternative mid C using the alternative fingering of the left hand pinky sometimes is very difficult to play. Is it me, the pads, or the springs. Any ideas.
Thanks
Bill -
If the standard fingering (right little finger) is OK, then the problem is in the left hand lever. It could be any one (or more) of the following, in approximate order of probability:
1. The thin piece of cork on top of the lower end of the left hand lever, cushioning the interface with the right hand key, has fallen out or worn through. If it is worn through, the difference in height between the metal and the remaining cork produces a "bump" that can bind against the lever. You need the cork, though, since the metal parts will click loudly against one another without some cushioning. Tom Ridenour has an ingenious solution. He puts tiny pieces of teflon on both sides and then reverses the spring on the left and lever, so that it is always in contact with the right hand key.
2. The top or bottom screw is loose. See if the left hand lever can be moved up or down more than a very small amount.
3. The lever has become bent so that it binds against other keys or the screws. Look carefully at the lever as you move the key to see whether it has become bowed.
4. The top or bottom post has become loose and has rotated slightly, binding against the key or the screws.
5. The wood has warped or shrunk so that the posts are closer together than they were originally, binding on the lever at both ends. To check, hold down the right hand key and check whether the left hand lever moves freely and there is at least a tiny amount of up and down motion of the lever, between the screws, is possible. If not, and a drop of oil at each end doesn't cure the problem, you need to take the instrument to a repair shop to have the lever shortened a tiny amount, or possibly have shorter screws put in.
Good luck. All it takes is looking carefully.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Doug Phillips
Date: 1999-11-13 13:16
If you have had your clarinet checked for any cork/adjustment problems as well outlined above, consider that many young players, when reaching for the left hand C key, reach too far outside the clarinet, pulling the left hand a bit out of position, most often causing a small finger leak with the ring finger of the left hand on its tone hole. When playing the left hand C key, try to move only the little finger to that key and stabilize the left hand on the clarinet.
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