 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-01-09 05:10
Related to my previous post on my loose thumbrest, is there a proper position for it? Right now my thumb lies under the clarinet inbetween my first and second fingers. My instructor told me that the more "natural" position for most people was to have it directly under their first finger. Then I saw a post about the hand problems and it was suggested that maybe it was due to the thumbrest being too low.
Is the current position of my thumbrest going to cause longterm problems? It doesn't hurt right now (it's very comfortable) but I was wondering whether it would be advisable to adjust it to a better position since I need to bring it to the shop anyway.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: ron b
Date: 2004-01-09 07:07
Hi, Alexi -
The BB, wonderful as it is, does not make it any easier to know your particular situation, whether your fingers are long or short, if you cover the open holes comfortably, if you handle your trill keys well with what you have - without observing you and your instrument. All the wires and IPs along the way blurr our vision just a wee bit too much.
From personal experience I would suggest that when you take your horn to the shop you play something so your tech can see what you're doing. Then, if you mutually conclude another position might suit you better, the tech can alter the rest before re-installing it or reposition it if that's what you decide is best -- with little, if any, additional labor involved.
Whichever way you decide to go, your tech is better able to help you determine the best, most cost effective way for you than us BBers. As was pointed out in earlier thoughtful responses, this should not be a terribly expensive repair. It's one of the three most common clarinet ailments.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-01-09 10:45
Before buying anything expensive, have the thumbrest inverted. It can be painful at first since your thumb will be sitting on the base of the thumbrest (I've gotten used to this now and don't even think of it anymore), but that way you can see how it feels to play with the hand in a more natural position. This is a very individual thing, but it's worth a try, and is cheap. If you like it there you can have a good tech do the job of raising it properly. Most people find that the rest is too low. In my case a higher thumbrest benefitted my hand's responsiveness to faster passages in the low notes.
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Author: Brent
Date: 2004-01-09 12:58
A small piece of rubber tubing (or a purchased thumbrest cushion) over the inverted thumbrest will help with that pain...
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-01-09 16:10
Actually I use a piece of rubber tubing and it's very useful indeed, but not for the flat part where the screws attach it to the instrument - this is, of course, when the thumbrest is inverted. Someday now I'll go to a tech and get new holes drilled and attach this properly, maybe even have it raised a bit more - but I've developed a callous on the side of my thumb so it doesn't bother me anymore. Now if only my double embouchure could be so pain-free! That's what I get for having a day job.
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Author: Henry
Date: 2004-01-09 16:23
Alexi...Inverting the thumbrest is certainly worth a try. I did this a few months ago and the difference is quite dramatic, for me at least. I have much less trouble now to reliably hit the right-hand pinky E/B key, for example. Because I have the rubber "protector", the feeling to my thumb has not really changed. By the way, the position of my thumb is now roughly under the first right (index) finger. I also found it beneficial to turn the lower joint slightly to the right, so that the two parts of the bridge key (between the upper and lower joints) are no longer perfectly aligned. You may wish to try that as well. Good luck!
Henry
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