 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2008-07-25 15:11
I know one, if not the best answer is to practice, but when trying to rapidly alternate the throat A-Ab-A-Ab... the fingering seems awkward, especially coming from/going to other notes where I have a normal (extended, somewhat perpendicular and slightly rounded) position of my left index finger (#1) relative to the clarinet. It seems that I have to slightly rotate my left hand wrist so as to lay the index finger 2nd knuckle against the Ab key to leave the tip of my left index finger free to independently move the A key rapidly. Is this the best approach?
I've experimented laying the middle of my left middle (#2) finger against the Ab key which then leaves the left index (#1) finger free to toggle the Ab key - the advantage being that I don't have to rotate my wrist, less total hand motion, etc. and I seem to be able to play faster and more evenly. Yet when I asked a pro about this, she said she never heard of doing this. Is this acceptable?
I saw some Oehler clarinets with extended throat Ab levers, and wondered that if this 2-fingered approach to A-Ab-A-Ab sequences is OK, why Boehm system doesn't or couldn't have an extended (about 3/4" toward the bell) Ab lever so that one wouldn't have to shift the left hand (toward the mpc) so that the middle finger could get access to the Ab lever.
Perhaps it is a naive question, but I don't want to learn bad habits, or make unnecessary hand motions, etc.
Thanks
-JMM
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-07-25 15:28
Rosario Mazzeo had his Ab key extended. See http://www.usd.edu/smm/Mazzeocollection.html. Extending the Ab key is a simple alteration, which any well-equipped shop could do. On many, but I don't think all, Oehler instruments, the A key doesn't open the Ab key, so an Ab/A trill would be out of tune with both keys open.
If it goes quickly (that is, in a trill), you can start with the standard A fingering, let the A key close so you're playing Ab, and trill with the next-to-top trill key, which will give a sharp A, but if you start the trill with the A in tune, the ear holds that note even if the upper note is too sharp. On a half-step trill, better to be too wide than too narrow.
Learning to move around in the throat area is something every clarinetist has to work on. The Langenus Method (I think in Part 3) has an excellent etude for this.
Work on small groups of notes (3, 4 or 5) that move around in the A/Ab area. Watch yourself in a mirror to make sure your finger movements, especially with your left index finger, are as small and economical as possible.
Ken Shaw
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-07-25 16:38
Another way to handle this situation if you are seated and won't have to use your right hand immediately is to rest the bell of the instrument on your knees, pick up your right hand, and trill the A key with the right hand while you hold the G#/Ab key down with your left. This is useful only in limited situations and is probably more difficult than Ken's approach, but it mght be useful if you have to start trilling slowly and speed up--that way you can keep your usual A intonation and don't have to switch fingerings in mid-trill.
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Author: Ryder
Date: 2008-07-25 17:57
Simple...
Using your left index, as you normally would, hold down both the A key and Ab at the same time then simply release the A key and press it again, and so on.
Also, depending on what notes are next, you could hold the Ab with your thumb and use the index to press the A.
"Yet when I asked a pro about this, she said she never heard of doing this. Is this acceptable?"
My response to that- Does it work? If yes there is nothing wrong with it. If you played your instrument upside down, switched hands and flipped the mp over, but were technically flawless and had amazing tone, would you go back to "normal" because someone said they had never heard of that? Of course not. My point is that if you find something that works, stick with it, even if it looks weird and "abnormal".
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-07-25 22:53
As Ken mentioned, on Oehler clarinets there is no connection between Ab and A. If they have such a trill they can, and you can too, play the Ab and then add the register key to get to A. Not the best sound, but an option if you need it.
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Author: Mark G Simon
Date: 2008-07-26 20:27
One shouldn't have to rotate the left wrist at all to play the throat A and G# keys.
Page 214 of Stubbins has a good illustration of the hand position necessary to accomplish this. Stubbins says:
"The fingers should lay across the keys of the clarinet at approximately a forty-five degree angle with the vertical axis of the instrument. The left forefinger should touch the G# key ... with the second knuckle and the A natural key next to the G# key should be touched with the inside corner of the first knuckle of this same finger. The tip of this finger should over-lap the first tone-hole. The contact of this finger with these two keys should remain undisturbed even during the most rapid passages, unless the fingering requires that it should be removed from the instrument entirely. This position will provide a fulcrum for the left hand and will eliminate most of the unnecessary motion of the left wrist which causes a loss of efficiency in finger motion."
One should be able to execute a trill from G# to A just from motion of the index finger above the 2nd knuckle.
Clarinetist, composer, arranger of music for clarinet ensemble
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2008-07-26 20:40
When I trill the A to the Ab I simply hold the Ab key down and trill the A key with the top joint of the index finger. My finger never leaves the Ab key. Of course I’m a lefty, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. When I do the same on the bass clarinet there is a little wrist action involved because the keys are heavier and larger. ESP www.peabody.jhu.edu/457 a little Mozart
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-07-29 08:21
Mark -
Opposite of what I was taught!... I was taught to keep my hands (a) nearer 90 degrees (b) away from the G# key... the slightest accidental excess pressure on the G# key can kick a note into the altissimo.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-07-29 08:48
As Bassie mentioned, I'm another (UK resident) that was told to keep my fingers as perpendicular as possible to the clarinet while playing instead of playing with angled or 'sax player's fingers'. And keeping the wrists down and elbows out so there's an angle between your forearm and the back of your hand which will bring the side keys in easy reach.
I was taught to adopt a more 'oboe-like' posture (but without the downward angled fingers) while playing clarinet with the clsrinet held out in front, as well as the sideways braced 'smile' embouchure which keeps the lips and surrounding tissues thin (but is more prone to hissing from the sides of the mouthpiece).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2008-07-30 04:18
Ed Palanker's suggestion is exactly what I do. I'm right-handed, so I don't think that would make a difference. It's simply the logical solution, unless you have very small hands.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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