 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-01-02 04:40
Didja see it?
Morales used a neck strap on his clarinet in the Rhapsody In Blue performance by the NY Phil!
Bob Phillips
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2012-01-02 15:46
Yes, Bob. You may be able to see the concert (or part of it) at the Philharmonic's web site. I'd been searching for his pre-performance interview. but couldn't find it.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-02 16:24
if you find the concert the interview is played during the intermission, it starts around minute 50. he is not wearing a neck strap during the interview where he demonstrates the glissando.
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2012-01-02 18:49)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-01-02 16:47
Every time I've seen Ricardo play, live or on TV, he's used a neck strap. So does Mark Nuccio.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-01-02 21:54
He, and many others use a neck strap. What's the big deal? ESP
eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ed
Date: 2012-01-02 22:07
I think if a player wants to use a strap to feel more comfortable, that is great. Some act as if it is some kind of act of weakness. I remember years ago having an issue with tendonitis due to overuse. Some "old school" folks acted as if I just needed to toughen up.
All that matters is what comes out of the horn.
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Author: bethmhil
Date: 2012-01-02 22:12
Ed, thank you.
BMH
Illinois State University, BME and BM Performance
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-01-02 22:32
Ed wrote:
> ...Some act as if it is some kind of
> act of weakness. I remember years ago having an issue with
> tendonitis due to overuse. Some "old school" folks acted as if
> I just needed to toughen up.
>
Many of the "old school" simply rested the instrument on their knees instead of using a strap. I think more clarinet players use neck straps now (sax players have of course used them since at least before I was born) partly because they're better designed today for clarinet use. Someone just had to start making and marketing them.
Karl
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Author: grannybflat
Date: 2012-01-03 00:45
I haven't been able to find a neck strap here in Thailand but I did find a rather cute looking leopard print telephone lanyard which works great and does the job. At my age I don't care if people think I'm a wimp and at least I'm in good company!
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Author: marcia
Date: 2012-01-03 02:56
No doubt neck straps are useful, but they are just one more thing to fiddle with when changing instruments. Sometimes with only a few seconds for the task.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-03 20:47
Confessions of a Clarinet Strap Newbie (new thread?)
When I took up clarinet again after a veeeeerrrrrry long break, neckstraps (and clarinet stands, VanDoren Mouthpieces, and inverted ligatures, I might add) were something entirely new to me. I wore a strap when I played sax, but for a soprano clarinet? -- completely off my radar. It is still something I am not used to seeing, and since it is not a universal practice, yes, it seems like a "big deal" when I see professionals wearing one (I note that not all of the clarinet players wore them in the NY concert; one didn't even use an inverted ligature - heresy!). So I am still in culture shock -- I have only seen clarinet straps for a few months! (when I joined a community concert band, where two out of six of players wear them). I guess when I participate in a thread like this it is partially to convince myself that this really is the new normal -- as are clarinet stands, "inverted" ligatures, or assuming a reed will need some work to play properly.
I do admit that at first I thought straps unnecessary (but have never articulated that until now), but with the purchase of a heavier clarinet I have given it a try. Sometimes I find it helpful for executing a difficult passage or to relieve strained tendons. At other times it gets in the way, I sometimes bump it with my (edit:) left thumb. It can be a bother when I have to constantly remove it when I want to mark the music or adjust a reed, etc. (And what do I do with the clarinet during a long rest?) I have arrived at a compromise, always wearing the strap around my neck, but noting places where I think I should hook it up if it's unhooked. Sometimes I go an entire practice session without hooking it, sometimes it's hooked most of the time.
All that being said, I haven't noticed anyone bashing straps on this board, although some of the comments above indicate there is, indeed, some bashing going on ---somewhere. I haven't noticed any bashing in this thread either, I hope that none of the comments, including my own, have been perceived that way.
(FWIW: I have not taken anything on this thread personally, or thought it was directed at me. Just responding to several who are surprised that clarinet straps aren't considered normal by all. Some of us have a lot of catching up to do!)
LJ / Laurie
(Mr. Laurie J. Braaten)
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2012-01-04 14:06)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-01-03 21:57
Marcia, our second player in the BSO uses a neck strap all the time and it's amazing how quickly he can change clarinets, unhook one and hook on the other. It's just a matter of doing it. He never misses a beat. ESP
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-01-03 22:23
The only knock on straps I'd make is a personal one, and I wonder if anyone else has encountered this (minor) problem and solved it. When I use a neck strap I find my left thumb bumping into it now and then, especially when I play passage work that goes back and forth over the break. It seems to happen more on my A clarinet than on my B-flat, which I imagine has to do with the geometry of the longer instrument. It doesn't interfere with my thumb, and I imagine I could just get used to it, but it distracts me just enough to break my concentration when I feel it.
Karl
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2012-01-03 23:40
KDK: I've heard of this issue and I know someone who created a solution. He had extensions made that extend the top of the thumbrest back towards you about an inch, keeping the neckstrap farther away from the instrument. I'm not sure the cost of the extension, but it was custom made with probably 2 bucks worth of metal.
I personally use a neck strap and appreciate the assistance. I only use the elastic neckstrap because I consider it an assistance rather than something to hold the instrument up completely for me. I believe it is still important to be aware of the right thumb pressing up ever so slightly to keep everything solid and consistent. When players use the inflexible neck straps, it is more likely to let the clarinet hang off the neck or to create unnecessary and uncomfortable tension in the neck from making the strap too short. This can also transfer tension to the embouchure, hands, etc. which defeats the purpose of the neck strap.
I like to think of it as something that makes the clarinet weigh less, making my job of proper playing mechanics just a little bit easier. It is not uncommon for me to practice with it off, or to go for extended periods without using it if I feel I've become too complacent letting the instrument "fall" rather than keeping the right amount of pressure with the right thumb.
As for Ricardo using a neckstrap- I'm not surprised, with the amount of playing he does.
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Author: marcia
Date: 2012-01-04 01:33
>Marcia, our second player in the BSO uses a neck strap all the time and >it's amazing how quickly he can change clarinets, unhook one and hook >on the other. It's just a matter of doing it. He never misses a beat. ESP
I guess it's just a matter of practise.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-04 04:57
Correction to my last comment, it's not fingers (of course), but my left thumb that sometimes bumps the strap (see Karl's comment).
Also, I failed to mention one huge advantage of a strap -- it helps me keep enough mouthpiece in my mouth.
LJ
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-04 20:56
The jupiter adjustable thumb rest l installed on my clarinet has a sliding bar with an eye at the end. But it does not bend toward me to give the strap extra clearence. Since the eye is at the tenon joint, it probably makes the problem a little worse than it would be with a conventional thumb rest. (The strap is hooked closer to the left thumb). Perhaps they have recently improved the design.
LJu
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2012-01-04 21:04)
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2012-01-04 22:28
Sorry LJBraaten for not making myself clear. What I was referring to was some sort of adjustable barrel that Jupiter has/had on one of their student clarinets.
Sylvain above gave a link to such a barrel. Yeah, I know , this is 'off' topic.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-01-05 01:34
LJ,
I'm using an elastic strap by BG. I set it so that the clarinet hangs naturally at very near the height where I play it.
I can stay hooked up to mark music and to swab --although I have to run the swab top to bottom because I don't have enough hands to balance the clarinet upside down and drop the swab in the bell.
I think that a rigid strap would be a problem for me. They are ok on sax because the sax rocks forward to clear my teeth, whereas I have to tip my head back or lower the clarinet to get it out of my mouth.
Bob Phillips
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2012-01-05 17:45
I guess I need more practice hooking and unhooking, looks like some of you have been down. Actually I have a way of writing on my music while the clarinet is hooked up. It involves balancing the clarinet on my knee and against my left arm, with the strap for support. I hesitate to do this however, since the clarinet is not always hooked in, and in an absent minded I may get careless and drop it ( forgetting that it's not connected to my neck.)
LJ
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Author: eefer ★2017
Date: 2012-01-14 22:23
Ricardo has used a neck strap for as long as I have known him (since 1998). If you are using a strap that hooks with the leather extension, they do get in the way of the left hand. But I have Jupiter thumb rests on all of my clarinets except my Leblanc/Backuns, and have never had an issue with any of them. And I have never had a problem with my Leblanc/Backuns, either. As for changing clarinets, I can make the change in a bar and a half, and I haven't missed a beat yet! I also like the fact that the strap (elastic BG leather) keeps the right amount of mouthpiece in my mouth constantly. And when I am not playing, the clarinet rests on the bell on my left knee (I am left-handed) without a problem.
Nancy
Nancy Buckman
AACC Symphony Orchestra
Opera AACC
Early Music Society of Northern MD
(and a lot of other ensembles, too)
nebuckman@gmail.com
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Author: jura
Date: 2012-02-19 17:11
What kind of neck strap uses Mr. Morales? How is it attached to the clarinet?
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