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Re: Thumb (and thumb rest) position

Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2018-02-20 03:52

I've had similar issues relating to the low position of the thumbrest on my R13 clarinet in A. I do two things to address them:

a) I practice the A instrument every other day. If the period gets much longer between plays, the problems start to come back.

b) My warmup on A days contains a RH exercise designed to work the stretches for that hand. Basically r. pinky circles (but a harder sequence between the 4 pinky keys,) repeated with different pivot notes that progress up the chromatic scale. Slow then fast. Doing this reveals that I vary physically some each day, but the accustomed exercise seems to even it out pretty well now. But I have to diligently do it, or after playing a while some kinds of difficult music will incur the described fingering issues.

I suspect it isn't a coincidence that kdk posted this question and the one about Dvorak's Golden Wheel together. The latter contains key signatures with lots of flats, key signatures which generally tend to work the RH stretches more.

I'd like to try the Kooiman device. Just for the A; no problem on my R13 Bb where the stretches aren't as wide and the thumb rest is higher too, quite a bit higher.

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