Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2018-03-05 20:24
Hi Jonathan,
Your thorough and methodical approach, curious intellect and willingness to reach out for help is indicative of your passion for the clarinet and will help take you as far as possible. Well done my friend!
Indeed long B and low E are acoustically troubled notes on most every clarinet I have experienced. Low E tends to spread and lack core, and long B perhaps less so, yet it certainly lacks resonance compared to the C a step above.
Solving the troubled resonance issues of long B, I love the implementation of the suggested fingering (play long B and open the A key as well) whenever possible. It isn't a technically friendly fingering, certainly not commonly used in faster passages, but in lyrical or slow passages it can be VERY useful.
Just last Saturday night, in the OKC Phil's concert, we performed Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations and a couple of pages in there is a slow solo (low B, E, G, B). It lands on the long B. And so I used the A-key fingering to great satisfaction. It adds the missing core and places it right in the sweet spot.
So for example, that was the only place I had an exposed moment, where I used that fingering for the entire evening's program. Furthermore, I used it about half a dozen other moments in louder tutti sections to add core and projection as well. It isn't a fingering I often use, but a fingering I use on a daily basis, where appropriate.
Note, if out of practice or with just a slightly misplaced LH index finger, the danger is that I could squeak!!! Yikes. So care, practice and implementation in tutti sections is advised prior to the use in an exposed section. BUT in time you will fee more and more fluent with it...
When one has mastered this fingering it would be used in the Bolero solo effectively. That takes time, care, and great hand position. All good stuff.
The earlier we learn to use this fingering the more fluent we become. And so during your student years is a great time to start messing around with it.
Thanks for your comments about my barrel. I am delighted that you love it. And yes your curiosity about gear and the effects, merits or lack there of in your playing experience is a worthy endeavor. This bulletin board can be a good place to seek help and learn from the experiences of other clarinetists from all levels and walks within the profession. As you read more from the various regulars on the board you will learn who's advice is congruent with your level, your concepts as a player, and your style of communication.
I urge all to exercise caution and to embrace what makes sense. perhaps my advice about the A-key is something you will prefer not to implement for example. And that is okay. Trust your instincts, and continue to seek the help of good council. Keep up the good work!
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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