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Re: A clarinet issues

Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2019-10-28 19:40

Have you played A clarinets much? The A clarinet is longer, and the distance between individual holes is wider. Your fingers need to stretch more, and this particularly applies to the pinky keys. You might be pulling one of your other fingers, such as the r. ring finger, slightly off the corresponding hole when your adjacent pinky is reaching for the keys to play the notes you mention. If so, the leak thereby caused could produce the symptoms you describe.

This would become more likely after you've been playing a little while and fatigue from the unaccustomed stretching sets in. It's worsened by the position of the thumb rest on the R13 A clarinets, which is lower than it should be - lower than the thumb rest on R13 Bb clarinets, even accounting for the added length of the joint. That low position contributes to hand fatigue, and might lead to similar issues of fingers moving slightly off the tone holes they're supposed to be covering.

My smallish hands had this very problem. I've worked on stretching as part of every warmup, and I alternate Bb and A clarinets on succeeding practice days so the fingers will keep accustomed to the extra stretch.

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