The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-09-28 05:14
What throat tones do you use resonance fingerings on? Do you use special fingerings for similar reasons for notes in other registers?
Do you always use resonance fingerings, or only for longer duration notes?
Do resonance fingerings or their use vary between similar instruments, or different brands, or models, or pitches / sizes of clarinet?
Any comments about general observations or particular examples of resonance fingerings?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-09-28 16:16
I use resonance fingers up to the point where the technique no longer allows (also usually not germane). The main one for me is throat Bb which I finger with the register and "A" keys. In conjunction I put down two and three of the left [sorry, missed these key fingers on the first iteration of this post] and the three right hand fingers.
For the notes "A" and G# I use the first RH finger when those notes are more drawn out. There are more resonant options but they make those notes lower. If you tend to set your horn toward a "higher pitch" and PLAY lower, those can work better.
As for G which I'd used resonance fingers in the past, I find it an unnecessary lowering of the pitch since the G can be made resonant enough without them.
Most resonance and alternate fingerings seem to work across various brands (of course I tend toward certain horns that work for me), but once you are used to "fiddling" to find what works, you quickly move to slightly different fingerings if the current ones for you don't work on a different horn.
.............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2025-09-28 20:30)
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Author: MikeSF
Date: 2025-09-28 17:57
I find resonance fingerings very useful , not only to make minor intonation adjustments to the throat tones, but for consistency of timbre, particularly when going over the break . Keeping a few RH fingers down can strategically make playing between A and B, for example, very smooth.
To make precise intonation adjustments, use of resonance fingerings is instrument specific; it is best to map out your specific tuning curve and figure out what tweaks to apply.
I usually do not bother with slight tuning adjustments for quick passages, but for held notes, I may apply RH3 for F, and RH2 and RH3 for G, G#, A and A# for best results.
I do not use an RH resonance finger for F sharp, as my preferred sidekey fingering is spot on.
In altissimo, from high D and up, I sometimes use the RH Eb key to raise several notes.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2025-09-28 22:26
Philip Caron wrote:
> What throat tones do you use resonance fingerings on?
For held Bb4 notes.
I finger an along with the side key second from top, along with some left hand fingers down to control the tendency for it to be sharp for me.
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Author: Reformed
Date: 2025-09-28 22:47
For the Ab/G# at the top of the treble staff, the pinky C/F key often helps to blend this weak note.
The list of resonance fingerings is as long as a clarinet.... Experimentation can be rewarding.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-09-29 04:01
Donald Montanero made it clear how important resonance fingerings where to his playing. Somewhere on YouTube there is a video at some conference where he plays a slow example that he assures everyone would not sound that great without them.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2025-10-03 10:17
Not to forget that resonance fingerings make the legato over the break much more fluent!
Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland
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