 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Reese Oller
Date: 2025-10-12 09:28
Hi all,
Something I've noticed lately-- I'm doing Rose study 4 this week, which is a lot of diatonic motion in the G major scale. I have a lot of trouble controlling my fingers when going UP the G major scale, and trouble with my fingers moving too fast DOWN the scale. Any advice to conquer this?
Thank you!
Reese Oller
Clarinet student (performance major at Millikin University)
I can play bass clarinet, Eb clarinet, BBb contra, alto saxophone, bassoon at a decent level, and flute in a pinch.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2025-10-12 11:32
Reese Oller wrote:
> Hi all,
>
>
> Something I've noticed lately-- I'm doing Rose study 4 this
> week, which is a lot of diatonic motion in the G major scale. I
> have a lot of trouble controlling my fingers when going UP the
> G major scale, and trouble with my fingers moving too fast DOWN
> the scale. Any advice to conquer this?
>
Almost always, both uneven rhythm and rushing are caused by excess tension in your hands. So the first step is to concentrate on loosening your grip. Maybe a neck strap would take some weight off your wrist - you could be clenching too hard with both hands trying to hold and support the instrument. If you normally practice and take lessons standing up, try, just for troubleshooting purposes, to play the same passages sitting with the clarinet resting on your knee or even held more firmly between your knees. I'm not telling you to play that way as a normal approach, but if some of the tension eases because you're supporting the clarinet with something other than your right wrist, it's information worth knowing.
Next, you need to start to notice which intervals or groups of notes are problematic and concentrate on what is making the fingers tight as you play those notes, especially fingering habits that leave specific fingers out of position for the notes that cause the problems (e.g. keeping right-hand holes unnecessarily covered as you go through A4 and B4 to C5. Curing rushing can be as simple as slowing down and, again, noticing where in the scale the rushing begins. Changing the rhythm pattern from steady eighth or sixteenth notes can help develop control. But the main thing, I think, is to try to zero in on the specific control issues rather than thinking of the whole scale as the problem.
Karl
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-10-12 11:59
I wrote some very tuneful exercises based of Mozart's Solfeggi, which he composed for his singer wife. They offer good exercises in crosssing the register break and are pleasant to practice. Don't hesitate to write to me and I will send them to you.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Reese Oller
Date: 2025-10-12 13:14
I do use a neck strap and practice sitting down (rather unfeasible for me to stand as most of my sessions are about 2-3 hours).
I have noticed that the problem seems to be in my left hand more than my right (I am right handed).
I'll see about maybe getting an audio clip of it. I could certainly be gripping a little bit too hard, or maybe I've just got too much tension in my left hand. I really have a lot of trouble with left hand notes, anyway. Things like D to index finger F#, or F# to A really give me trouble.
Reese Oller
Clarinet student (performance major at Millikin University)
I can play bass clarinet, Eb clarinet, BBb contra, alto saxophone, bassoon at a decent level, and flute in a pinch.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2025-10-12 16:41
Work with a metronome.
Slow it down to a point where you can handle going up and down the described scales with evenness.
Stay there for a while. Practice at this speed.
With very small increased intervals in metronome speed that are so small that it's nearly impossible to discern a difference in faster tempo from the prior speed at which you played, practice at this new tempo.
You may reach a speed where evenness becomes hard. Back the metronome down and work at a speed you can handle. Be patient. You may reach a speed today that is harder or easier tomorrow.
Slowly increase the metronome speed this way. Even back it down and practice at different tempos to achieve evenness at all speeds.
Don't work at a speed at which you can't play evenly or these tricky passages. All you will be doing is reinforcing mistakes if you do. Then you'll have to unlearn them before incorporating correct tempo.
This is the fastest way to achieve your goals, but it may paradoxically, not be fast. Advances sometimes take time.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-10-12 19:53
Here is another area where I have completely changed my thoughts about approach in my old age. I had ALWAYS thought the problems of noteyness or rhythm rested in the physical. It appears to me now that much of this resides in your ear/brain. As Michael Lowenstern said in at least one of his many videos (that I like), your brain tells your fingers where to go as they just flop around.
A good "proof" of this is watching some great players with impeccable technique move their fingers wildly and in a most overly clumsy looking manner and yet the sound is fantastic. Ideally we can all benefit from finger discipline.... but it is not necessary.
Michael's practice approach within the said video refers to running sixteenth note passages. He recommends starting the passage one sixteenth note in, and then play the passage. Then the next sixteenth note in, and then the next, and so on. The idea is to prevent your brain from hearing the notes only associated with a particular point in the rhythmic scheme. That can lead to unwanted hitches in the rhythm.
..............Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2025-10-12 20:00)
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Author: brycon
Date: 2025-10-13 09:43
Quote:
Something I've noticed lately-- I'm doing Rose study 4 this week, which is a lot of diatonic motion in the G major scale. I have a lot of trouble controlling my fingers when going UP the G major scale, and trouble with my fingers moving too fast DOWN the scale. Any advice to conquer this?
It looks as though you're a college student. My advice, then, would be to bring this question to your teacher, who's presumably an expert, hears you play every week, and can therefore best diagnose your issue(s).
Playing up scales or arpeggios can be tricky on wind instruments because the fingers are opening rather than closing. Indeed, we're much more comfortable closing our fingers: our hands are meant to clasp things; we have many years of practice typing on a keyboard, playing video games, etc.; and closing the fingers gives a rhythm to the finger motion, as though each finger's playing its own percussion instrument as it lands on the instrument.
So you could be lacking the rhythmic clarity in the fingers as you lift off. But, of course, you could have inefficient finger motion, you could have coordination issues, you could have too much tension, and so forth. So ask your teacher because it could be any one of a myriad of issues, and following internet advice could easily lead you down an incorrect path and cause even more problems.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-10-13 12:25
We all pretty much respect the physical principle that when we cross the register breaks (there are two!) going up, we need need a little more breath support; an added push from the diaphragm and abdomen. The only trouble is that we forget to do this when we're going down. This also requires that added subtle little push. Do this consciously for a while, then it will become automatic and second nature to you.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2025-10-13 12:26)
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Author: David Eichler
Date: 2025-10-14 02:59
Possible aids. Slow practice, focussing on the problem areas, slow interval repetitions, making up small sequences with problem areas, etc. Opperman studies for left and right hands. Taffenel/Gaubert flute exercise #1.
Post Edited (2025-10-14 03:02)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2025-10-14 13:05
I was playing a piece with some friends last week end that had a lot of gruppettos in it ("gruppetti", to be pedantic.) . I noticed that sometimes my line broke a little when the gruppetti were straddled over the register breaks. So this morning I practiced gruppetti and found that it's a great way to practice smoothness and evenness in managing the register break. You must make every note of the gruppetto sing and not just rush through it; a singing line rather than a smear. I'm still trying to figure out how to play the clarinet!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2025-10-14 13:07)
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