 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-08-15 01:48
Use the Sp.Th.xxo|xxo cross fingering for the G#, LH F/C for the B# and RH D#.
If you have a LH Ab/Eb key, you can always take the B# with the RH and the D# with the LH lever. G# with the cross fingering as mentioned above.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2026-08-15 01:55)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon Giedt
Date: 2026-08-15 02:20
Thanks for the G# cross fingering! Didn't know that one. Now to practice it up to speed!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2026-08-15 02:25
.........or
just slide your RH pinky from the C to the D#
.........Paul Aviles
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon Giedt
Date: 2026-08-15 02:58
Attachment: More Slides.png (40k)
That's why I originally asked. It actually works better for me to slide the LH pinky from G# to C, but sometimes I forget and play the C with RH and have to slide to the D#.
Here is another passage that I'm trying the split G# fingering. I usually slide RH from the D# to the C# (with a clipped fingernail and "nose lube"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: SecondTry
Date: 2026-08-15 03:00
Attachment: Ab_Eb_Pinky_Exercises (1).pdf (25k)
Simply for the opportunity to learn, you might want to try a conventional left pinky G#, then take the B# with the right pinky, and while playing that B#, mid note, switch to the left pinky so you can play the D#.
This is not to conflict with Chris but rather to introduce the necessity in clarinet (especially if lacking a left pinky D# key) of learning mid note pinky swaps, even if they may best not be used here.
Of course if the passage is fast, this may not be easy. And if the passage is slow, and the conventional G# fingering voices better for you than Chris' alternative fingering, it may be an argument to possiby consider this approach.
I've attached an example of music that helps you encounter and train this.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon Giedt
Date: 2026-08-15 03:31
Second Try,
Thanks for the tips and exercises. You may have posted them before; the exercises look familiar. I played through them and my brain hurts (but I don't hate you).
The passages I was asking help on are quick, so the cross G# voicing is fine, and the mid-note pinky swaps impractical. However, I should practice mid-note swaps more often.
Even after 60 yrs playing, there is always something new to learn!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2026-08-15 18:02
SecondTry wrote:
> Simply for the opportunity to learn, you might want to try a
> conventional left pinky G#, then take the B# with the right
> pinky, and while playing that B#, mid note, switch to the left
> pinky so you can play the D#.
>
> Of course if the passage is fast, this may not be easy. And if
> the passage is slow, and the conventional G# fingering voices
> better for you than Chris' alternative fingering, it may be an
> argument to possiby consider this approach.
>
My earliest teachers all taught me to switch from right pinky to left pinky in passages like these. And always with the caveat that at fast tempos either the slide or Chris's 2+2 might be easier. I think, then, the answer is that there is no "best" fingering for these passages - or that "best" is context-dependent and not a universal.
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kdk
Date: 2026-08-15 18:07
Paul Aviles wrote:
> .........or
>
> just slide your RH pinky from the C to the D#
>
> .........Paul Aviles
>
I'm curious about this, Paul. I don't have any problem sliding *down* from D#(Eb) to RH C, or to RH C#(Db) if the tempo is too fast for a RH to LH switch. But I've always found sliding *up* from RH C to D# really unreliable. Do you do anything to make the upward slide easier?
Karl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: m1964
Date: 2026-08-15 20:19
I suggest buying a reform Boehm with rollers - either Wurlitzer or Schwenk and Seggelke.
Or, buy a used Oehler clarinet, have your tech remove those keys and retrofit them to your instrument.
Problem solved!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-08-15 22:21
There's no physical way you can slide your RH pinky from the C# up to the B# as both touchpieces are not only staggered, but they're both in different planes/heights from one another. RH slides going down from D#-C#/Eb-Db and C-B are doable (and across from C-Eb/B#-D# and back), but not up.
Get used to using the cross fingered upper register G#/Ab (xxo|xxo) as that's a lot more useful.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tom H
Date: 2026-08-16 06:07
Depends on the speed. Two left pinkys to start if fast. If slow enough L,R on the second note. Or the 2&2 G# fingering to start, depending on where you're coming from.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book -- Songburd Music (paper and digital)
Search title. Amazon.com (search Tom Heimer).
Boreal Ballad solo -- Songburd Music item -- search title.
Post Edited (2026-08-16 06:09)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2026-08-16 16:58
That 2+2 fingering for G# only works in that register; it's muffled and out of tune on low C# (at least, it is on my R13's.) If the passage were a 12th lower starting on low C#, either a slide or a switch would be necessary.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-08-16 18:15
Most cross and forked fingerings for upper register notes only work best in the upper register as they're often too sharp or too stuffy for any use as their lower register 12th equivalent.
Maybe that's acceptable with Classical era clarinets which don't have the luxury of a dedicated tonehole or more for every single note, but not with Boehm systems where clarity is the expectation, even if the regular low register C# fingering is still a compromise on the majority of clarinets, including Buffets.
It's the same with non Boehm systems (Oehler, German, Albert/simple, etc.) - while they have a lovely forked upper register Bb (xox|ooo) and cross fingered C (oxo|ooo), they don't work so well as a low register Eb or F as they're too sharp. It's a shame how convenient they would be if they worked in both registers.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JohnP
Date: 2026-08-16 18:27
There’s another passage on the same lines in The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky.
For some reason I couldn’t include any attachments to this message so you’ll have to look up the score if you’re interested. The score is here,
https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Rake%27s_Progress,_K078_(Stravinsky,_Igor)
the rather awkward solo is at figure 186.
Post Edited (2026-08-16 18:35)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-08-16 18:35
Copy and paste the link surrounded by < and > without any spaces and that should work.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
