 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-02-15 19:23
i need to use the alternate 1-1 fingering for Bb - except the note doesnt come out as easily as the traditional fingering. do i need to tweak (bend?) something. i have the bridge lined up.
JL
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Author: donald nicholls
Date: 2002-02-15 19:38
check that the pad below the E hole (i'm sure you can work out which one it is) is closing properly... it should be closed by you lowering the rings of the right hand (or, in this case, just by putting your first finger down.
it's not closing? that's most likely to be your problem... even if it is just a little bit "out" this note will be dodgy.... ok
so- don't bend the key, get some adhesive tape (scotch etc) or maybe sticky labels (like the ones you are suposed to put on cassette tapes) and stick these- one layer at a time- under the bridge key. They probably won't stick to the cork- put them on the part of the linkage that doesn't have cork on it.
add a layer of this bit by bit until the note works (assuming that your problem was the linkage) and then stop- too much built up under the linkage will cause your right hand notes to not work properly!
just leave it with the tape/label until you next need to go to a repair person, and they can then put a new cork on the key for you.
you really could have worked this out just by looking at the clarinet- so maybe it is something a bit more problematic..... but there's not much to go wrong with this key. If it is something more complicated (maybe there is excessive side play in the lower ring and pad on the top joint?) then a repair person is definately called for.
nzdonald
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Author: Dee
Date: 2002-02-15 20:24
If you are not comfortable trying to correct this yourself, just take it to a repair tech. It is an extremely common problem that many clarinettists are not aware of. Many people are not mechanically inclined and would not correctly diagnose this problem anyway even if they looked
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-02-15 20:47
janlynn -
Your bridge key is almost certainly out of adjustment.
Cut a strip of thin paper about 1/8" wide and 2" long. Cigarette paper is best, but newsprint will do.
Put the strip under the pad at the top of the right-hand rings, press lightly on one of the rings and draw the strip out. Then, put the strip under the pad above the left hand middle finger ring, press the right hand rings down and draw the strip out. There should be the same amount of resistance for both pads.
On your instrument, the resistance on the upper joint pad will almost certainly be lower. You need to bend the upper part of the bridge key down or put a slightly thicker cork on it, so the pressure will be balanced.
This adjustment is quite easy, but, at least the first time, you should get it done at a repair shop, so you can see how it's done. It's probably the easiest and least expensive repair you can have performed on your clarinet.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2002-02-16 14:38
Very good advice above, I glad to see this useful fingering discussed . On "working-up" a student's clarinet, I always chech out and adjust the bridge linkage [it needs to be quite precise so as to not harm the full-fingered notes!!], also the low E [/B] actuated by the left-hand little finger alone, the latter being the best for checking no-leak performance. This 1-1 [index fingers] is even more useful on bass cls on the low Bb/Eb rhythmic passages [along with tubas etc] which frequently appears in band music! Ive found on some soprano cls that this Eb/Bb may be a bit sharp to the other [2 or 3 {fork}] fingerings available, so be advised. Yes, find a cl-playing repairer for good results. Luck, Don
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