 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ajhogan
Date: 2006-07-17 09:26
I have always wondered what are the differences between the various fingering systems, Boehm, Oehler, and Mazzeo to name a few. From what I know the Mazzeo system just has some additions to the Boehm system.
I play on a Boehm clarinet, and have no idea how similar the Oehler system is to it. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to playing one over the other?
Austin
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Author: David Peacham
Date: 2006-07-17 09:34
The Oehler system, in the strict sense of the term, is the system used on most professional-quality German clarinets. Cheaper German clarinets, and all Austrian clarinets, use slightly different systems which are often, incorrectly, also referred to as "Oehler".
The fingering is quite a lot different. There is no thumb ring, so thumb-on-all-fingers-off gives F# rather than F. Thumb-and-four-fingers gives chalumeau Bnat, not Bb. There is less duplication of the little-finger keys.
But the real difference between Oehler instruments and Boehm is not the fingering, but the bore. Instruments are also made with the German bore but (some variant of) Boehm fingering; the idea is to get the German sound but with the generally greater fluency of Boehm fingering. (At this point someone will post that he finds Oehler fingering easier than Boehm.)
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If there are so many people on this board unwilling or unable to have a civil and balanced discussion about important issues, then I shan't bother to post here any more.
To the great relief of many of you, no doubt.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2006-07-17 12:55
I don't find either system easier but must note that the "bug" is more the similarities than the differences. Much of the Oehler fingering is the same. The differences (as Mr. Peacham points out) begin with the F natural, which is fingered almost exactly like an Eb (just use the next higher side key). You can appreciate the headache here just playing a Bb scale and having to slide down to the Eb. The other area of difference is the bottom joint Bb/F. Here the standard fingering is BOTH the fork (1st and 3rd) for arpeggios and 1st and 2nd finger with the 3rd finger sliver key for running passages. B natural/F# is of course with just the 1st finger.
The tendency is for sharp keys to be easier on Oehler the way flat keys tend to be easier on Boehm.
And that really is essentially all the difference.
CSO players now use Oehler system horns occasionally in Mozart/Bruckner situations to appease the maestro on timbre but there is no advantage to one system over the other. It is more as David points out a bore/acoustic difference (and that too is an over emphasised difference - usually).
.........Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2006-07-17 12:58)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-07-17 13:08
Very well said, by both David and Paul. I believe that in several of the available books on clarinets [by Rendall, Brymer, and others], their development history, and modern usage is discussed at length. Also searching archives here will produce much info. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-07-18 00:22
Push comes to shove, you've got two basic systems, the German (with its variations Albert and Oehler and points in between) and the Boehm (developed in the mid 1800's, with its derivations like Maezzo). The main difference is the "reversal" of the F/F# fingerings (and oddly enough, also on the F/F# on the lower joint when in the upper register).
The lack of little finger keys is not as critical (and there are some German type clarinets that offer the duplicated keywork of the Boehm. Indeed, I've known of more than a few Boehm players who seldom if ever use all of the little finger alternatives. Sure, the Europeans have stuff like the "patent C#" mechanism, a neat little wrinkle if ever there was one, but they seem to do pretty well with the rollers and their technique.
Personally, I (who grew up on the Albert system) prefer the "German" horns for sharp keys and the Boehm for flat keys (as mentioned above). But, the differences are subtle, and in the heat of performance, particularly when you haven't the time to think about it, they don't seem to matter that much.
The last time that I spent a lot of time on a non-Boehm was a production of Hello Dolly a couple seasons ago. The key signatures were much into the sharp side (more sharps than a hospital dumpster, as I recently heard it referred to), and the Oehler horn seemed to be as facile as was the Boehm horn the last time that I played the show. I know that I like playing the Albert in sharps better, but the difference was still marginal, no matter how you sliced it.
In any event, the point is moot (to quote Jessie Jackson) since 99.9999% of the clarinet players in the world outside of Germany and Austria will never play anything but a Boehm. I, a partisan of the Albert system as being "not that bad", will be the first to say that you're not missing that much by not trying the others, although running a few chromatic scales on an Oehler will convince you that the staff of the Berlin Philharmonic are supermen indeed.
There is the used market for the Maezzo (Bundys are relatively cheap on that auction service), and the Amati top end German horn gives you most of the facilities of a "pro" level German clarinet at a reasonable price (under a thousand US dollars). For some of the others, like an S-K or the various Boehm "reformations", you're going to have a bit more difficulty in getting your hands on one. And, good luck finding a German system bass clarinet.
The much ridiculed Indian clarinets sometimes seen on eBay (they seem to have faded from view of late) offer a cheap way for those interested in "how things are elsewhere" to actually try the "other clarinet". I'd not buy one of them otherwise, but it's a cheap way to give the "simple" clarinet a once-over. Just don't show up for an audition carrying one under your arm...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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