 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: stebinus2
Date: 2009-07-15 05:52
Should finger and thumb rings sit even with tone hole inserts when depressed or a little above and if so how much? Mitigating factors? Age of player? Finger thickness?
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2009-07-15 07:30
You need pressure on the hole and on the ring. For me, the ring sits a shade higher than the hole, so my rounded fingertip can play both.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-07-15 07:58
Basically it needs to be comfortable to seal the hole with the finger and have the pad seal too. The best height can depend on the shape of the finger, for example someone with really wide flat fingers might need the rings lower than someone with lean curvy finger tips. Also the angle and place where someone presses the ring can make a difference.
However, I consider the height I like normal, and I notice that around like 95% of the players prefer it exactly the same also. If I suggest to someone, after adjusting it to "normal", that they should notice if they want to have a different ring height, it is very rare they do. It is even rarer that someone asks for a different ring height by themselves.
I can't say what this "normal" height is but maybe around 0.5-0.8 mm.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-07-15 08:29
Ideally, rings should be set so they're slightly higher than the tonehole chimney within as this will ensure the pad closes as the fingers do. If the rings are set flush or lower than the chimneys, someone with narrow fingers will have a lot of trouble.
Likewise, someone with wide fingers will have trouble if the rings are set too high in relation to the chimneys, so a compromise has to be met - the rings should sit slightly higher by around 0.5mm and evenly all the way around so when the ring keys are down, there's an equal amount of ring sitting above the entire circumference of the chimney.
Although this isn't always the case and only some manufacturers get it right (even less nowadays), but ring keys can be adjusted (by bending) and set up so they sit evenly all the way round. When using cork pads, it's important the rings are set higher than the chimneys.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-07-16 14:12
It also depends a lot on the firmness of the finger pad and skin.
My thick hard skin needs them slightly lower than a player who has soft, squishy skin that has never had a hiding.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-07-16 18:40
Gordon: "squishy skin that has never had a hiding."
Now, that has to be a real "down under" thing. At first I thought you were talking about the clarinet pads.
When I worked at Sunbeam we made Sheepshearers so I learned a bit about sand in the wool and when I was a kid my Dad gave me a tanning occasionally. But I don't recall ever getting "hided".
Bob Draznik
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-07-17 12:55
I meant a hiding in a more general sense, from washing dishes in very hot water without a dishwasher, carrying concrete blocks, and regular exposure to sand paper, soil, sharp tools, soldering heat, solvents, etc.
The skin's response is to grow thicker and harder.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2009-07-17 13:54
Count me as one with skinnier fingers who likes a lower ring height. Don't know if it's something about my finger angle to the holes or what.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2009-07-18 15:28
It also has to do with whether the player uses the cylindrical part of the finger pad, opposite the base of the nail, or the more spherical shaped part of the finger pad closer to the tip.
I suspect you use the former, Katrina. 
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