Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-06-19 12:38
Last year when playing in a show that required very fast switches from Ob. to E.H. I invented a simple leg hook which worked like a charm. It is a bit arts-and-crafts right now.
I'm a 5'11'' guy with big hands, so this may not work for everyone. Ladies, if you like long skirts this won't work for you - sorry.
I used a wire clothes-hanger. Straighten it out, cut off the hook plus the twisted wire from one end, and create a new hook of about 1.5 inches diameter, which you should top with something that will not scratch the instrument (say, a small white cork, which will show up in a darkened pit). I covered the wire with thin irrigation tubing for comfort and aesthetics.
Bend the wire into a 10 inch loop to start with, but leave the first 8-10 inches straight, with the hook facing outwards.
The hook is positioned facing out against the inside right shin-bone at a comfortable height. The wire runs up and over the flexed knee, beneath the thigh, once around the lower leg above the calf muscle (thus stabilizing and fixing the straight length of wire) and hooks up through the crossover thus formed. Create a sharp angle in the wire at this point so that it will hook under the crossover, facing outwards, and cut off the excess. Put a cap on this end too.
The result is a lightweight hook with some flexibility that is against your lower leg. Hook the bell of the Cor and adjust your leg position for angle, height etc. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do, you appreciate the ability to modify the angle and height of the instrument during play by flexing your knee and ankle.
This is an original invention and I hereby relinquish all rights to the concept. If there are inventors or companies out there who wish to create a product from this, it is all yours - go make the English Horn world a better place.
J.
PostScript: it is important to make sure your trouser-leg doesn't interfere with that infernal open-standing forked-F vent ..
Post Edited (2014-06-19 14:16)
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