 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Lesleigh
Date: 2005-05-10 14:35
I am a clarinet player (for over 20 years), and always accepted that for all woodwinds, the left hand goes on top. My elementary recorder students want to know "why?" I never questioned the subject before, and therefore never questioned my own teachers and professors through the years. I have been looking for answers in several different places, but nobody seems to address why the left hand is always on top and the right hand is always on bottom. Please help me give a reasonable explanation to my students other than, "that's just the way it's always been".
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2005-05-10 16:37
I think unfortunately, "that's just the way it's always been" might be the only answer anyone can really give. Back before instruments had all the keywork that they do now, it didn't really matter which hand was on top. If you look at Baroque oboes, the low C key on the bottom of the instrument is made to be played with either the right or left hand. Since that was the only key on the horn and the rest of tube only had holes, it didn't matter which hand you played with on top.
However at some point as more keys began to be added to instruments, some standard had to be selected since you can't make every key on the instrument ambidextrous. Why was the left hand chosen to be on top? Good question. I think it has to do with most people being right-handed. The bottom hand is the hand you balance the instrument on. It makes sense that most people would prefer to balance their horn while playing it on what the feel is their stronger hand. Instrument manufacturers, realizing this, chose to make instruments specifically design to be played with the right hand on bottom.
Yet another instance, together with the right-handed bias of our alphabet (except for a few letters like "g" and "j"), of the right-handed majority discriminating against us poor left-handed folks.
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Author: gennym
Date: 2005-05-13 01:44
I may be missing something, but the answer is easy if you are playing the flute. The way the keys are arranged, if you switched hands, you would be all crossed over when you raised the instrument up to the right to play it. This wouldn't happen to instruments that are played while held vertically. Perhaps other woodwinds were designed like the flute.
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Author: Björn
Date: 2005-05-13 15:21
I think you missed smth gennym...
The question is: why in the first place did they put the keys in such a way, that right hand has to be up? Just like TorusTubarius explained. So, for flute the question would be:
Way in the first place did the manufacturers put the keys in such a way, that I have to hold my flute to the right? Nowadays, of course, because the flute is made like that and you can't choose, but what was the reason for it when they first started adding keys?
Does this help?
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Author: saxman
Date: 2005-05-21 18:28
for alto tenor and baritone sax you MUST have left hand on top duh:) soprano you can switch:-)
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Author: saxman
Date: 2005-05-21 18:28
for alto tenor and baritone sax you MUST have left hand on topduh:) soprano you can switch:-)
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Author: Jenna
Date: 2005-05-22 02:14
Can you really switch on a soprano? are you sure??
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Author: TorusTubarius
Date: 2005-05-29 12:06
No, you have to have the left hand on top on all saxophones, regardless of their size. If you had the right hand on top on the soprano, how would you operate the side high D, Eb, and F keys or the side Bb, C and high E keys lower down the horn?
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