OK, so that picture freaks me out a little but it mentions interchanging little fingers and that's sort of what I will be talking about. As far as I know (and I am waiting for confirmation from Steven), there is no alternate fingering for Eb, 4 spaces up on the treble staff (I tried to find a picture but a google image search of "Eb" came up with porn-what?) At certain points in the clarinet range, notes in succession all use those little finger keys (kind of where the clarinet dude is pointing to in the picture) and 99% of the time it works out quite nicely. A good clarinet player avoids playing two notes in a row that will require the same little finger to play a different key. In these cases, alternate fingerings are used and often, if you look at a clarinet player's music you might see pencil markings of "R L R L" to remind us which side to play a note on, Right or Left.
For instance, whenever an Eb is preceded or followed by a C natural (middle of treble staff), the player knows to use the alternate, left hand fingering for the C natural. This may or may not sound confusing but after playing for awhile it's second nature to look out for these instances.
Anyway, so this solo I have, in Bizet's Carmen, isn't big or the main part of the piece but it's exposed and tough because it has the ol' impossible part and all. See, it has a short little passage that would require me to play L R R L because of the Eb. So basically I have to play the Eb and then flop my finger to the key sort of below and to the side of it. It is the opposite of ideal, especially when playing alone and quickly and in a concert. It would be one thing to be playing long tones and take a split second to move the little finger in order to play the awkward fingerings but I only have a split second to get that whole little run out!
It just bugs me. I hate not being able to do a proper R L R, etc. for a passage. It also bothers me that I'll have to practice this=/
*A questionable term for some.
8 comments:
Congrats on a tough and interesting solo...now get busy and practice : )
aw my comment got erased! to sum up:
*congrats
*i always wished i'd taken up the clarinet instead of the sax in elementary school because:
a* the sax was too heavy to carry to school and
b* i like the clarinet's tone/sound
CONFIRMED!
Unless you have a special clarinet with an extra E-flat key on the left. Most don't.
Practicing is overrated.
SD
Congrats on the solo! I had a solo my freshman year of college and I thought I would absolutely die! Yes, I was a music major. Little good it did me in my current job. But oh well. I guess its the chance all music majors take. I'm sure you'll do great!
It really bummed me out to realize that for the first time in a long time I had to read about what's going on in your life via your blog. This made me sad. Damn all this work and it making me "out of the loop".
um, i played the clarinet in fifth grade band for about two seconds. because i sucked. but only because i had the hands of a four year old and my fingers were too small to cover the holes, so i constantly squeaked. much to the horror of all in the band trailer. so i got switched to the alto clarinet. unfortunately, i still sucked...maybe it was because i didn't practice. always a good student, band was the worst grade on my report card that year ("N" for "needs improvement). during concerts, i'd move my fingers and fill my cheeks with air, so as to appear as though i were playing...like no one could tell. and, lbh, we all know i only took band because hottie chris with the spiked hair played the drums.
Post a Comment