Prequel to "Alternate fingerings"

This is a prequel to the subsequent article with specific alternate fingerings.  It includes a few "resonant" fingers too, but I'll still be creating a separate article on that subject.

You'll see much of what's here in the "Alternate fingerings" article,  but rather than try to conglomerate what's here and what's there, I'm leaving them separate...because I'm lazy.

Here you go:

The alternate fingerings in this article are fingerings that I use and  that I find are particularly useful, but certainly not all the fingerings possible.  

If you want to drive yourself nuts trying to learn all the alternate fingerings for the altissimo F#, for example (of which there are 21 in the book, four of which I use), you need to get the excellent book by Tom Ridenour's "Clarinet Fingerings: A Comprehensive Guide for the Performer and Educator".  I highly recommend it! (There are many other good books out there that are worthwhile, and even some that talk about multiphonics fingerings and acoustic theory, but the Ridenour book I think is the best for us with boots on the ground.

• I haven't included "standard" fingerings that appear in most fingering charts, including the various "fork" fingerings shown in the standard charts.

• I cover the notes up to altissimo G. For any notes higher than that, the fingerings that will work for you will depend heavily and your instrument, mouthpiece, reed, and your skill level--and how willing you are to experiment to find your own.

• This article does not cover half-holing techniques for altissimo notes. These are covered in "Leaps into the altissimo range".

• Resonant fingerings (fingerings that are primarily used to improve the sound of a note) are not covered here. They will be covered in a future article, "Resonant fingerings".

I've divided the clarinet scale into these sets of pitches:

• Low register - Low Eb to B

• Chalumeau register - C to F

• Throat register - Open G to Bb

• Clarion register - Third line B to C above the staff

• Altissimo register - D to G

Here I've generally noted the keys and tone holes that need to be used in text when they're easy to figure out, but when the descriptions become complex, I've  represent fingerings graphically in the subsequent article. 

Here are some quick takeaways for notes below the altissimo:

Low register

B natural - Third finger of the right hand instead of the middle finger. This is particularly useful for long tremolos between B natural and C# because the C# speaks more clearly.

Chalumeau register

E natural  - For a C-to-E tremolo, you can play a C, then lift your middle LH finger to get the G. The E will be flat and not very resonant so I only recommend this fingering if you absolutely can't coordinate your LH second and third fingers well enough to use the standard fingering for the E in the tremolo.

F# - Playing the F# with the thumb and first two RH side keys produces a much cleaner sound than the first LH finger-only standard fingering.

Throat register

Open G - For all sustained open Gs, put down your right three fingers to make a longer tube when you can. (You might also try pressing the low RH Eb or F# key. Depending on your clarinet, one of these might increase resonance and-or correct the tuning.) Yes, this is a resonant fingering that will be covered again, but putting down your right three fingers for the G also makes going to higher intervals, such as to B, C, D, and so forth easier and less clunky.

Bb - As I mention in the article "Love your keys....", pressing the second from the top RH side key while playing the A provides the most resonant, most in-tune throat Bb. Also, pressing that key from open G will give you a decent throat A if you can't play the A .

Clarion register

C - First two LH fingers and first two RH side keys (toward the bell) creates a somewhat sharp C, but is useful in tremolos.  LH 3d finger, RH three fingers, and first RH side key responds well and particulary useful for soft attacks.