Tag: fingering selection

Why do I need to use alternate fingerings?

Sep 26, 2022

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

Woodwind instruments including the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone all have more than one fingering for some notes. Why is that, and do you need to learn them all?
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Doubling up pinky fingers on the clarinet

May 20, 2022

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Clarinet

There are two basic fingerings a clarinetist can use for B4: option 1 option 2 But there are some other possibilities, such as adding either of the pinky C keys. Doing this doesn’t open or close any additional toneholes, so the note isn’t affected at all: option 3 option 4 While the extra pinky finger …
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Using “borrowed” fingerings in EWI mode

Dec 18, 2020

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Wind controller

The Akai EWI series’ “EWI” fingering mode is powerful and flexible. It bears a resemblance to basic saxophone fingerings (while wisely eschewing saxophoney compromises like rollers and palm keys). But with a little imagination EWI players can “borrow” a number of useful fingerings from other woodwinds, too.
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Do woodwind instruments have similar fingerings?

Nov 19, 2020

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

I get lots of emails and search traffic from people trying to find the answer to questions about woodwinds and “similar” fingerings: Do they use the same or similar fingerings? Which instruments are the most similar? Can I use fingerings from _____ instrument on _____ instrument? I’ve addressed before why these questions might be coming …
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Woodwind doubling and clarinet problems

Oct 16, 2019

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Clarinet, Woodwind doubling

Here are a few of the common problems woodwind doublers have with the clarinet: Flabby/saggy/tubby/airy tone and flat pitch. This is a dead giveaway for a self-“taught” clarinet doubler. The clarinet’s voicing is quite high, higher than any of the other woodwinds, and beginning clarinetists sometimes struggle for years to make that proper voicing a …
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Woodwind doubling and oboe problems

Jun 9, 2019

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Oboe, Woodwind doubling

There’s an increasing expectation that woodwind doublers be competent and confident oboists. It can be a challenging double, but a worthwhile one. Many of my doubling gigs have come to me because of my ability and/or willingness to play the oboe. And even though it’s not my strongest instrument, there are considerable spans of my …
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Selecting alternate fingerings

Nov 20, 2015

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

When several fingerings are available for a note, how do you choose the “right” one for a situation? Here are some criteria you might use in that decision.
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Making sense of third-octave flute fingerings

Feb 17, 2015

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Flute

I recall as a beginning flutist (coming from background in saxophone) finding the third-octave fingerings to be a confusing, illogical jumble, but they do actually make some sense. There is an incorrect explanation for these fingerings that I hear every so often, and have seen published on a couple of flute-related blogs recently. It goes …
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Purposeful fingering choices

Dec 15, 2014

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

I have gotten into the habit of grilling my students about their fingering choices: “Can you tell me which fingering you used for the last note in that phrase, and why you chose it?” Often they take this (and often correctly so) as an indication that I disapprove of their choices: “Oh, I guess I …
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Misconceptions about saxophone-to-clarinet doubling

Mar 8, 2014

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in Woodwind playing and pedagogy

for Bass clarinet, Clarinet, Saxophone, Woodwind doubling

If you expect to play the clarinet decently well, you’re going to have to do all the same things you did to play the saxophone decently well: obtain good quality equipment, seek out quality instruction, practice regularly and well, and listen to lots of fine playing.
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