Blind Guy looking for some information

TheBlindBard

Hello, all, glad to be hear.
I am primarily a mandolin player. I play lots of irish music. My Mom was going to get rid of a clarinet she had in Middle School and i told her that i would take it. I used to play clarinet before so I can get a decent sound out of it. I was just wanting to know if anybody can describe a fingering chart for me so that I can know what all the notes are. Thus far I've just been playing by ear and trying to transpose some Irish stuff. It's tricky cause lots of Irish stuff switches octaves a lot. I'm loving the sound, though.
Thanks
P.S I'm also wondering where I might find information on the make and model. My great grandma got it for my Mom ages ago. It's been through one repair to fix up all the corks and tighten up the keys and such.
Thanks again
 
Interestingly, I applied for a job at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) at the Library of Congress. If you haven't registered at the NLS, you should. Their main FAQ is at http://www.loc.gov/nls/index.html and their dedicated music page is at http://www.loc.gov/nls/music/index.html.

Fingering chart: there is a Braille clarinet fingering chart in a book called, "The Handbook for Braille Music Transcribers, 3rd Edition," which is available from the National Braille Association. Their website is http://www.nationalbraille.org. If you can't get that resource or you don't read Braille, we still might be able to help out with those descriptions for fingerings.

We may be able to tell you a bunch about your clarinet, but we'll need some pictures. We've created a guide with information on what pictures to take at http://www.woodwindforum.com/forum/index.php?threads/help-us-to-help-you.21021/.
 
Hello, and thanks for the reply! I read braille, but I do not read music braille. I personally find it very confusing and odd.
I'll find somebody to help me take pictures so I cna upload them. Thank you.
 
Please don't take offense, but I'm just curious as to how you were able to type your initial post and then read and respond to Pete's post if you are blind?
 
I have a screen-reading program that reads the screen to me. It doesn't do well with pictures at all. That is why I came here to ask for some help. I never get offended by my blindness, I even joke about it a lot. Don't feel bad for asking questions. I'd rather ahve questions than people beating aorund the bush and on tip-toe aorund me.
 
When I was interviewed for the aforementioned job, I said that I had once worked with a blind person that was using a Braille interface on his Mac SE. I asked how far technology had progressed since then (almost 30 years). I was told that the screen-reading thing is the most popular, but there are some refresh-able displays that are kinda like the 3-D pin toys, such as these. They're pretty expensive, tho. Small ones start in the $1400+ range and go much, much higher.
 
TheBlindBard said:
I have a screen-reading program that reads the screen to me. It doesn't do well with pictures at all. That is why I came here to ask for some help. I never get offended by my blindness, I even joke about it a lot. Don't feel bad for asking questions. I'd rather ahve questions than people beating aorund the bush and on tip-toe aorund me.
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Thank you for that response. I had no idea such technology existed. Let me see if I can at least explain the basics of the clarinet fingering system. There is a system of 6 holes for the fingers and one hole for the thumb. The thumb also has a lever it operates while covering the hole that is called the register key. If we cover the thumb hole and all 6 holes with the fingers and press the lower key on the top row with the little finger it produces low F. As we remove one finger at a time, it produces the F scale. Removing the little finger plays G, removing the next finger plays A. The next finger lifted makes Bb, the next C. Now we are to the top joint of the clarinet. Removing the 3rd finger makes D, lifting the middle finger E, and removing the first finger F. Remember the thumb hole is covered the entire time.

We are going to cover all the holes again including the little finger on the bottom key of the top row, but this time the thumb will roll up slightly and open the register key while still covering the hole. Removing the fingers one at a time as before will produce the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C which is the C scale which is an octave and a fifth above the F scale played previously. When this is mastered we will be ready to introduce the side keys and keys between the holes sometimes called "sliver keys" that raise the notes previously learned by 1/2 step.
 
which key are we pressing for that F scale? There are two sets of keys that I am seeing. I compared the sound to a piano and i thought the major scale that can be played was E flat?
 
TheBlindBard said:
which key are we pressing for that F scale? There are two sets of keys that I am seeing. I compared the sound to a piano and i thought the major scale that can be played was E flat?
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The Bb clarinet is a "transposing instrument". When the clarinet plays it written F scale, it sounds the same as the Eb scale on the piano.
 
So, in Irish music, we need at most two octaves. How can I stick with the F major scale but go all the way through into the second octave?
Thanks for all of the help and answers, I appreciate it.
 
I am pretty comfortable with the F major scale. I can do a C pentatonic, ahve trouble going all the way through sometimes. I figure if I tighten up the mouth it'll help. It's just building that muscle memory. I often find when I am done practicing for a bit my mouth and cheeks feel odd, not really tight, but not really lose either.
 
TheBlindBard said:
So, in Irish music, we need at most two octaves. How can I stick with the F major scale but go all the way through into the second octave?
Thanks for all of the help and answers, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...
You have gone from low F to F played with just the thumb. Remove the thumb to play G, then roll the first finger back and open the key just above it called the "A key" to play A. Keeping the A open add the register key with the thumb to produce Bb. Do not cover the thumb hole with the thumb, just open the register key. Now put all the fingers down with the register key added and the thumb hole closed to produce C as you did at the beginning of the C scale in the upper register. Then remove the fingers one at a time up to F.

The challenging part of the F scale in 2 octaves is the transition from Bb to C. It helps when you get to A to put all of the bottom hand fingers for C down when playing A and Bb. That way only 3 fingers change going from Bb to C instead of 7. This is called "crossing the break" and takes some practice to gain speed and facility.
 
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