New Directions for Clarinet - Phillip Rehfeldt

Appendix C: Altississimo Fingerings

This appendix contains fingering suggestions for the extreme high register of the soprano clarinet. However, the inclusion of this material should not be misinterpreted as a carte blanche endorsement of the altississimo region: the sound is thin, the production painful t o the lower lip, the attainment insecure and often embarrassing, and the intonation (especially with d-sharp"") usually questionable. It should also be noted that precise fingerings are not of primary importance in this region. The partials of the overtone series are so close together that numerous fingering combinations will work, and most players have their own favorites. The major problem is t o find a reed that will produce these pitches before the pressure of the lower lip causes the reed to seal the end of the mouthpice off completely. Strangely enough, it has been the author's experience that a reed that will produce a resonant low register at soft dynamic levels, i.e., as that required for the low-register solo in the third movement of Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole, will also produce the allississimo register. It has been found beneficial for the reed t o be meticulously balanced t o the mouthpiece and for it t o be not too thin, especially in the area between approximately 4 and 7 millimeters from the tip. Teeth on the reed, of course, is another possibility.