What's the deal with "Fake Fingerings" on Bass Clarinet?

We all know the "real" fingerings for all of the bass clarinet notes, but do you know the FAKE ones? Yes, there are fake fingerings to some thorny notes that make going over the altissimo break much easier, if you know what they are, and when to use them.

[@joeyrosati4676]

I went all the way until my first private lesson in college using the "fake" fingerings for every note except for altissimo f and g. My private lessons instructor looked very astonished that I had gotten that far using such "weird" fingerings 😂

[@nicholasrichard6847]

That's awesome, but now I'm scared of how fast I have to play this etude.

[@musikerman52]

The altissimo fingerings - I practically never use the "small-hole-fingerings". There are other, more suitable and and usable ones, variating from one bass clarinet to another, and I present those in my clip. Good to know both ones.

[@harrycroker7077]

Thank you! Geez, I really learned something here. I really appreciate your practice tips.

[@rashakor]

The key word here is “alternative”. There is no such a thing as a fake fingering, most particularly in the altissimo and even altississimo range as all those fingerings are imperfect harmonics of the fundamentals. The most commonly taught fingerings are simply the closest to the perfect tuning. It is this same thinking that has prevented many of the clarinet technological advances in the 20th and 21st centuries (eg Marchi and Stubbing keys). People are to attached to the traditional fingerings.

[@mambojazz1]

Everything you just said is nonsense🤣!! Saxophone altissimo works exactly the same way as the clarinet and there are plenty of technological advances with the saxophone. The real problem is stiff clarinet players stuck to tradition!

[@rashakor]

@@mambojazz1 who’s talking about saxophone? And yes we agree, it is stiff traditionalist clarinet players that prevent technological advances. The present « buffet-klosé » model (called Boehm) is virtuality unchanged since 1850.

[@mambojazz1]

@@rashakor What I was referring to is that the saxophone world has treated altissimo fingerings as "fake fingerings" in a much worse way than the clarinet world and it took decades before classical players and jazz players alike began to play the altissimo seriously.

[@aboveaveragebayleaf9216]

It's not that altisimo on saxophone is considered "fake" fingerings. Its just that the altisimo fingerings aren't as standardized as the long traditions of the clarinet.

[@torontoclarinetist]

Best rendition of that cadenza I've heard.

[@zacharyshaw8243]

Thank you so much , I've been wondering about fake fingerings , and how high they can actually get on clarinet and bass clarinet

[@bobwas4066]

WOW!! Excellent lesson! Can you use those fake fingerings on the Soprano Bb clarinet too?

[@ranatlas]

Fantastic! Thank you!

[@musokid89]

Mike, what mic do you use to record these videos and where abouts is it placed in relation to the bass clarinet? sounds awesome as always! 🙂

[@chaosofdoom2]

I wish I'd thought to ask you to play a few studies in high school. Never heard my private lesson teacher play a note on the bass clarinet (though I heard from upperclassmen that was probably a good thing), and had some weird excerpts when I was doing state auditions. Great performance of #35.

[@eileenjurek6898]

You are awesome! I love how you can fly in the upper stratosphere on your bass. I play the Eb clarinet and bass clarinet I can't get past the g above the staff unless it is in a run then I can hit my a. When I had a repair on my thumb rest done, the repair guy tested it. No problem. I play a Jupiter 675 he loved the tone and how the clarinet responded. It's just disheartening where I can hit the high g on the Eb with no problem and I can barely hit hit the first g above the staff on my bass.

[@aboveaveragebayleaf9216]

Does it have two register vents or only one? If it only has the one you will need to practice a lot of overtones.

[@johnfrazier5548]

Add the top trill key for the ‘fake’ F as in 1st clarinet Daphnis. Not sure if this works on the bass. Haven’t checked, didn’t want to take out my bass

[@stephenc.5447]

Ty

[@levi1852]

I would also love to see some reviews about Bb clarinets. Bb clarinet prices are also very high and people would like help finding affordable options. There are a lot of affordable options that should really get attention. Uebel, Royal Global, Ridenour, Kessler Custom, and Backun have some really affordable professional-quality models. All of those brands have models that are of comparable quality to clarinets from some of the larger brands. Ridenour has an extremely affordable student model that is apparently the same design as his standard pro model acoustically. It is about $600 for it.

[@LuanDouglashinosavulso]

really, friend... bass clarinets are very expensive, here in Brazil you have to work for 5 years to buy a medium one... the price is absurd!!!

[@gwn3]

Mike - Thanks as always, very informative and entertaining! One thing, though - both times you give the "correct" fingering chart for low altissimo D, it shows that the RH middle finger key (B/F#) should be depressed. But that's a (slightly damped) C#, isn't it? (occurs at 4:28 and again at 6:21). Speaking of fake fingerings 😉

[@earspasm]

Could be a typo!

[@jessicabraud3307]

I live in Louisiana, and I'm getting ready for my LMEA auditions for all state (though it got moved back due to Hurricane Ida) and honor band. I don't know why it never occurred to me that there are similar things in other states. For my audition, the slow piece is also a Rose etude: number 22 in E flat major. It's really pretty, and I'm really enjoying playing it. I'm mainly just having problems with the fast piece since I can't find any full recordings of it. The only information given on the sheet music is that it's by Müller, number 27, and in A major. Anyway, to get back to what the video was actually about, I find fake fingerings very interesting. When I first started exploring altissimo notes, I looked online for a fingering chart and there are so many different fingerings! It's really cool to me how many different finger combinations can be used to play the same note

[@lyrablack8621]

Nice! Another Louisiana viewer! I'm in college now, but I was in the honor band three times I think? It was fun ^-^

[@jessicabraud3307]

@@lyrablack8621 I've been in Honor band once, and it was a lot of fun! I've been close to getting in a few other times, but my audition anxiety is really what holds me back lol. I'm a senior now, so I'm trying to get over that. I have too many college auditions to be anxious about them, but it's a lot harder said than done. Since you're also in Louisiana, do you go to LSU or another college?

[@lyrablack8621]

@@jessicabraud3307 another college lol. LSU is too expensive and the band's too competitive. I'm just in band to have a good time, not actually try or anything lol

[@robertmcnamara1642]

I had a question what is your favorite bass clarinet and what do you think is the best model

[@joeg46Highlands]

On my Chinese low C instrument I can use throat and trill keys to get up to G. I'd probably not use those much, if at all though.. On my old Vito resotone instrument the high B and C of the clarion register are "dead", but I can get them to speak clearly and in tune by extending the altissimo downwards, so the "fake fingering" becomes the fingering of choice here. These fingerings do not work at all on the low C instrument. In the altissimo above G or G# I'm not sure what the "unfake fingerings" are. I developed my own, under the guidance of a teacher, by a process of trial and error considering sound quality, tuning and ergonomics - most of the fingering diagrams I've found don't work well on my instrument.

[@prisonedearth3641]

Came for ear spasm ,didn’t expect a excellent play through of region etudes

[@hii3672]

Does anyone have an altissimo fingering chart?

[@mal2ksc]

Compare to the confusion of altissimo on saxophone, where everything above high F is, at best, an ad hoc "standard", and anything from A on up varies dramatically from one instrument to the next.

[@blue_eyed_arlo]

wait that’s my all region music this year!

[@86mangos56]

Same man, I heard rose #35 and almost fell out of my seat

[@erikpalmer7757]

Me too

[@robertmcnamara1642]

Same

[@zerodeaths2343]

Region etude this year omg

[@oreooreo4252]

does any one know what type of bass clarinet a beginner should use

[@oreooreo4252]

I honestly don't know should get a Bb, Eb, or C bass clarinet

[@cpywrittn]

What is the stand you're using for the iPad?

[@TheFra091]

super bass clarinet!!!

[@LuanDouglashinosavulso]

Very beautiful, right friend?

[@normalizedaudio2481]

Tough to get it all in tune.

[@-_-thomas-_-73]

What happened to the black bass clarinet? Are you just playing a spare one?

[@earspasm]

This is one of the horns I have for sale on my site. I’ll be playing them periodically until someone adopts them :)

[@jeanettekorzenko4958]

@@earspasm where is the site? I have been without for yrs. Tho I had some questions I asked.emily??I think is her name ...?

[@diminuendo7525]

we just call these alt fingerings

[@misterturkturkle]

Zimmerman