Clarinet Clarinet fingering

[Dave McLaughlin]

I may not be a great sax player, but I'm a real beginner on clarinet. After my sax lesson this morning, I wanted to be sure I'd learned the tune I'd been working on. Unfortunately, I'd left both saxes in the car. So I picked up a clarinet and tried it on that. Playing in the lowest register, I thought, "That sounds in the same key as the alto sax." And sure enough, it's true. Although the notes may have different names, the same fingering produces the same pitch. Now I'm not sure whether this realisation will help me learn to play clarinet, or whether learning to play clarinet will help me transpose between alto and tenor sax, but it must be good for something.

Apologies if this is stating the blindingly obvious, but it was new to me.

 

[jthole]

I started on clarinet, and when I switched to saxophone, I noticed the same.

But it's probably best to "reset your mind" when playing clarinet, and not to compare to alto saxophone. That would only be confusing.

 

[jbtsax]

The phenomenon that the fingerings have different names but produce the same pitch works for the low register of the clarinet from low F (low C on the alto sax) up to middle E (B on the alto sax). Beyond those notes it is different. In the upper register the fingerings have the same name but a different pitch (except for the middle finger C's).

 

[Colin the Bear]

Carinet is alto at the bottom and soprano at the top with a little hop skip and a jump in the middle. It can make your head ache if you think about it too much.

 

[kernewegor]

I may not be a great sax player, but I'm a real beginner on clarinet. After my sax lesson this morning, I wanted to be sure I'd learned the tune I'd been working on. Unfortunately, I'd left both saxes in the car. So I picked up a clarinet and tried it on that. Playing in the lowest register, I thought, "That sounds in the same key as the alto sax." And sure enough, it's true. Although the notes may have different names, the same fingering produces the same pitch. Now I'm not sure whether this realisation will help me learn to play clarinet, or whether learning to play clarinet will help me transpose between alto and tenor sax, but it must be good for something.

Apologies if this is stating the blindingly obvious, but it was new to me.

Sorry, just saw this.

Yes, once you get your head around it it does help relating Eb and Bb saxophone fingerings apart from top and bottom end notes. Also it is a great way of learning fourths and fifths by heart.