Resonance Fingerings for Clarinet
with Vandoren Artist Mitchell Estrin
Date Posted: December 02, 2023
What are resonance fingerings?
Resonance fingerings (sometimes referred to as “covered” fingerings) are an essential element for achieving evenness of tone quality and proper intonation on the clarinet. These fingerings are utilized when playing the throat tones and are used to improve musical execution and effect.
The notes on the clarinet ranging from open G to throat Bb are called “throat tones” because these notes resonate at the throat of the instrument, utilizing just a few inches of the total length of the clarinet.
Good tone quality on the throat tones is difficult to achieve, as the short tube makes for a thin and nasal tone. Throat tones are also generally sharp in pitch. The tone quality and pitch tendency can be easily corrected by incorporating resonance fingerings. By utilizing resonance fingerings, three aspects of clarinet performance are simultaneously improved.
First, by using a resonance fingering, the tone quality is enhanced. Resonance fingerings lengthen the tube of the instrument, thus producing a richer and more resonant tone quality.
Secondly, the addition of resonance fingerings will lower the pitch of throat tones, which are generally quite sharp. Thirdly, using resonance fingerings improves technical execution of passages that go up and down over “the break”. By having additional fingers down on the instrument, particularly in the right hand, facilitation of smooth and rapid passagework over the break can be more easily achieved.
Thus, resonance fingerings improve tone, intonation, and technique. So, using them is a musical no-brainer!
Which fingerings are best?
As each player’s set-up (instrument, mouthpiece, reed, embouchure, blowing pressure, etc.) is different, there are no steadfast rules for which specific resonance fingerings are best.
Each player must experiment to identify the most tonally pleasing resonance fingerings on their own set-up.
Also, the volume of the musical passage being performed will influence the decision as to which resonance fingering should be utilized. Clarinet pitch will lower as the overall volume increases, thus requiring less fingers to be put down in louder passages in order to achieve accurate intonation. Conversely, clarinet pitch will rise as the overall volume decreases, thus requiring more fingers to be put down in softer passages. Only with time, experience, and experimentation will a player establish their own personal best options for resonance fingerings.
Some suggested resonance fingerings:
Open G
Throat G#/Ab
This is a sharp note and can be humored (lowered) by putting down the following fingers:
Left hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3)
Right hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3) plus the pinky F/C key
Throat A
This is a very sharp note and can be adjusted by putting down the following fingers:
Left hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3)
Right hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3) plus the pinky F/C key
Throat A#/Bb
This is a very sharp note and can be humored by putting down the following fingers:
Left hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3)
Right hand – middle and ring finger (2 & 3) plus the pinky F/C key
For A and Bb, if the note is still sharp, you can also add the index finger of the right hand. This can be useful in very soft sustained passages. Ultimately, each player has to find the most favorable resonance fingerings for their personal set-up. The main message here is to use resonance fingerings! They will enhance your tone, pitch, and technique, resulting in a more beautiful musical line.
About the Author
Mitchell Estrin is Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of Florida where he was founder and music director of the University of Florida Clarinet Ensemble and a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor. He served as the Artistic Director of the Vandoren Clarinet Ensemble Festival and was founder of the Buffet Crampon USA Summer Clarinet Academy. Prof. Estrin was the 20th President of the International Clarinet Association (ICA). He is the author of the biography Stanley Drucker, Clarinet Master published by Carl Fischer and Writing the Vandoren WAVE published by CAMco. His critical edition of the Weber Concertino for Clarinet, Op. 26 is published by Jeanné.
Prof. Estrin is a 2023 recipient of Honorary Membership in the International Clarinet Association. This accolade, marking the highest honor in the clarinet world, is said to acknowledge individuals with a distinguished background in the areas of professional service, teaching, performance, and lifetime achievements.
Mitchell Estrin studied clarinet with Stanley Drucker at The Juilliard School where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His other influential teachers include Jerome Stowell, Walter Wollwage, Leon Russianoff, Larry Combs, Robert Bloom, and John Moses.
Prior to his academic appointments, he had a 25-year association with the New York Philharmonic. He performed in hundreds of concerts and on 19 international tours with the Philharmonic as principal, second, and E-flat clarinetist under music directors Alan Gilbert, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta, Pierre Boulez, Leonard Bernstein, and many distinguished guest conductors including Erich Leinsdorf, Sir Georg Solti, Claudio Abbado, Klaus Tennstedt, Andre Previn, Sir Colin Davis, and Leonard Slatkin. He performed on dozens of recordings with the Philharmonic and on numerous occasions performed with the orchestra on the PBS award winning series, Live From Lincoln Center.
As an international concert artist, Mitchell Estrin has performed in over 40 countries on 5 continents. He performed and recorded the world premiere of The Shadows of October for clarinet and orchestra by Michael Whalen with the Janacek Philharmonic.
“This beautiful and lushly scored tonal piece…. is performed by clarinetist Mitchell Estrin…. He plays beautifully with a lovely colored tone.”
The Clarinet
As a chamber musician, he has performed with such notable ensembles as The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, New Arts Trio, American Chamber Winds, at the Newport Music Festival, and was a founding member of the Amadeus Ensemble.
Prof. Estrin has an extensive discography of solo and chamber music and recorded hundreds of television commercials and Hollywood motion-picture soundtracks. He has performed and recorded with many leading popular artists including Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Peter, Paul and Mary, Ray Charles, The Fugees, Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Smashing Pumpkins, and Natalie Merchant. His motion picture soundtrack credits include recordings for Columbia, Walt Disney, Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, United Artists, and Warner Brothers on feature films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Alamo, Intolerable Cruelty, The Score, You’ve Got Mail, Primary Colors, Fargo, Batman Forever, Interview with the Vampire, Home Alone 2, Pocahontas, Doc Hollywood, Regarding Henry, The Untouchables, Reds, and Dressed to Kill. His television credits include recordings for ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, HBO, TBS, and ESPN. Prof. Estrin was principal clarinetist for the NBC 75th Anniversary Special; broadcast from the famed NBC Studio 8H in New York City. He has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Phil Donahue Show, the television series Nurse, and in Kramer vs. Kramer, the 1980 Academy Award Winner for Best Picture. His clarinet playing has also been heard on hundreds of television and radio commercials. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognized him as a Most Valuable Player nominee for his outstanding performances in the recording studio.
Prof. Estrin has presented recitals, masterclasses, workshops, and seminars at many prestigious educational conferences and institutions. This list includes the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Arizona State University, Florida State University, University of Maryland, University of Alabama, University of Arizona, University of Illinois, University of Texas, Texas State University, Texas A&M University, Midwest Clinic, New York State School Music Association, Connecticut School Music Association, and Florida Music Educators Association. In 2019, he was a guest clinician in Australia at the University of Melbourne. He has performed in recital with clarinetists Stanley Drucker, Karl Leister, and Mark Nuccio.
Widely acclaimed as a conductor and proponent of the clarinet choir, Prof. Estrin has served as director of the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest® College, Festival, and Professors Clarinet Choirs, Texas State Clarinet Fiesta Clarinet Choir, Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium Clarinet Choir, Texas Clarinet Colloquium Clarinet Choir, and United States Navy Clarinet Choir. He held a Guinness World Record for conducting the world’s largest clarinet choir (367 members) in 2019. He has conducted the University of Florida Clarinet Ensemble throughout the United States and Europe, including three feature recitals at the International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest®. The ensemble has produced four critically acclaimed CD’s for Mark Masters, Christmas Clarinets (2016), Clarinet Choir Classics (2012), Clarinet Thunder (2009), and Wind in the Reeds (2006). Each of these recordings was selected for the Grammy Nomination eligibility list. Prof. Estrin has authored multiple articles on the history, development, repertoire, and logistics of the clarinet choir.
As a music producer and annotator, he has worked on projects with such renowned artists as trombonist Joseph Alessi, jazz pianist Lynne Arriale, and saxophonist Mike Smith. He has produced five clarinet choir CDs for Mark Recording.
Prof. Estrin’s students have performed with such prestigious ensembles as the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, New York Pops, United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, United States Army Field Band, and West Point Band. His students hold educational positions at several major universities including Indiana University, University of Arizona, University of Florida, and University of South Alabama.
Mitchell Estrin is a Buffet Crampon Legacy Artist and performs exclusively on the Buffet R13 clarinet. As a Vandoren Performing Artist, he endorses and performs exclusively on Vandoren reeds (V.12) and mouthpieces (BD2). Prof. Estrin’s educational articles are published regularly in the Vandoren WAVE and his biography is listed in Who’s Who in Classical Music, Who’s Who in American Music, and Who’s Who in International Music.