8/13/2019 - Clarinet Lever Keys

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Here you can see the two most common methods of connecting the left hand lever keys to the right hand

F#/C# and E/F keys.On the left is the stepped key - and as you can see, there's a cutaway at the end of the lever key. This formsthe step on which the foot of the right hand key sits.On the right is the pinned key, with a corresponding hole (or socket) in the foot of the right hand key.

There are some slight differences in the way in which each design works.The stepped design is quite simple; the lever key is pressed down, and as the foot of the right hand key isresting on the step (often buffered with a thin piece of cork or felt) it lifts and thus closes the corresponding

key cup. Because the right hand key foot only rests on the lever key it means the the right hand key can beclosed without its corresponding lever key having to move.With the pinned design the lever keys are always connected to right hand keys - so when the right hand keysare operated, the left hand lever keys will move anyway.

There are operational pros and cons with each design. The stepped key allows for independent operation ofthe right hand keys, which makes them feel faster and slicker - and so the E/B key in particular can be sprungquite lightly. However, this makes it more likely to bounce when the key foot hits the lever key. Carefulbalancing of the spring and the right kind of buffering material will help.Key bounce is less of an issue with pinned keys, but the permanent connection

means the action on the right hand keys can never be as light as with steppedkeys.

You can also see a difference in the placement of the buffering where the keystouch the body. The pinned lever key is held off from the body by the action ofthe pin in its socket, so there's a small buffer beneath the right hand key foot(in this instance it's a disc of rubber, partially set into the body). The steppedkey is free to contact the body, so a piece of cork or feltis fitted to the underside of the lever.You'll note in the photo above that there's no buffering between the pin andits socket. This is because the pin is made from nylon, so it tends not to maketoo much noise in use (though it can still make a little). On some clarinets that use this design of lever key, thepins are made from metal - and these will rattle if they're not buffered. Traditionally, this is done with a pieceof skin from an old clarinet pad (as shown on the left) - but a more modern approach is to use a syntheticmaterial (polythene, for example). A spot of silicon grease helps too, and can even be used to advantage on

unbuffered nylon pins.

8/13/2019 - Clarinet Lever Keys

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And now we come to what I feel is the most important issue with pinned lever keys, and that's the possibilitythat the pins might break.This is highly unlikely if the pins are made of metal (though still not entirely impossible), but nylon pins will berather weaker. I'll admit that it's likely to be a 'once in a blue moon' event, but it'll be sod's law that it'llhappen right in the middle of a gig.I get asked to replace sheared pins maybe a couple of times a year. In some cases it's because the clarinet tooka fall - and that's fair enough - but mostly they just break through sheer fatigue.

You might argue that it's due to the player being heavy-handed - and while that's perhaps true of beginners it'salso the case that many professional players are more than capable of giving the keys a good pounding whenthe going gets intense.Keeping the pins lubricated will help - and there's always the option of having nylon pins removed and replacedwith metal ones.

You might be wondering why the pinned design persists, given the mechanical disadvantages. Some of it will bedown to tradition, undoubtedly. It's an old design, after all. However, some players prefer the lever keys tomove with the right hand keys, particularly when playing fast, complex passages around this key group. Isuspect, though, that a great deal of this might be due to having always played on clarinets with pinned leverkeys through long years of study, and so become used to the particular feel of the action.

I suppose the pertinent question is 'should it influence your choice of clarinet'? The answer to that one is easy -no, it shouldn't - at least not if you're at the sort of level where how the instrument feels and plays makes adifference. For a beginner it's more of a concern, though equally it's less of a disaster if the pins shear. Thesensible approach is to be aware of the potential problemAnd even if they do break, the fix is quite quick and cheap - a new set of pins and a setup job is unlikely tocost more than about 20.