Peter Ninaus

The fingering logic and performing of woodwind instruments: A psychological study and model Peter Ninaus

Research Paper from the year 2011 in the subject Musicology, grade: 1, - (-), language: English, abstract: The fingering logic and performing of woodwind instruments. A psychological study and model. Since there is no empirical research about woodwind-playing, this work shows a way, for example, to calculate "Fear Parts", and how you can circumvent them, or how you can find the best aesthetic fingering sequences. The analysis of explorative tests showed a correlation between subjective difficulty and the number of fingers in use or the change and the resulting number of finger movements. In order to explain this situation, I use a fingering table, where "0" represents open or keys not pressed, and in "1" closed or pressed keys (Conjunctors). With this table, it was possible for me to handle images as vectors and represent them together with their transformations to make a comparison. With the vector sum, I had the opportunity to compare the subjective results with the calculated values. The relationship between subjective perception and calculated level of difficulty was given. These results make it possible to create a forecast model of optimal fingering sequences for musicians, teachers and composers, without knowing about the playing of a clarinet. These calculations also enable the Aesthetic Analysis of pieces, if the fingering table is expanded with aural criteria. Passages of pieces could be transcribed to other instruments, and be reviewed on their playability, when a sound situation requires this. This is a crude tool and should be extended to acoustically-physical and aesthetic parameters, to make further developments of the clarinets (Vienna clarinet and French clarinet). The aim of further development of wind instruments should be: Optimizing and expanding sound and fingering techniques appearances. Advantages of the fingering of each clarinet system should be usable on other instruments and, apart from the bore of the systems, universal.