Boehm System Clarinet

Jim Mason · Boehm System Clarinet

Until 1948, the standard issue clarinet in use was the Simple System, with its limitations of alternative fingering, and difficulties in intonation in the higher register. Added to this the conditions for practice at Howstrake camp ( sometimes 12 to a room, one instructor, sometimes of doubtful ability, no seats, everyone sitting on the lower bunk of double tier bunks) perhaps it is remarkable that any standard at all was acheived.

In January 1948, I was in one of the six new bands being formed at Burford for foreign service, and on the day before our embarkation the two Solo Clarinets (Band Sergeant Tommy Merrett and myself) were called to the instrument store to be given the momentous news that two sets of Boehm Clarinets had been obtained and were available for issue.
We had to hand in our Simple System instruments and take the Boehms.
There were no books of information or instruction or fingering charts, and we joined our troopship the following day having never played the Boehms.

Our Band Officer, Bill Fitzgerald , allowed us a few days to work it all out and was sympathetic about all the wrong notes. For the uninitiated, the Simple System has a major hexachord, against the Boehm"s minor hexachord, the upper register, from C upwards is fingered differently, and there is no alternative fingering.
Intonation problems between the systems persisted, the other four players still having the Simple System, but we survived the 30 months commission and returnrd to Deal in 1950 to find that the Boehms were on general issue. (Although, I do know of at least one player who refused to give up his Simple System and was still struggling on into the late sixties!)

It was not until Professor Mike Thatcher came to Deal that the full range of the instrument was generally appreciated.

Jim Mason

Co-admin

Ye gads... as a bugler I can't think of any situation that could be worse than the one you were in! Going away with an unknown quantity and not knowing how to use it... even if you knew what the quantity was! The bonus was that you had 30 months to learn the quantities in

bootybandy

I do not know when Mike Thatcher came to Deal first, but he was my Clarinet Prof when I joined up in 1971. Thank God I am too young to have missed the Clarinet evolution from Simple to Boehm Systems.
At that time I believe he was suffering from a lung complaint, (I think) and was struggling to get from his car to his Grot.
All I can remember from my lessons with him was his ability to press down on the top of my mouthpiece and causing my inside lower lip to bleed. He was a stickler for getting his pupils to play the scale of G for three octaves (up and down) with each note lasting a semibreve. I was in agony before I started any exercise that I had prepared from the previous lesson. I think he was trying to get me to play with control and a good tone, but I stuck to my guns!! I was also one of a few lads at that time that use to supplement my £3 a week wages by helping him with his gardening. Ken Mettyear was also another of the "Old" School of Profs at that time, along with Lottie Collins that made up the Clarinet Profs. This might be a good idea for a new Topic.

RAB

bootybandy

Without a shadow of a doubt Rab, they weren't going to break me. Oh no Siree!!

townsergeant

There were some real characters amongst the 'Profs'

Jack Dacombe, Harry Eden, Harry 'the lip' Lipman and my Prof, Walter Hargreaves.

My favourite...........Ken Mettyear! Fondly know as 'Ken the Blob!'

His aural classes (yes AURAL!) were the best.

''NO CLUES'' he would say when testing us on intervals!

Come on then.....what tune did he use for a minor 7th?

Answers on a postcard!

bootybandy

Was that Lohengrin Bill?

bootybandy

Perfect 4th = On Ilkley Moore by'tat
Perfect 5th - Lights Out

I also remember him telling us what key a piece was in, and will never forget it either.
Had to be F for intercourse. (Arpeggio)

MrJpig

townsergeant

MrJpig

Is that my coconut or bottys?? :smt026

townsergeant

Sorry......I only had one coconut and I'm having a problem getting it in the Jifibag to post to botty.

I know, I'll send him a Bounty!

Bootybandy Bamboozled By Bounty Bar!

NOT AGAIN!

MrJpig

Nicely done!!

townsergeant

Come on then General.....tell us a dit about your Prof (without getting libelled!)

Hornblower

I was in the same league as Botty as far as learning a musical instrument was concerned - thank God I only had to learn one!!!

I was dire and just couldn't get to grips with anything.

One day I was in with Walter Hargreaves who totally despised me - I'm not sure who wanted the session to be over quicker, me or him. Anyway, there I was churning out my usual garbage when he suddenly lashed out with his foot and kicked me (hard) on the shin.

He swept out of the grot, yelling at me to follow him, which I did. He took me straight to the main office and told me to wait. I heard him yelling at the 'main man' (don't remember who that was) and who should come along but my instructor. Some of you will love this next bit...

...There was a shortage of horn NCO's (wonder why?!) so there was nobody at that time to teach horn, so guess who we had? Go on - guess before scrolling down...

Corporal Mick Goss!!!

Now, he (and Pete Westaway, another trombone instructor) was fond of knocking us about a bit when we were stroppy - but nothing serious and we all had a good laugh. When he saw me outside the main office looking a bit worried he asked what was going on so I told him that Walter was in their trying to get me kicked out.

Mick said something like, "We'll see about that!" and stormed into the fray. The rest is history.

I somehow got drafted, to Chatham, and it was only then that I started to actually learn to play. I didn't do too bad in the end.

Thanks Mick if you ever get to read this.

RAB

You can't have been too far away from my time in J/Wing Stu ('67-'69),
as Mick and Pete were the 'bone instructors at that time...

Another couple of good moves at that time...

Frank Lloyd was actually a trombonist..Pusser changed that..........
Rog Hartwell was a Horn Player, but just couldn't master it, and I believe he nearly left during training.....What an Oboe player he turned out to be....

I thought I'd joined up on euph/cello, until I got to the music store..AFTER TAKING HM SHILLING...and they threw me a friggin great pair of basses...

.I was 5'4" then..I was NOT a happy man..Who counselled me???? Pete Westaway....

General Melchett

Billy, I am tempted and you know I can't resist a challenge.....

I don't have many regrets in life, my "prof" at the school is one.
How come Billy, Max and Stu had good teachers?
After me - '98 they got Tim bloody Jones!!!!!!!!
And what did we have - Ca****ott

Thankfully, since then I have been lucky enough to have lessons from
Tim Jones, Rob Cook, Terry Jones to name but three.

My main gripe being - He was a f*ckin ar*e!

Doggy Panting ?
Scale times 64 ?
Have you read the ranty letters he wites in to the IHS journal?
Getting thrown out of lessons in term 3 for finding out he was useless and telling himso and teaching myself and passing out early!
Indicating tempo by:
1. Squeezing my trapezoid.... To be fair, he did stop that after I threatened to break his legs
2. Tapping on the toecap of my well bulled shoes!
Doing crappy "buzzing" exercises of a very dubious nature.
Teaching Q Brown, who joined at grade 8 and by his own admission went backwards after being "taught" by him?

Anyone else?

I am mad now -- Cheers for that Bill my fiancee will be well pleased now I'm this riled!

Aaron Aardvark

I know a good lawyer if you want Melch....

bootybandy

In full agreement there Melch, I was an instructor at the RMSM at the time he was there causing havoc. I think that not only was he a crap teacher, (I refuse to use the word Professor where he's concerned,) but I don't think he even had any respect from any of the other profs at that time. He was completely out of his depth, and as you said you practically self taught yourself. (although I think Iain Steel was your instructor at that time?)

I'm sure he knew of his limitations but was too arrogant to admit it, and I suppose people passed his limitations within the first term and perhaps he did feel a little like a "Fish out of water" when his pupils were better than he was, or ever would be!!

Anyway matey you turned out to be a fine Horn player and it was a pleasure to be in the same band as you, before you you moved away. Ahem!!

GeoffComber · well..if its 'proffs ' yer on about......

I really got on well with both my proffs , I guess I was dead lucky in that I didn't have to change as I stayed with them for almost my whole stay at the RMSM . Mick Thatcher sadly died a few months before I left but Lew Becker was in the rudest of health ! Ken the Blob did my audition so I guess it was all his fault............
The thing about Mick Thatcher was that even though he only appeared to have about a teaspoonful of lung left ( it could be quite un-nerving to hear him wheezing like mad for nearly 10 minutes after he walked in from his car ) he could , nevertheless , produce a beautiful tone from his clarinet. He sure as hell didn't do it often , and I believe some of his pupils never did hear him , so when he took the trouble and effort to demonstrate I tried to make sure his pain wasn't in vain ! I liked old Mick and I was very sad when he died but I don't think any of us would have said we were exactly suprised.
Lew Becker was brilliant ( he was Pete Best's proff as well, I think) The lessons were always a lot of fun , if a little painful if you forgot to take your watch off. He was well aware that I was doing rather well on clarinet so he didn't over-do it and tried to make sure that if I couldn't play a million notes a second at least the ones I did play would be in tune and sound nice. I never could get the hang of positions though and would always get lost in the snow after a while. It was actually a great disappointment to me because with Lew's gentle intoduction to the instrument (and his effortless style when he played something for you) I really became very fond of the fiddle and I was more than a little sad to find that I couldn't play the bloody thing. The nett result has in the end been the extensive selection of recordings of violin concerti and other pieces that I still have cluttering up my record/CD collection.
I think they are both a sad loss. Fine musicians and real gentlemen the pair of them.

General Melchett

Right you lot, you've unleashed the dragon and I've not finished....!

This is a letter from said "prof" to the International Horn Society, albeit a spotters mag, but nevertheless one that is "enjoyed" worldwide.....

Dear Sir,

The October 2004 issue of "The Horn Call" carried a very short article with a very long title about the forth horn part in [/i]Der Freischutz Overture. I have no complaints about the contents, but I am disgusted that the musical example given was transposed for four horns in F. If players on one side of the Atlantic Ocean don't know that the piece was composed for two pairs of horns , the first in F and the second in C, then that I can only say that it is high time that they did, and learn to read accordingly.................................
And now for another little gripe about he American influence, which immediately gives me a parallel example. Readers will have realise that I meant "The United States of America" and no other possible meaning of the adjective "American", however technically incorrect and incomplete that might be. However, in the wider world, let alone our own musical world, there are so many possible meanings of the word "horn" that it becomes necessary to add the adjective "French" if referring to our musical instrument. I challenge any reader to deny that, having been asked what instrument he plays and answered "horn," has not had to say "yes" to the subsequent question "do you mean French Horn?"
..........................Yadder!

So, I put it you, Ladies and Gentlemen: He (St***en Cal****tt) is a complete and utter nobber....

I rest my case milud...

Billy.............. Anyone...............?

General Melchett

So, the normal ventings of a well balanced individual,

or

The mad cravings of a lunatic?

You decide...........

GeoffComber

most finely balanced looney I think , just ABOUT to go over . Mind you , it must be uncomfortable having to sit over all those , even metaphorically inserted ..er.....French (for our American readers )Horns ?
Would I be right in thinking he isn't your favourite person ?

General Melchett

Geoff, it's not for me to say.......... It's for everyone else to decide!

GeoffComber

Ok

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN him ! He's a witch !

General Melchett

In answer to Brian, Yes; Ian Steel was my instructor at the time.
Taff Liley later, for my last term

Hornblower

bootybandy

Yes, Iain turned into a good Cyclist, and Dorian was involved with the Fucshia Society in Deal. His great passion.

General Melchett

Yes thanks guys, And now I am a great horticultural cyclist, with nack all knowledge of Horn Playing........

bootybandy

See, Instructors do have their uses, but it was difficult with people like Dan Cooke, Pete Cox, Mick Davey, Martin Miles and Chris Nolan(RIP) in your class.

General Melchett

I have to reserve comment there Bri!!!!!!!!!!!!

townsergeant

Boehm System Clarinet

well..if its 'proffs ' yer on about......