I’m branching out to different key signatures and playing music with more accidentals now. Guess I’ve got to use those keys .
I learned a piece using the long F and then tried it with the short and I found certain passages were easier. Is there any conventional wisdom as to when to use the long or short f key?
Also, even though I have a C key, I more often use it for articulation because the reach over to it disturbs the natural flow of the fingers e, d, c, b etc. Am I just feeling the awkwardness of something new or is there something else going on here?
Well, I use both keys about equally, so maybe I can offer up a suggestion or two. When I’m skipping down from above, as in the third part of the Flogging Reel, I’ll use the short F. Sometimes I’ll go ahead and lay on the long F if I’m on my way down in scalar fashion, so that when I finger for F the key is already depressed and the correct note sounds. I will use the long F on an ascending passage in an air if I plan to cut to the F.
There’s three, anyway. Just experiment around and you’ll find what works best for you. Good luck,
Rob
EDIT: Oh dear, looks like I jumped in front of the Masters!
Not a master, but the conventional wisdom is to play short F when the note before or after is a G or E, and long F when going from D to F, (or d to f). Nicholson thought the long F was for wusses.
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