I'm one that finds it difficult to give up a challenge, so here's what I did a few minutes ago...
1) I took my thumb and placed it so that it would depress the change valve precisely 2) I left my thumb on the valve and naturally arched my fingers while tilting my hand slightly 3) I tried to see if there was a natural arc I could use while keeping the thumb valve useful AND while hitting the spatulas Unfortunately, with this method, the fingers in their arc would not even hit the valve spatulas So, it seems to me that even if I had a strap to hold the hand in the right place, it will be VERY uncomfortable to play, just as it is now, since playing on the thigh/leg somewhat (cheating) puts weight off of my left hand enough to position it almost anywhere I want - it's just not desirable. Out of curiosity, I looked at my other non Schmidt horn (which is very comfortable) and the thumb is no problem at all there. The range is measurably closer. So, I tried this out: 1) I ignored the thumb change valve on the Schmidt 2) I placed my fingers where they'd naturally land on the valve spatulas 3) I moved my thumb to where it was most comfortable Where that position is, there's really no way as far as I can see to attach any mechanism to use the thumb valve without using some creative mechanisms. Also, I've measured the distance between the 1st valve spatula and thumb valve compared to my hand, and even with aquarter inch of improvement either way I'm still stuck up the river This leaves me to a few conclusions: 1) The modifications I'd have to make could end up being really creative or really extensive to get it to work 2) I'd rather not modify a Geyer Schmidt - as there are some horns in my opinion one shouldn't modify from the original. 3) It's not so much the size of the hand, but the distance between the index finger and the tip of the thumb, and what sort of arc one can make between the two 4) Maybe I have mutant hands. Plus, if someone else ever got the horn, they'd likely have to reverse engineer it to make it work for them. -William -----Original Message----- From: Howard Sanner <[email protected]> To: horn <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Jun 4, 2011 8:42 pm Subject: Re: [Hornlist] Schmidt pistons and small hands Sam Ramsay built & affixed a small shelf-like thing to his Schmidt. It was made of wood and covered with carpet scraps. I don't remember how it was held on. Maybe it was cable ties. It was completely removable and reversible, however. The shelf supported the heel of the hand so that the thumb was actually in the right position to operate the change valve. Sam's Schmidt, with gizmo attached, was as comfortable to play as any horn, and more comfortable than some. Like you, I have very small hands; most women have larger hands than I do. Eva Heater (?) once emailed me that she had a bean bag-like thing that she taped to her Schmidt with gaffer's tape or suchlike. She sent me a JPG, lost in a hard disk crash. The purpose was much the same as Sam Ramsay's shelf, to support the heel of the hand. She said it worked well. If she's still on the list, and if I've remembered her name right, maybe she'll chime in. I share your like of Schmidts, everything but the ergonomics. I wish I'd been more aggressive in trying to persuade Sam to sell me his. I don't know what happened to it after he died. If I thought I could fix the disastrous ergonomics I'd have bought a Schmidt long since. HTH. Howard Sanner [email protected] "Pessimists are surprised as often as optimists, but always pleasantly"--The Giant Rat of Sumatra, by Richard L. Boyer, p. 61. _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/valkhorn%40aol.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
