A thumb rest is a device that helps the player of certain woodwind instruments to keep them in the correct position and to facilitate his playing (embouchure, posture, fingerings). The instruments are mainly clarinets, oboes, saxophones and flutes.

History

Historically, woodwind instruments were first made from

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

and fruitwood; they were relatively compact and light, and they did not have a thumb rest. The need arose from about 1830 with the increase in the number of keys in wind instruments and the switch to exotic woods, especially

grenadilla ''Dalbergia melanoxylon'' (African blackwood, grenadilla, or mpingo) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa from Senegal east to Eritrea and south to the north-eastern parts of South Africa. The ...

from

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, which made the instruments heavier. Around 1860, the co-inventor of the Boehm clarinet Hyacinthe Klosé made the thumb rest generally accepted in France by means of his méthode complète de clarinet, after he too had switched to making his clarinets from grenadilla. The thumb rest was either carved from the solid wood or screwed onto the body of the instrument as a metal part. The clarinetist and clarinet maker

Iwan Müller Ivan Müller, sometimes spelled Iwan Mueller (1786 in Reval, Estonia – 1854 in Bückeburg), was a clarinetist, composer and inventor who at the beginning of the 19th century was responsible for a major step forward in the development of th ...

is considered the inventor of the thumb rest. In fact, however, it was developed independently by various woodwind instrument makers. In the time before that, many clarinettists put the mouthpiece on the clarinet in such a way that the reed was on top (''over-blowing'' instead of the ''under-blowing'' with the reed on the lower lip that is common today), because they could hold the instrument better that way. The saxophone has had a thumb rest since its creation in 1849. The Selmer Mark VI saxophone model from

Henri Selmer Paris Henri Selmer Paris is a French enterprise, manufacturer of musical instruments based at Mantes-la-Ville near Paris. Founded in 1885, it is known as a producer of professional-grade woodwind and brass instruments, especially saxophones, clarinet ...

, which revolutionised the ergonomics of this instrument when it was introduced in 1954, had an adjustable thumb rest made of plastic or metal. The side of the thumb rest that comes into contact with the finger is usually fitted with a glued-on cork or rubber pad to protect the finger. Some musicians develop a

callus A callus is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may o ...

in this contact area. Some thumb rests have a device that allows the use of a strap to relieve the thumb.

Support on the bassoon

Instead of a thumb rest, bassoonists use a hand rest on the German bassoon (Heckel system). The French bassoon does without one.

Thumb rests and musculoskeletal disorders

To counter musculoskeletal disorders (chronic pains), there are now ergonomic thumb rests that distribute the weight of the instrument over the whole thumb and/or the thumb and wrist. Some of these supports can also be combined with a strap.

Gallery

Historische Daumenhalter.jpg, Different models of thumb rest on historical clarinets (from left): without rest, wooden rest, metal rests Alto saxophone in E-flat MET DP331001 (2).jpg, Alto saxophone by Adolphe Sax with thumb rest (1855) Repose-pouce de clarinette.jpg, Screwed thumb rest made of

nickel silver Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...

of an

Albert system The Albert system refers to a system of clarinet keywork and fingering developed by Eugène Albert. In the United Kingdom it is known as the simple system. It has been largely replaced by the Boehm system and Oehler system. Big Band musician Ji ...

clarinet (ca. 1900) FAU Bassett Daumen (2).jpg, Adjustable support on a

basset clarinet , french: clarinette de basset; it, clarinetto di bassetto; , classification = Aerophon, clarinet-family , hornbostel_sachs = , hornbostel_sachs_desc = , inventors = Theodor Lotz and others , developed = aroun ...

Etude 3 mit Gurt (2).jpg, Ergonomic thumb rest ''Étude'' by Ton Kooiman, with perforated leather stripe for carrying strap Bassoon showing right hand on handrest in playing position (1).jpg, Bassoon (Heckel system) showing right hand on handrest in playing position File:Bassoon (AM 1998.60.25-33).jpg, French bassoon without handrest

References

Sources

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Patents

* * * {{cite patent , country=US , number=4348935 , pubdate=1982-09-14, title=humb rest for woodwind musical instruments, inventor1-last=Bay, inventor1-first=Charles L. Clarinets Saxophones Oboes Bassoons