Klarinet Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 1994/05

From: Anthony Corman <corman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Clarinet Materials
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 12:25:01 -0400

Actually, old martin saxes do have a seam (visible
in the bell) and they sound great! So do Webb & Wessel
flutes. And organ pipes. There is this notion that a
seam does enforce some desirable acoustic properties.
As for materials, my thought is that acoustic
functions like tube shape and tone hole placement
and design (and of course mouthpiece & reed)
determine the sound that is projected. Different
materials probably dampen various partials
differently, but this is probably most obvious to
the player. I recall reading a study (I think
in the Woodwind anthology) that concluded that
the vibarations from the wall of a woodwind
occur at a level of energy that is too low to
be acoustically signifigant.