Klarinet Archive - Posting 000222.txt from 1994/05

From: Clark W Fobes <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Pitch and gases
Date: Thu, 12 May 1994 00:59:11 -0400

Here is one for you engineer types,

We all know that the clarinet plays lower in pitch when it is cold and
higher when it is warm. I have always surmised that this is due to the
relative density of the air that has to be set in motion. But why, given
an equal driving velocity, would colder air produce a longer wave?

Secondly, I have noticed that when one initiates a tone on the clarinet
the pitch is always sharper and then settles down. I have a customer who
is an anesthesiologist that maintains that the initial air burst that we
put into the clarinet has a higher concentration of oxygen, is less dense
and produces a higher frequency. Is the converse of this that as one
continues to play in the same breath the carbon dioxide content is
relatively greater and therefore the pitch will go down?

I was at a rehearsal a few weeks ago and at the break I swigged down a coke.
I came back to my chair and was warming up when I abruptly burped as I
was playing. The pitch dropped significantly!!! Is this due to a very
high content of carbonation (carbon dioxide?).

Your insights are welcome. (Belch!) :-)

Clark W Fobes