Klarinet Archive - Posting 000578.txt from 1995/06

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <lgbuick@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Old vs. New Clarinets (intonation)
Date: Sun, 25 Jun 1995 13:47:56 -0400

I've said this before and I'll probably say it again. The notion that only
identical clarinets can be played in tune is, IMNSHO, a load of crap. The
only situation in which it helps is when inexperienced or incompetent
players are playing IN UNISON because no clarinet is (or can be) built with
perfect intonation, each one has a different set of _compromises_ but this
may involve for example the low B being flat while the middle and high B's
are sharp. So if two or more of them play unison they will be in tune with
each other, but still out of tune. If they have to play octaves they're
screwed.

The only way clarinets can play in tune together or with other instruments
is when the players learn to hear what "in tune" sounds like, and
compensate for the defects built into our instruments. If the players have
learned to do this, it doesn't matter if one plays a 1957 Boosey and Hawkes
1010 while another plays a 1982 R-13 while another plays a 1995 Bundy etc.
ad nauseam. Rant, rant, rant. Blah, blah, blah.

>On Sun, 11 Jun 1995, John Baetens wrote:
>
>> I have an interesting story about old clarinets. When my
>> daughter played in a clarinet quartet at the Solo and Ensemble
>> festival in Junior High school, believe it or not, one of the
>> members showed up without her clarinet! She had left it at
>> school and the school was locked. I ran home and got my
>> 30 year old Noblet to let her use. About ten measures into
>> their piece, the judge stopped them and had them tune up!
>> After a short time of tuning he asked the group if one of them
>> had an older clarinet. He then gave a lecture about how the
>> drilling patterns of clarinets seem to change about every
>> 20 years or so and it is difficult for someone with an older
>> clarinet to play in tune with newer ones.

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LGB Lorne G Buick Draft III Music
lgbuick@-----.ca Wind Music
Arranging, Copying, Publishing
Have basset horn, will travel