Klarinet Archive - Posting 000865.txt from 1997/05

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.net>
Subj: RE: A clarinet
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 09:25:38 -0400

Gary Young wrote:

[snip]

>Here's a further point. I'm not sure what to make of it. In Fundamentals
>of Musical Acoustics, at p. 488, Arthur Benade writes: "Figure 22.9 shows
>the variation of cutoff frequency across the low register scales of several
>clarinets. For reference purposes, the curves for both A and B flat
>Boehm-system clarinets are drawn with heavy lines. One can clearly see the
>close correlation between the darker tone color and lowered f [with
>subscript c] of the A clarinet relative to its B flat brother." [Figure
>22.9 is at p. 489. The rest of this passage is well worth reading.]
> Benade thinks there is a sonic difference between A and B flat cls., that
>this sonic difference correlates with (= is explained by or is identical
>to?) differences in cutoff frequency, and that when we say that one cl. has
>a "darker" sound than another, we are responding to this difference in
>cutoff frequency. If so, then this suggests there is an objective basis
>for the use of the term "dark" to describe clarinet sounds, and that Dan's
>impressive array of evidence to the contrary, taken from this very listserv
>(see his article on sneezy), must have some other explanation. (But what
>other explanation could there be than Dan's?) (Maybe someone versed in
>physics, like Jonathan Cohler, could shed some light on this.) (I hope I'm
>not covering old ground in this paragraph -- I must admit I didn't take
>time to check the archives for earlier discussions of this point.)

Gary,

I have, indeed, posted many messages on this subject in the past. By the
way, it is not a matter of whether Mr. Benade "thinks" as you said above.
All of the work you refer to above by him was extensively experimentally
verified.

There is no question that higher cutoff frequency = "brighter" and lower
cutoff frequency @-----.

That does not, however, define what a "nice dark sound" is.

Also, in this regard (as I have posted in the past), most of the C
clarinets from around Beethoven's time were actually *darker* (lower
cutoff) than today's modern Bb clarinets (as is also shown in Benade's
diagram that you mention above). Therefore, if the argument is that the
composer is going for tone character when he chooses a particular clarinet,
it would actually be closer to the composers wishes to use a modern A
clarinet to play Beethoven period C clarinet parts.

How about them apples?!

------------------
Jonathan Cohler
cohler@-----.net