Klarinet Archive - Posting 000321.txt from 1997/11

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Leblanc Throat mechanism
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 01:30:11 -0500

Dee....

I'm beginning to think we ought to get together and have a nice cold beer!

Roger Garrett

On Fri, 7 Nov 1997, Dee Hays wrote:

> Brace yourself, but I agree absolutely with the following also. A few years
> ago, out of curiosity, I ran the math of the harmonic series for the clarinet.
> Because the of the fact that the registers are based on the odd harmonics of
> the fundamental (3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th), the clarinet is inherently out of
> tune with the well-tempered scale and it is indeed up to the player to
> compensate for this characteristic. The clarion register, which comes from the
> 3rd harmonic, is naturally sharp by comparison to the chalumeau. Most of the
> altissimo, the bulk of which is based on the 5th and 7th harmonics, is
> naturally flat. The makers of pro instruments balance the designs as well as
> they possibly can but that does not let the player off the hook As you state,
> the player must voice the notes, use special fingerings if needed, and
> sometimes compensate through the embouchure.
>
> Instruments like the flute, where they can play most of their notes using
> fundamental, 2nd, and 4th harmonics, are a little better in this regard but
> they also have their own unique problems.
>
>
> Roger Garrett wrote:
>
> > No offense meant here, but, if I read this correctly, you are saying that
> > no notes should need to be voiced or colored? Please forgive me for
> > thinking that perhaps you are not very advanced.....or, perhaps, you just
> > don't listen very carefully. No instrument built on the planet, including
> > the best string instruments, have perfect scales or perfect voicing on
> > every note. You add the SK mechanism to a horn....and solve one problem
> > but create others. Your posting assumes that it is the mechanism....I
> > assert that the length of the tube between the mouthpiece and the tone
> > holes that are commonly referred to as "throat tones" sound like the sound
> > because of the shortness of the clarinet at the point which those tones
> > sound. THAT is why we use color fingerings and learn to voice. The high
> > C will either be bright or slightly out of tune with the C below
> > it......that is why we learn to voice.....it is an integral part of
> > playing the clarinet, just as pressure, speed, location on the string are
> > all inherent in learning to draw a bow.
> >
> > Your response, while probably quite sincere, is simply to simple and
> > elementary.
> >
> > Roger Garrett
>
>
>
>