Klarinet Archive - Posting 000698.txt from 1997/11

From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: clarinet materials
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 22:52:00 -0500

At the risk of making poor Jerry Korten feel as if he's being dumped on,
I would like to point out (regarding the "clarinet material makes a
difference" thread) a critical, determinative, and OBVIOUS point: by
simply adding Play-Doh to the outside of the bell, the material of the
clarinet was not changed at all. The vibrations were simply dampened by
an added weight. If you had put a lead "doughnut" around the bell of
the same weight as the play-doh, would you have said the material the
clarinet was made of was now different? How about if someone wrapped
their hands around it while it was played? I haven't done any empirical
testing along these lines, buy my conjecture is that the effect would be
very similar to that of the Play-Doh. However, it is a FACT that the
material the clarinet was made of WAS NOT ANY DIFFERENT THAN WITHOUT THE
ADDED WEIGHT ON THE BELL. If you're going to make a claim about
construction materials being different, then by golly use different
materials, don't hang ornaments on them and say they're of a different
composition.

Bill E.