Klarinet Archive - Posting 000796.txt from 1997/12

From: Jacqueline Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Tuning the Orchestra
Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 15:31:15 -0500

On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, J. Shouryu Nohe wrote:

> I still think that it sucks that the note just _has_ to be an
> A...especially in the case of the low clarinets, I find that to be a
> really unreliable tuning note for me. (I usually have to lip up my E/B
> and F/C by about five cents on any clarinet...)
>
> I figure most professional clarinetists agree (but I'm not sure). Is it
> possible that right before the orchestra tunes, the clarinets don't run
> over to the oboist and say "Quick, gimme a B flat before we start tuning!"
> or some thing similar? ^_^
>
> Shouryu
>
>
Well, considering that there are 3 different octaves of A's for you to
tune to, and you can always quietly play a fourth or fifth (not unlike the
violins tuning the other strings), it's really not so bad. Personally, my
concert A is about 10 cents sharp when the rest of the horn is in tune,
but it's not noticeably "out". Tuning to a concert Bb probably doesn't
help that much; it's still a "long" fingering. Aside from the "formal"
tuning in the orchestra, I tune to concert A and concert F (which is open
G, notoriously flat for me) on my own to get started, and it usually
works. Rule for the day: know thy tendencies!

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu