Klarinet Archive - Posting 000216.txt from 1998/01

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: swabbing really does wear it out (retransmitted)
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 08:18:21 -0500

On Sun, 4 Jan 1998, Roger Garrett wrote:

> The tip does not close off.....the curve of the mouthpiece opening
> cannot allow for that.

The tip *does* close completely on every vibration. If you play an A=440,
that action takes place 440 times per second, which is so fast that the
player is not aware of the sensation of "puffs" of air entering the
instrument. That motion is precisely what causes the sound to be
produced. Further, the fact that the reed/mouthpiece time is periodically
completely closed is part of what causes the clarinet to function
acoustically as an organ pipe closed at one end, which in turn explains
the fact that the odd numbered harmonics are so prominent in the harmonic
structure of the clarinet tone. This is explained in various degrees of
detail in all good acoustics textbooks. Check, for example, "The
Acoustical Foundations of Music" by John Backus, published by W. W.
Norton.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu