Klarinet Archive - Posting 000286.txt from 1998/01

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Reed Tip Closing
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 08:44:27 -0500

Hi All,

I just returned from Japan to find this interesting discussion on reed-tip
closing. I have only seen the past 10 or so messages on the subject, but
it seems as though there are some misconceptions afoot here.

When the reed vibrates on a clarinet played at a pianissimo dynamic (i.e.
very softly) the tip does not hit the mouthpiece at all. As one raises the
dynamic level up toward mezzo forte it begins to hit the mouthpiece. As
one continues to the loudest possible dynamic, it hits the mouthpiece to
where the airstream is actually closed off for roughly half the cycle.

This is in fact why clarinet sound is much more sinusoidal at very low
dynamics and adds more and more high frequency content as one gets louder.
The hitting of the reed tip against the mouthpiece has the effect of
"chopping off" the sine wave and these sharp changes in the driving wave
form excite many high frequency components in the sound.

So to summarize two key points over which there seemed to be substantial
confusion:

1. The reed does indeed hit the mouthpiece at "mf" and above dynamics.

2. The reed does NOT hit the mouthpiece at soft dynamics.

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

   
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