Klarinet Archive - Posting 000855.txt from 1998/05

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] intonation in large groups
Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 05:43:10 -0400

At 11:29 PM 5/14/98 CST, Diane R. Karius wrote:
>Does anyone have some constructive suggestions regarding how to
>improve intonation in a large community band setting (both within the
>clarinet section and across the whole band)? As a side question - I
>find that I cannot get sharp enough to match everyone else's pitch,
>although I am sharp compared to A440. In the short term,
>should I try some shorter barrels, even though the barrel I have now
>works well both for intonation and sound.
> I belong to a large community band which suffers from BAD
>intonation (really sharp). As much as I hate to admit it, the
>clarinet section (of which I am section leader) is among the more
>serious of the offenders, and even worse, there are significant
>intonation problems among the first clarinets. The band director has
>talked to me about it - regarding the whole band as well as the
>section. She's as frustrated as I am and wants me to help. We both
>know that the problem is two-fold - the failure to tune properly to
>the tuning note (the tendency is to try and adjust the embouchure
>rather than pulling out/pushing in) and then the failure to adjust
>tuning as we play and warm up (hence ending up seriously sharp).
>When I can, I am telling other clarinet players (using my tuner to
>show them) if they are sharp/flat but that has had little effect yet
>- as far as I can tell they just aren't in the habit of listening to
>(or really hearing) the tuning note, since they can't tell that they
>are 20 cents or more sharp to the tuning note. I'll confess to
>treading fairly lightly here because there is a little bit of a
>problem in politics - there was some resentment when I moved into the
>firsts since I was the new kid on the block and wasn't even a music
>major (our section leaders are typically music major/band
>directors/pros).

I find that in attempting to tune with a tuner, I unconsiously alter my
embouchure from it's normal playing position. Also, if I am looking at the
tuner while I do it, I will adjust the pitch to center the needle. One way
to avoid this it to close your eyes and play the note, preferably an
arpeggio or something first to "set" the chops and THEN the tuning note,
then open the eyes and see where the pitch wound up. It will be a more
accurate reading. Or have someone else read the meter and report the
results. But either way is still useless if the necessary adjustment is
not made.

I am surprised that all these "music major/band directors/pros" don't
realize that you go sharp as you warm up! And that you can fix that by
pulling out! Apparently, they believe their R-13's, being perfect
clarinets, were properly tuned at the factory and don't need adjustment!

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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