Klarinet Archive - Posting 000571.txt from 1998/11

From: "Kevin Bowman" <kbowman@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re:_[kl]_Concert_A_pitch,_again?
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 18:47:09 -0500

Alan.Woodcock@-----.net wrote:
> Vandoren advertise special mouthpieces (with the -13 suffix : M13 etc)"for
> American players who play at A@-----.
Which
> implies that others, don't.

I play a Buffet R13 with Vandoren mouthpieces. I have been told that the -13
series mpcs are specifically designed for the R13. I can attest than my
5RVLyre plays about 10 cents sharp (from A440) across the entire range of
the clarinet while my 5RVLyre-13 plays pretty well in tune (+/- a few
cents).
This is subjective, but I beleive the -13 mpc actually sounds better with
my R13 than does the non-13 - the mpc bore is certainly different.
Incidentally,
I use both mpcs regulary - the non-13 version for jazz/blues (to cut over
the
guitars in my small combo), and the -13 for everything else.

and ...
> The last time we had our piano tuned, I asked the tuner what pitch he
used.
> He said "A@-----.

Just yesterday, I attended a recital (which some of my students participated
in)
that featured a Steinway grand piano. I let my students tune to my tuner but
I
first checked the pitch of the piano and (what do you know?) the piano was
actually tuned FLAT by a few cents - the meter indicated 3 cents flat from
A440,
whatever that works out the be.

> d) This worries people with an engineering or scientific background more
> than musicians. (This is something I have observed locally.)

I can second that - I'm an engineer and it does bother me somewhat. However,
I'm learning that my ear and my voicing automatically adjust for intonation
if I tune just a couple of cents sharp (it's easy to adjust down but nearly
impossible to adjust up).

Kevin Bowman
Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor,
Rochester Conservatory of Music, Rochester, MI
and
Saxophones, Clarinet and Flute,
B-Side Blues Project

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