Klarinet Archive - Posting 000577.txt from 1999/03
From: "Craig D. Butcher" <cbutcher@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Intonation questions
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 14:45:24 -0500
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I recently bought a new R-13, replacing a thirty year old student
clarinet. The difference is truly amazing, and I am pretty much in tune
now, but I noted some odd behavior with both instruments, my ears, and
a new Seiko chromatic tuner I bought.
I am within a few cents basically up and down with one or two
exceptions, which I can attribute to embrochure and so forth, but with
the open G and the A (not to mention the Bflat) the tuner shows me as
being up to 20 cents high, and yet I mostly hear it as actually flat,
especially in comparison with other music, even playing along with the
computer.
The tuner is OK because it reads test tones I generate using MIDI
software etc. exactly where I'd expect them to be.
I have heard suggestions that:
1. I am so used to the intonation quirks of the other instrument that I
am still trying to compensate for this, or still hearing it, and messing
myself up.
2. My ears expect to hear slightly different intervals rather than the
"just temperment" intervals the tuner expects (there's a discussion
about this in the Clarinet Pages somewhere, I forget exactly where,
pretty interesting). Yet the computer agrees with the tuner and I hear
that as in tune.
3. Could it be that these notes on the clarinet are generating two or
three other fundamentals and/or harmonics which combine to yeild a false
"sharp" that the tuner detects but that the ear hears as flat?
4. I have noticed a tendency on my part to think that I sound better
sharp than flat; that is, if I am flat, I don't like the sound, but if I
am sharp, I seem happier that way. Is this normal or am I perverse?
BTW, after using this a while I intend to take it to someone who really
knows his stuff and have it gone over, but I'd like to give it a couple
of months (warranty, etc in case of cracking or some other matter). I
suspect a little regulation could help even though it plays and sounds
very nice in general right now.
I know mouthpieces and barrels can make a difference. I got a new
VanDoren B46 MP after trying a number of various stock MP's and am using
the 66 mm barrel that came with the instrument. Again, I am very
uniform all the way up and down, except very slightly flat on the low F
(about 5 cents). I know also that embrochure and weariness make a
difference too, and how hard I am concentrating on tone or on other
elements.
Any expert opinion or advice would be appreciated!
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