Klarinet Archive - Posting 001359.txt from 1999/05

From: "Dee D. Hays" <deehays@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Even Partials (was Bradley's Question)
Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 15:30:10 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: James Pyne <jpyne@-----.edu>
Date: Saturday, May 29, 1999 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: [kl] Even Partials (was Bradley's Question)

>This is in response to Dee Hays post - Thu, 27 May 1999 20:08:49 -0500.
>
>... A goal of research is, of course, to support or disprove previously
held
>assumptions. This is why scientific "fact" changes so much over time. There
>is the possibility that your reply could rely on dated information. I would
>very much like to know the exact source and date of the article that you
>refer to. It may be that, in the research arena, I am operating on the
>basis of newer information.

I clearly indicated that this was quite some time ago and that I did not
have the article in my possession so cannot cite the reference.

As far as the strength of the even partials, what I am questioning is why
they were not measured sooner if they are as strong as you state. They
should have been discernable on the most primitive of sprectrum analyzers.
They should even show up on the simple spectrum analyzer programs for home
computers. In other words, anyone should be able to duplicate this reading
at home if the evens are virtually as strong as the odds.

Yes new research can run counter to old research but then the discrepancies
_MUST_ be reconciled or _BOTH_ pieces of data are suspect. So how do you
reconcile this difference?

As far as the altissimo A, that's easy. That partial is so flat compared to
the even tempered scale that you do indeed have to play what ought to give
you the next higher note. This even works out mathematically. Calculate
the frequency of A based on partials only starting at the fundamental
chalumeau note and you get a value that would result from a Pythagorean
scale approach. This is quite flat compared to the even tempered scale. So
clarinetists (most of whom only worry about playing in tune rather than the
mathematics of the situation) long ago found a fingering that gives a
relatively in tune note. It is this very characteristic of the difference
between the mathematics of scales developed using partials versus the even
tempered scale that makes the design of wind instruments a compromise. This
is why some fingerings in the altissimo give better tuning and tone on a
note in comparison to others.

Dee Hays
Canton, SD

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org