Klarinet Archive - Posting 000784.txt from 1999/08

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Throat tones, tune up note and barrels
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 12:52:55 -0400

My server is not currently serving we well. Many of the very resent
posts that appeared on alt.music.clarinet have dropped and many are
double posted. I wanted to quote parts of postings made there by Dee
Hays and Mark Bradley but will pass on that since I don't have the time
to dig them out of Deja.

Much of what they wrote was in response to comments made by Derek Brown
and the original post on the thread about barrels made by Steve
Carmichael.

If memory serves me, Mark mentioned that throat tones might drop in
pitch as much as ten times more if a gap in the bore is created by a
substantial pull. He then suggested he might be exaggerating. He's not.
He's absolutely right. I've done tons of tuning charts, documenting many
aspects of tuning and work I've done on instruments being regulated,
fine tuned, played with different mouthpieces, different barrels and
those kinds of things that figure into the tuning equation. A 2 mm pull
can drop the throat tones from 20 to 30 cents and only lower long tube
length B natural by 2 to 3 cents.

Filling the gap created with an appropriate combination of tuning rings
can make a world of a difference. It is very simple to do, is an
inexpensive fix and makes a huge difference.

If the bottom of barrels were were internally sleeved, thus eliminating
this gap, the situation would be much different for clarinet players.
They could then pull quite a bit more without so seriously damaging the
tuning of the throat tones. Such a sleeve is, however, not practical
because of bore shapes and tapers in barrels and stepped bore changes
incorporated at this point of juncture.

Even when using tuning rings, the short tube length notes (throat tones
and the top end of the second register) are effected much more than long
tube length notes. This principal applies to all woodwinds and should be
a consideration when tuning.

The problem is further exacerbated because many makers shorten the top
end of the upper joint. This quick fix to raise pitch on student line
clarinets is a common practice by most every maker of entry level
clarinets. Vitos are about 2mm short, Bundys (Selmer USA) are about
1.5mm short and Yamahas are about 1mm short. Mind you, these instruments
have tone holes and tuning formulae based upon their better instruments,
they have just adulterated instruments what would otherwise have the
potential of being well in tune.

This fact, if known and understood by band directors, could help them
solve the incompatibility problems they face when working with a mix of
student and professional grade clarinets. Getting everyone to play in
tune through the throat tone range would probably solve half of all the
tuning problems they experience.

As I've mentioned, Vitos seem to be about 2mm short. They go one step
further in an effort to mask their top joint shortening. They set up the
throat tone keys too low to temper and lower the sharp tuning created by
cutting the top joint short. The end result is somewhat acceptable
tuning through the throat tones but they are stuffy playing and extra
dull in tone. Aren't these notes already problematic on any clarinet,
lacking resonance and requiring special fingerings to doctor their
sound?

This is not a good work around for the above reason and because it still
leaves the top end of the second register too sharp, an area that under
normal circumstances tends to be sharp, anyway.

Getting the instrument to a length that represents its original design,
one that will play it best in tune with itself, is an important initial
step. However, clarinet throat tones are sensitive to and effected by
other things. Mouthpieces, their bore length, beginning and ending bore
size and the interplay and relationship to the bore of the barrel can
have a lot to do with overall tuning, but especially in the throat tone
area. Some mouthpieces will work well on one brand of instrument and
poorly on another. Some play sharp, some flat, and some produce
inconsistent tuning, playing, say sharp everywhere but flat in the
throat tone area. Making a decision on what will work best must almost
be a parallel and simultaneous decision when trying to determine
instrument length. (This whole thing is getting complicated, isn't it?)

The player and the way he or she plays, is also a part of this equation.
If the player plays on soft reeds, has a weak embouchure, doesn't
provide adequate breath support and maybe even plays with a choked
throat (actually not an uncommon scenario), pitch will not represent the
instrument's tuning. Playing the clarinet at a wrong angle, playing on
too hard of reeds, biting---the list goes on and on. The point is,
sometimes it is the player that needs fixing. A good place to start,
IMO, is to provide an instrument that, in the hands of an experienced
player, plays in tune. Give that set up to the young player and start
working on him or her.

If all that a player does produces very flat tuning, the answer is NOT
to opt for a short (64mm) barrel, but work on the player. Two wrongs
don't make a right.

It is possible to change the tuning on many notes by changing pad
heights and/or doing tone hole work. The first steps taken should be to
work with pad heights. This might require placing a pad higher or lower
in the pad cup, changing bumper corks that determine key opening or key
bending. All such actions are reversible.

Some changes will effect but one pitch while other changes effect many
notes in all registers.

Changes to tone holes, enlarging, reducing, undercutting or modifying
can also have a broad influence on pitch, timbre and response because
the displacement of bore and tone hole cavities are altered. Such work
should be done by highly qualified people and should be done in small
incremental steps with much play testing and evaluation interspersed.
Such work is most often irreversible.

So what is a good tune up note for the player to establish overall best
length and correct pitch? The same question applies to the band director
trying to tune the clarinet section or to the repairman working to get
the instrument properly regulated and in tune with itself. The note or
notes chosen to establish pitch should not be notes that are influenced
by pad heights, since pad heights could be wrong, causing sharpness or
flatness. The chosen tune up note or notes should also be notes that,
according to the acoustical tendencies and compromises built into the
clarinet, are normally a well in tune note, notes that normally don't
require humoring.

That note is THROAT TONE F# fingered with the first finger. You have
everything with this note! Tone comes from the thumb hole. (Make sure
the thumb tube is free of any accumulated finger grease.) Its tuning is
not influence by a pad. It is very sensitive to pulls made at the
barrel, so it is a good note to play when determining overall instrument
length. It is not acoustically compromised for tuning in other
registers, so the maker usually gets it right. Playing F# (concert E)
produces an interval of a perfect 4th when played against a tuning
device generating concert A. Playing bottom F# an octave lower, normally
a good note on most clarinets if regulated properly, will sample long
tube length and second register F# fingered with middle finger right
hand, again a normally a good note on most clarinets, provides a sample
of mid tube length notes.

Using tuning rings is VERY IMPORTANT when tuning student model plastic
clarinets. They just can't be pulled enough without tuning rings
installed to get the whole clarinet back to a proper length. First
finger F# will go way too flat before the rest of the instrument is down
to pitch if a gap in the bore is allowed to exist when making the pull.

If the other throat tones are not it tune at this point (assuming the
mouthpiece is a good choice and is not creating a tuning problem by
itself), they can be changed by changing pad heights. Top ring key
height can be changed, lowered or raised. This regulation effects open G
only, so there is no need to compromise tuning for any second register
notes. Same goes for the throat tone G# and A keys. Their regulation
effects these notes only. Chromatic or side F# is another fingering that
is unique and does not need to be compromised for any second register
notes. Its tuning should perfectly match the first finger fingering for
first space F#.

All wind instruments are imperfect. The trombone comes closest to
perfection. At best, a clarinet is several bushel baskets full of
compromises. The best clarinets are those most artfully wrought and most
cleverly compromised in tuning, tone quality and response. After that,
the brain, body and years of sweat by the player accomplishes the rest.

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