Klarinet Archive - Posting 000430.txt from 2000/01

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Old Style Clarinets
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 03:01:01 -0500

On Wed, 12 Jan 2000 19:15:54 EST, LeliaLoban@-----.com said:

> But I've got a question, too, specifically about the modern basset
> clarinet replicas with only two or three keys. I've never played one.
> Do those flat, rectangular keys seal imperfectly?

Sometimes they do: the leather can harden and cause problems. If it
does this and I can't easily replace it, clingfilm (foodwrap, Domopak,
whatever) works wonders.

But mostly they're quite reliable.

> I ask because on the recordings I own of the Mozart concerto on basset
> clarinet, the tone on the lowest two notes is different than the tone
> of the higher notes. The low notes have a slightly crude, "honking"
> or trumpet-like tone, that I associate with a tiny leak. I've heard a
> (worse!) version of that tone coming from my old Conn Bb clarinet when
> the low E got slightly out of alignment.

I *have* had a problem with something rather like what you describe, in
that a closed key has opened and shut slightly with great rapidity on
certain notes, perhaps giving this 'trumpet-like' tone. The solution is
usually to strengthen the spring a bit. But I don't think it was
occurring when I recorded the Mozart, though I haven't listened to that
for many years.

Of course, you may not be including my recording in the ones you
mention. But it's the only one I can talk about.

> It also sounds to me as though the clarinetist blows harder to get
> that lowest note, sort of the way some old saxes require a hard "pop"
> to get the bottom note or two out. The note comes out slightly on the
> loud side as a result.

Well, I think there may be two or three effects at work here.

The first is psychological. It's quite hard not to feel, how shall I
put it, *proud* of those notes when you first start to play them:-) As
a result, you tend to play them as though they're more important, just
because you've never been able to play them before. Your musical
judgement is a bit skewed, in other words.

The second is that low notes *do* have slightly different acoustic
properties, because they have either just a bell or a very short
tone-hole lattice to vent them. This effect is probably more noticeable
on long instruments too. In fact, I find it on low C bass clarinets.

Also, on the first iteration of *my* basset-clarinet design (the one
used on the recording), there was a quite noticeable flare at the bottom
of the instrument to help the low notes, which were also set a little
sharp to avoid the necessity of trying to lip them up in a cold hall
(playing them flatter is of course easier). At the time, the evidence
Dan Leeson mentions concerning the physical configuration of Stadler's
basset-clarinet wasn't available, but we knew that the low notes had
been a significant feature for the listener.

We subsequently came to think that the flare was a mistake, and replaced
the bottom joint by one with less flare.

In fact, the low notes almost always project more than you think. I
remember asking someone in a rehearsal, "how about the low notes?" and
receiving the reply, "what, do I think they're too loud, d'you mean?"

[snip]

> The performers on these recordings are top-level professionals.
> Presumably, these recently-made basset clarinet replicas (or in one
> case a commercially-available modern clarinet with a custom-made
> basset extension added to it later) are in the best possible condition
> for these recordings.
>
> Therefore I wonder if that sound is an unavoidable characteristic of
> these instruments. Is that why we don't have paddle-shaped keys any
> more?

I don't really understand this. Do you mean that you hear the effect on
modern instruments too? If so, then the bit about paddle-shaped keys
doesn't fit.

Hope the rest of it helps.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Anything not nailed down is a cat's toy

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