Klarinet Archive - Posting 000460.txt from 2001/10

From: "Andrew J Middup" <Middup@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Bass Clarinet Side Trill Keys
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 19:30:48 -0400

Thanks for the helpful comments Roger. In answer to your specific
questions:

>
> >However on both basses the throat C and B were very flat and I was unable
> >to bring them up.
>
> Andrew,
>
> I am not sure which C and B you are referring to - as the throat tones
> involve open G, G#, A and Bb. I have never heard of B or C in any
register
> referred to as "throat" B and C. Which ones do you mean?

I didn't know how else to describe them. My throat C is th A, Bb and top two
side trill keys and my throat B is the A, Bb and second trill key. I believe
that these are standard trill fingerings in many books for sopranos but
interestingly they are not included in Jean Marc Volta's bass clarinet
method. On my RC soprano they are very good notes - not as full toned as
long C and B but very well in tune and very useful for some fast passages
that would otherwise hop back and forth across the break

>
> >On the Leblanc I find that the throat Bb using the side trill and A keys
> >is in tune but on the Buffet this Bb was also unusably flat.
>
> Is the A natural also flat or just the Bb? If the former, double check
the
> height of the pad on the A and Bb cups (throat) and see if there is
> suitable clearance. Use the adjustment screw on the top of the A key to
> adjust if necessary. If the latter, you may need to have these tone holes
> undercut by someone with the proper undercutting tool.

I didn't notice any flatness on the Buffet bass A either by ear or using a
meter. I tend to use the A and second side trill keys as my normal Bb
fingering on my soprano because with additional resonance fingers it is a
better note than the standard Bb using A and Bb keys. It is convenient to
use the same on the bass even though the normal A and Bb key fingering is
perfectly OK on the bass. On the Lebanc this side fingering is right in tune
but on the Buffet that I tried it was at least 20-30 cents down.
Unfortunately I can't go and check the Buffet at present because it was a
demo model in a shop almost 200 miles away
>
> >On further experimentation on my Leblanc I find that the upper break
> >alternative fingerings for the altissimo are very sharp{snip}
>
> I would need exact fingerings and note examples to answer clearly - but
the
> pitch relationships of the altissimo register using the "false" or
> overblown fingerings (throat) are not going to be similar in any way to
> your Bb instrument. {snip}

The fingerings that I was using was the overblown A with the side trill keys
were to get F and F#. These are fingerings that I use very rarely and I
usually work them out for specific passages. Rechecking the Volta fingering
charts I see that I might possibly have been adding the Bb (register) key in
error and it might have been this making them sharp. I will have to do some
more checks next week.

On reflection of your comments I am probably expecting the bass to be too
similar to the soprano. I think that I will have to experiment to find
practical uses for the top two side trill keys but I really miss the throat
B and C sometimes!

Thanks again

Andrew

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