Klarinet Archive - Posting 000451.txt from 2002/12

From: CBA <clarinet10001@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Intonation and allergies
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 01:11:41 -0500

Natalie,

I hope I can help with most of this...

First of all, the 5RV 13 is designed to play flatter than the
mouthpieces WITHOUT the 13 to "suit the American player" as
Vandoren puts it. I cannot play on the Vandoren mouthpieces with
the 13 because I just cannot comfortably bring the pitch up
enough to play with anyone, piano, band, orchestra...it's just
too flat. If you like the 5RV, see about getting a 5RV WITHOUT
the 13, and it will play at LEAST 15-20 cents sharper. This
would also help out with overall intonation, without having to
adjust to a mouthpiece that is vastly different just to get
higher pitch. If you have no love for the 5RV, try other
mouthpieces of varying makes and models until you find one you
like that is better on pitch for the entire clarinet. Take a
professional clarinetist with you if you can. Also, taking
lessons can really help with the decision making process for the
mouthpiece.

Secondly, the "middle C" of the clarinet has a joint right
there. Pull out a small amount there instead of the bell. If you
pull out that much on the bell, your lower notes, like E and F
at the bottom, and your B and C in the Clarion register (middle
line and space second from the top of the staff) will be flat.
On Buffet instruments, I usually start with the barrel all the
way in, and the middle tenon out a little for the middle C, and
a little on the bell for the B and C the next octave up. This
usually makes the instrument uniform in it's pitch, for the most
part, for me. You will probably have to experiment with how
much, but you should never pull out until you see cork. It's a
good way to have your instrument come apart, and break when it
hits the ground.

After you have a higher pitched mouthpiece, the next thing would
be the barrel. Check the back of the barrel. There will be a
number such as 65 or 66 somewhere on the back of the barrel,
either by itself or as part of a larger number/letter
combination, such as BUF65B or something like it (just an
example, NOT EXACTLY like the example.) That 6X number tells the
length of the barrel in mm. Traditionally, a 66 mm barrel is
used for Bb instruments, but it might take a shorter barrel to
adjust the clarinet if you still are having flatness in the
thumb F after the new mouthpiece. You may also experiment with
different Buffet brand barrels, such as the Moennig bore barrel,
or the Chadash bore barrel, or non-Buffet aftermarket barrels
such as Clark Fobes or Walter Grabner hand made barrels, since
they are on the list and do great work, or Accubore barrels,
which are not hand made, but are available. Remember, the
MOUTHPIECE is the primary reason for the flatness of the F, so
deal with that first.

As far as the plastic reed, the legeres are great. If someone
has an allergy to cane, the worst thing to do would be trying
out different cane reeds to find one, as that would only
aggravate the person's mouth. There was a thread on plastic
reeds just yesterday that might help you. If you don't still
have those e-mails, you can look them up in the Klarinet
archives at
http://www.woodwind.org/Databases/LogsIndex/index.html

If you have any other questions about

Hope this helps!

Kelly Abraham
Woodwinds - New York City
--- Natilius Theresius Visagius <brazilian_penguins@-----.com>
wrote:
> I have two questions. First of all, my clarinet seems to have
> odd intonation
> problems. My thumb F is almost always flat by about 20-25
> cents (though it
> is pushed in all the way at the barrel), My middle C is
> extremely sharp (so
> much so that I have to pull the bell out about to the cork),
> and every other
> note seems to have it's own interpretation of "in tune." I'm
> on Vandoren 3
> 1/2s with a Vandoren 5RV 13 mouthpiece on a Buffet E-12. I was
> thinking that
> maybe I need a little bit harder reed. It might raise the F a
> bit (right?),
> and I would just have to tolerate having a bell about to fall
> off the end.
> Any suggestions? Is my horn screwed up, maybe?
>
> Secondly, I'm helping out one of my fellow clarinets with her
> chair audition
> tape that we have to make over the holiday break. I noticed
> today that she
> was on a plastic-coated reed (which neither I nor my band
> director care
> for). I told her she should probably play on regualar reeds,
> but she
> explained to me that her skin becomes highly agitated and
> breaks out, which
> causes her great pain (there's even a scar right where the
> mouthpiece rests
> on her lip). Does anyone know if there is a cure (or even what
> the problem
> is)? My band director suggested vasaline, but apparently she's
> tried it
> already with no improvement. Or maybe there is some kind of
> tape or cover of
> some sort that she could place on her lip?
>
> Thanks in advance.
> Natalie
>
>
> STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
>
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
> or klarinet-digest-unsubscribe@-----.org if you get the
> digest.
> klarinet-help@-----.org
>

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------