Klarinet Archive - Posting 000658.txt from 2003/03

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: [kl] Tuning rings, pulling out and so on
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:13:20 -0500

The best way to think of a tuning ring is to think of it as a way of
giving yourself a longer barrel.

That way, it's clear that it doesn't matter where you put the ring. (If
you feel that a smaller outer diameter ring at the top of the barrel
works better than a larger outer diameter ring at the bottom, I'm not
going to argue with you:-)

The point then is, different length barrels give different pitch
calibrations of the instrument. Of course, that calibration isn't
theoretically sound, because stretching the instrument only above the
toneholes doesn't have an equal effect throughout the range. However,
it's not a bad approximation. So if you have to play in circumstances
where your current setup isn't ideal -- say, it's very hot, or the
orchestral pitch is held down more strictly than usual by a responsible
oboe player and strong internal orchestral discipline, or the piano is
flat, or your reed is stiffer than you normally use -- then using the
equivalent of a longer barrel to recalibrate may make good sense.

Pulling out is a way -- one way -- of further tweaking that calibration.
(Other ways include changes of embouchure, of mouth cavity, and of
fingering.) Pulling out of course involves creating a sudden increase
in bore diameter at the 'gap'. However, it turns out that even that
theoretical compromise doesn't have all that much effect on how the
instrument behaves.

It's even possible to cope effectively with more extreme departures from
the theoretical ideal. Early clarinets changed from Bb to A using what
was called a 'corps de rechange', which replaced everything except the
lowest bit of the clarinet by a longer tube with wider-spaced toneholes.
At that time this 'lowest bit of the clarinet' was the bit extending
from low F to low E. (In other words, when you changed from Bb to A,
there was a new, longer bit -- barrel and top joint xxx/ plus bottom
joint /xxx -- but the remainder, operated by the RH little finger, plus
the associated LH little finger keys, was the same joint as that used on
the Bb instrument.) Yet even this compromise is tractable.

So, given all these compromises, where 'should' you pull out on a
modern clarinet?

Well, I don't know. I've personally tried all sorts. I've pulled out
at the mouthpiece, at the barrel, at the middle joint, at the bell, and
sometimes a little bit at all four. What's important to realise is that
none of these is theoretically sound. Each of them has a different
effect, and what is best to do depends on what you want.

You may find that pulling out at the mouthpiece works best for you, on
a given reed, in a given set of circumstances. But I'd rather tell you
that you have to try it to find out if it does or not, than tell you
that that's where you 'should' pull out.

Because clearly, there is no 'should'.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
tel/fax 01865 553339

... I was going to procrastinate, but I put it off....

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