Klarinet Archive - Posting 000968.txt from 2003/03

From: b1rite@-----. Rite)
Subj: Re: [kl] Cylinders vs. Cones
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 10:19:36 -0500

<><> Alan=A0Woodcock wrote:
50 + 55 =3D 105 Hz
150 + 55 =3D 205 Hz
250 + 55 =3D 305 Hz etc

"The instrument will be mistuned and difficult to play [snip] So in
summary: Not all cones overblow at the octave.

I guess I miss the point here. It is possible (and usually
inescapable) to build any instrument a bit out of tune because of
physical practicalities. End effects do exist because an instrument
cannot be infinitely long (in the real world), air has inertia, a
mouthpiece cannot be perfectly conical or cylindrical, the reed or
player's breath creates an "elastic" boundary, etc etc etc.

Many instruments have intentional 'restrictions' (narrowing of bore)
even though, by definition) this violates a perfect cylinder or cone.
These restrictions are necessary in order to cope with a mouthpiece's
"irregular" shape. to cope with the "elastic" boundary, etc etc etc.

Clearly the principle of "octave or twelfth" can be violated in many
ways. The topic of this thread has been to examine one particular
violation (combination of violations, actually) which --- as it turns
out --- also destroys much of the instrument's otherwise playable scale.
It's questionable, therefore, whether you can even call a device with
this particular violation(s) an "instrument" at all.

Cheers,
Bill

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