Klarinet Archive - Posting 000063.txt from 2003/12

From: Dan Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Sex museum (this post is actually ON topic)
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 10:13:59 -0500

Patricia A. Smith wrote:

> Dan Leeson wrote:
>
>> Now that I have your attention, let me talk about an interesting
>> article in the paper today about a study of the sound character
>> produced by Stradivarius violins.
>>
>> According to the latest poop, the issue of varishes and/or time are
>> less important that the wood because all the Strads were made from
>> trees harvested at a period that allowed certain environmental factors
>> to influence the wood through cold winters and cool summers. Wood
>> taken from periods where this phenomenon did not occur are said to be
>> of poorer quality.
>>
>> None of this has to do with clarinets of course, because the body of
>> the violin is part of the sound production process, which is not the
>> case to that degree with the clarinet.
>
>
> Dan, you sure know how to get a person's attention! Love this thread.
>
> I do have a question - and I take the blame for my own ignorance, since
> I shouldhave learned this stuff years ago and was mentally lazy at the
> time.
>
> You make the statement that "the body of the violin is part of the sound
> production process, which is not the case to that degree with the
> clarinet".
>
> When you say "sound production", I take it you mean that the process of
> actually making a sound on the violin involves the body of the
> instrument to a greater degree, since it is bow on strings, as opposed
> to the interactive nature of blowing on a clarinet.
>
> I just wanted to clarify what you meant. I'm also wondering, has it
> ever been measured how much the body of a clarinet vibrates when someone
> is playing, and if those vibrations change as the notes, intensity, etc.
> changes?
> I'd write more but I have yelling kids here...
>
> So much for sex.
>
> Patricia Smith
>
I was trying to make a distinction between sounds produced completely
from within the human body (such as the voice), and those produced
entirely outside the human body (such as the violin, the body of which
is very much involved in vibration). Then there is the clarinet in
which the sound production mechanism is partly within the body (chest
cavities, sinuses, mouth shape, mouthpiece, reed, etc.) and partly
outside of the body.

I don't know if the vibration in a clarinet made while it is being
played has an important role in the sound production.

Dan

--
Dan Leeson
leeson0@-----.net

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