Klarinet Archive - Posting 000237.txt from 2004/09

From: "Larisa Duffy and David Dow" <duffyl@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] Thoughts on a sharp note
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2004 11:50:51 -0400


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The low A is also a subject of disdain for many clarinetists and although
some may feel a sharp low a is a curse a flat one would be a travesty'!
Most clarinetists who work in orchestras are careful to to try and match the
tuning of the 12ths as closely as possible.

My experience has been a sharp low A is much easier to lip or bring downward
that the converse..a flat A is no where near being moveable no matter what
one does. Another element I notice is a sharp mouthpiece will greatly
effect this note...for example most Vandoren B45s and B40s will bring up the
chalumeau quite high...the middle finger low B natural can also play even
higher than the A which we are complaining about!

....

A good mouthpiece will greatly enhance the ability to move the pitch and
alter the sound on any note. As to materials being put in the bore I tend
to use a epoxy resin of my own design which hardens slowly and with this
stuff I am very careful not to overdo it!

When a player overdoes filling in of tone holes one thing can be
noticed...the pitch lowers but the sound becomes dull and lacks the lustre
it once had. Also, the corresponiding note above(12th) can move down and
remain lower by a great margin than the note he was attempting to fix.

Jack Brymer has an excellent chart on the general tuning of the clarinet
where he talks about the general tuning tendencies on every note of the
clarinet. On top of this he explains that tuning on any instrument is a
compromise and a gifted player works within the confines of the way an
instrument plays...not against it.

Fiddling about with too much reaming, glues, and materials can be disastrous
if overdone.

As to tuning a rule of thumb is to listen for how this tuning of a given
hole is effecting the corresponding altissimo notes...ie E4 and Eb etc
above high C. They are also effected greatly by any change of the bore and
consequently are of great importance as well. On top of this the High E is
the same for the fourth above High A, which should never be flat or
flattish!

David Dow
Symphony NB

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