Klarinet Archive - Posting 000186.txt from 2007/09

From: X-BakerBotts-MailScanner-tom.henson@-----.com
Subj: RE: [kl] Blown out clarinets
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:01:21 -0400

I think the theory that saliva or a build up of calcium under or in the
tonehole making a clarinet play sharp is suspect in my thinking.

I can see where it could cause an increase in resistance and possibly
make one have to blow harder, maybe raising the pitch in this way.
Perhaps it could also cause the air to speed up as it exits the tone
hole and also effect the intonation.

According to accoustical articles that I have read and that of Clark
Fobes in his excellent article on clarinet intonation, it should have
the effect of making the note flatter.

Assuming that the original bore has not changed dramatically, a smaller
hole makes the note flatter and a larger hole makes it sharper.

If the clarinet is playing quite a bit sharper, I would be more inclined
to suspect a problem with the bore itself and not just the tone holes.

I can agree that cleaning tones holes could restore the clarinet's
original balance and resistance relative to the bore and that is always
a welcome thing.

Bore demensions and tone hole location and size must all work together
to acheive a balance. If you change one, it can effect the other. That
is why there is so much compromise in designing a clarinet.

I think we also overlook another possible reason why some professionals
get new clarinets every so many years and it has to do with setup.

When you take a new clarinet out of the case for the first time and play
on it, you start a downhill cycle in a sense.=20
Over time, the original setup drifts from the factory specs and this can
slowly degrade the performance of the clarinet.

If you listened to the radio interview that I posted a link to a while
back, Harold Wright said that he had to get a new set of clarinets every
8 to 10 years because he claimed that at the level he played them on,
they would wear out to a point where he could not use them anymore. He
did not say that they had blown out using that term. =20

If we think about the setup of a new, high grade, clarinet, it should be
closest to what the factory has designed as the best they can make. I
don't think you can minimze the importance of this setup because the
clarinet is designed as a system and a whole. The more precise the setup
works with the bore design, the better the clarinet will play. Even down
to the type of pad used by the manufacturer, as a well thought out
clarinet design should even take the padding into account.

Just slapping on a new set of pads on a old clarinet will not
necessarily restore the original system design.

It takes people who are experts and understand well the accoustical
design to perform the best overhauls to restore a clarinet back to the
balance of the original design. Possibly even improving it as they go.=20

That is why Hans Moennig was so highly esteemed among the professionals
of the past. Sadly, there are so few technicians today that can approach
the knowledge of this man. It may be that some professionals simply find
it easier to buy a new clarinet than go through many weeks of waiting to
get their old horns overhauled, and possibly not even to their liking.

Tom Henson

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