Klarinet Archive - Posting 000280.txt from 2010/09

From: Jennifer Jones <helen.jennifer@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] TUNING-Clem Hutchinson
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:25:08 -0400

On Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 3:11 PM, Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com> wrote:
> =A0Kurt Heisig wrote:
>> Clem was an oboist as well as a clarinetist and conductor.
>>
>> He was adamant that a band needed to be tuned to the clarinet. He would =
tune the clarinet section to their open G and then their low C, followed by=
B in the middle of the staff.
>>
>> His reasoning was that if the clarinet section tuned all of their joints=
to the solo clarinet, the section would be much better in tune.
>
> That's very interesting. =A0Our band also tunes to the clarinet, but
> that's mostly because I have the strongest personality in the band. =A0;)
>
> I have heard at least one source claim that the clarinet is not
> necessarily the best tuning post. =A0Because our tone is poor in the even
> partials, there's a possibility of missing "beat" notes with instruments
> in certain octaves. =A0The oboe, having a more balanced set of overtones,
> is supposed to be a better choice.

Hence, it is easier to be in tune with an oboe than a clarinet; one
can always find a partial to harmonize with. (someone once told me
that the clarinet comes closest to producing a pure sine wave, short
of an electronic synthesizer; might believe that of good altissimo).

Or maybe it is the other way around; the clarinet can fit in anywhere,
whereas those with strong even partials conflict with one-another.
Oddballs aren't so bad after all?

Missing the beat frequencies...

Feeding off the pseudoscience.

-Jennifer
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