 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Keil
Date: 2000-03-30 01:15
I was reading the many responses to the "Vibrato" question and some topics came up that struck me as hmmm... what is that... so i would like some answers. Okay Partials, what are they how do our, clarinets, partials differ from those of other instruments? Overtones, what are they exactly, what makes them so important? Even and Odd partials, frequency, sounds like i'm in physics class, what do even and odd partials have to do with tone color and the clarinets wonder? HELP!!
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-30 04:08
When a note is generated on any instrument, it not only contains the frequency for the pitch but other frequencies that are multiples of it. The chalumeau notes are the lowest that we can play on the clarinet for that length of tube. These notes are what are called fundamental frequencies or first harmonics. Now on an instrument like the saxophone, pressing the register key allows you access to the 2nd harmonic (also called 2nd partial or 2nd overtone) strongly enough for us to hear that note rather than the fundamental. Since it is the 2nd harmonic (i.e. 2 times the frequency of the fundamental), it is one octave higher than the fundamental note. Flutes and oboes work similarly.
Now on the other hand, when you press the register key on the clarinet, you access the 3rd harmonic (i.e. 3 times the frequency of the fundamental note) strongly enough to be heard. This is why we jump more than an octave when we press our register key. On the clarinet, the chalumeau range is all fundamental frequencies (i.e. 1st harmonics). The clarion range is 3rd harmonics. The altissimo range is played as 5th, 7th, and 9th harmonics of the fundamental range.
The terms harmonics, partials, and overtones are synonymous in many contexts.
It is the strength and blend of partials (or overtones) that give *all* instruments their unique tone color. If you display the notes played by various instruments on an oscilloscope, they will have different wave shapes. The flute will approximate a sine wave as for any given note as the overtones are relatively weak. An oboe will approximate a sawtooth wave as the odds and evens are both fairly strong. The clarinet approximates a square wave due to the relative weakness of the evens and strength of the odds.
And by the way, the science of sound *IS* physics.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-30 13:51
A very good description of our woodwind instrument's "tone color", Dee. Having played a bit of oboe, seeing the graph of sound energy vs frequency, it became clear to me why the oboe [and English Horn, to a degree] had such a piercing sound-character, the 2 nd harmonic [octave] has more energy than the 1 st [fundemental] so it just sounds like it is "up-the-octave" and thereby dominates the flutes, violins etc. If you wish to study musical acoustics, I suggest the fine books by Benade and Gibson both of which deal with "Clarinet Acoustics". Good reading, Don
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Author: Ray Swing
Date: 2000-03-30 14:56
Terrific explanation Dee. I'm going to copy it and put it in my music reference folder.
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-03-30 21:34
Excellent postings above. I'd like to try out my clarinet in front of an oscilloscope some day. That would be pretty cool to see.
What's the difference between a student grade clarinet, an intermediate grade clarinet, and a pro grade clarinet (assuming that the player is skilled enough to play each horn exactly like the other horns)? You will see more of the even partials with the pro grade horn. They will be subtle, but they should be there. The lower grade horns will have progressively less of the even overtones as the overall quality of the horn goes down. Well, at least that's the theory, anyway. I venture to say that the skill of the player and the mouthpiece/reed rig may have a more significant affect on the outcome of this experiment than the horn itself. What do you think?
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-03-31 03:44
paul wrote:
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...What's the difference between a student grade clarinet, an intermediate grade clarinet, and a pro grade clarinet (assuming that the player is skilled enough to play each horn exactly like the other horns)? You will see more of the even partials with the pro grade horn. They will be subtle, but they should be there. The lower grade horns will have progressively less of the even overtones as the overall quality of the horn goes down. Well, at least that's the theory, anyway.
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Whose theory and what is the basis of that theory?
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-03-31 17:19
I believe we should clear up a bit of confusion re: harmonics vs overtones. Likely the best reference is Benade's fine p-back book, "Horns, Strings, and Harmony" which leads the reader gently into the deep water of musical physics, see pgs 96-7 on harmonics. I believe that the terminology of Fundemental= 1st [of a]harmonic [series], 2nd harmonic=1st OVERTONE !![octave above], etc. is correct and that is the reason I prefer to not use the term Overtone to avoid this confusion. Others, please consider and correct me if needed. Thanx, Don
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-03-31 17:23
Pardon me for using the word "theory" rather loosely in my posting above.
The "richness" or quality of the tone on a pro grade horn is due to many hardware based factors. Undercut tone holes, a polycylinidrical bore, highly tweaked placement of keypads, a superbly crafted mouthpiece, a highly customized reed, etc. are just some of the hardware aspects of the problem. Even then, you may find disagreement on the impact that each of these items has on the quality of tone that a particular horn can produce.
My real point was that all of this may look good on paper and may have validity somewhere, but I have to believe that the skill of the player has a huge significance when it comes to the quality of the tone. Pure hardware based and totally unbiased theory versus actual reality can be radically different when you introduce people with all kinds of skill levels into a situation like this. For instance, there have been many references in this BBS about professional performers who could make any horn of any grade sound great and there are many examples of novices who could make a top-of-the-line pro grade horn sound absolutely terrible. That's what I meant when I used the word "theory".
...and how can you make even a plastic piece of junk sound great? Practice, practice, practice...
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-07-18 05:47
So... I am confused.
I can hear an overtone of an octave above on my clarinet, especially on certain notes. I was under the impression that this isn't ordinary for a clarinet because it only has odd partials or something. So is this overtone of an octave on a clarinet normal or not?
If it's not normal, what's wrong? Me?
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-07-18 07:01
Carrie, pretty much all instruments (as far as I know) have all the overtones. It is just how loud they are, and on the clarinet the octave is so weak, it is very unlikely you are hearing it. Is it possible that you are imagining it?
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2006-07-18 13:12
(Disclaimer - I am maker of the Forte' Bb & C clarinets and Power Barrel)
The acoustics of the closed tube=clarinet, even with the poly cylindrical modifications, is better characterized by the odd (the note frequency being denoted as the even frequency) harmonic series. We would of course do not recognize a particular note if the designated frequency was not the predominant (in terms of sound amplitude and even harmonic series) frequency of the sound produced (although the human brain does processing of a multitude of frequencies to a more simple sound perception). Pure frequency progressions 2.4.8,16 partials are more characteristic of cone shaped closed shapes e.g. brass. The depth and character (two subjective terms) of a note produced on the clarinet is determined by the number of frequencies, series (in the odd ranking of 1,3,5,7,9 etc.), and amplitude of each. The brain processes the frequency series presented and makes its own valuation on the sound quality which has been patterned by our evolution - most suggest - from sounds common in the natural environment. Certain sounds - e.g. animal alarm calls, have higher frequency almost pure even harmonic characteristic sound series frequencies which seem to be more efficiently processed and better recognized by the human brain through scientific observation and study.
The tone hole placement on the tube, the depth of the tone hole from the bore, the shape (which includes undercutting), the height of the pad and material of the pad above the tone hole which attenuates the escaping air column, and the characteristics of the fluctuating air column itself in the tube all interact to form the note produced. The player, mouthpiece, reed, ligature, and barrel are responsible for producing the fluctuating air column entering the instrument which is then modified by the size and shape of the bore of the instrument. Actually, the former is a simplistic explanation because the total air column within the instrument (which is a combination of all factors which allow the fluctuating air column to escape through any given hole or series of open holes) is modulated by the actions of the barrel up components (most important of which is the player). Some would say the material of the tube and the associated keywork hung on the tube, not me, adds another dimension to the frequencies produced. Since you can only put so many holes in the tube with a mechanism to open and close off the holes there are trade offs in tone hole placement to produce all the notes produced on the clarinet. Different manufacturers have devised common but still individual solutions to these trade offs of tone hole placement and this is largely responsible for particular and characteristic sound signature (particular groupings of frequency series) of different instruments.
Analysis of the frequency patterns produced by the clarinet is very complex because application of subjective (although objective as interpreted by the brain) attributes - e.g. bright, dark, rich, centered, mellow, velvety, etc. to frequency patterns requires multiple mathematical algorithms to separate and compare odd and even frequency patterns and amplitudes with a given subjective criteria. With the help of some talented mathematicians we have been able to sort out some proprietary algorithms which favorably compare with subjective opinions of sound quality by the majority of a test panel of expert players. We have also been able to correctly identify and separate by sound signature the major brands of instruments. With these tools it may be possible to access changes in hardware (from the barrel up) to their corresponding subjective effects. The player of course influences all of these factors by their interaction with the hardware so the change and effect is player specific - however with a large number of players some general effects may be evident.
A more lengthy and in depth discussion of clarinet acoustics is probably a several semester higher education course.
L. Omar Henderson
Post Edited (2006-07-18 16:13)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-07-18 19:44
WOW, well said, Omar ! Much like a Benade "lecture" on our peculiar instrument and its complexities. [OK ? MC/GBK]. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-07-18 20:18
Thanks Omar for the explanation!
Clarnibass-yes, I was very much hearing it. Very loudly actually. I have it in a recording and some people I've sent it to can hear the octave overtone as well.
See, let me explained what happened:
I was doing some long tones and I'm playing the throat F# (with the 2 side keys). Then I get this very loud octave overtone and then my reed starts to make tiny vibrations. Next, the vibrations get wider and I can feel it in my mouth on the reed and then the vibrations get very wide and it squeaked.
So, I swabbed my clarinet, checked the tone holes for and spit which there wasn't any, and I got any spit off of the reed. So, I tried it again and on the F# and it did the same thing as earlier.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2006-07-18 21:37
L. Omar Henderson wrote:
(Disclaimer - I am maker of the Forte' Bb & C clarinets and Power Barrel)
__________________________________________________________
Dear Doctor,
When I say "I'm a custom clarinet mouthpiece maker" it means I take a blank and make a mouthpiece out of it.
When I say "I'm also a clarinet technician" it means that I fix/overhaul/restore clarinets.
When you say. "I am maker of the Forte' Bb & C clarinets and Power Barrel" Does this mean you're ACTUALLY making them?
Vytas Krass
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: diz
Date: 2006-07-18 22:21
When it comes to enriching sound ... I'm afraid the string family takes first prize (though unproved) ...
The wonderful sound produced by (some of) Stradivarius' violins is (unproved) due (anecdotally) to the use of urine in the varnish ...
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2006-07-18 23:12
Vytas, "maker" is just the best term I could think of because we are more than just sellers. The design, improvements, innovations, etc. found on the Forte' clarinets are the products of myself and Graham Golden. The Amati factory makes the clarinets to our specifications. I play test and tweak the regulation of every Forte' clarinet sold. I invented and tested prototypes of the Power Barrel. The three parts are CNC machined to my specifications and then I personally assemble them and adjust the tuning of each barrel myself.
L. Omar Henderson
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2006-07-19 05:28
Carrie - another thing that is more likely is something in the room plays that overtone when you play the F#. Did it happen in different places just on the F#? For example, my computer screen always respond when I play a 4th line Db. In the bathroom the low Bb sounds huge in comparison with all other notes, etc.
Post Edited (2006-07-19 05:45)
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2006-07-19 05:57
Does anyone know how to explain what happened to me in what I wrote above? I very curious. Omar?
I think it did it downstairs too, as well as upstairs. They are both very big and open rooms. One has a vaulted ceiling, the other doesn't. Yeah, I know what you mean though about certain rings in certain rooms. My shower rings really well at a certain pitch that makes it so I can't hear hardly anything else!
Post Edited (2006-07-19 05:59)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-07-20 20:29
edit: inappropriate post - please disregard/delete.
--
Ben
Post Edited (2006-07-20 20:32)
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