The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Can playing Bass Clarinet effect your Soprano playing?

Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2003-04-25 18:25

Matt--

I'm not sure I buy the "volume of air" arguement either. One doesn't need to fill the instrument with air. It's already full of air before you start.

We can even look at some specific cases. Take, for example, the same-pitched note played on both instruments, say open G on the bass and third-space-below-the-staff G on the soprano. The tubing lengths for both will be approximately the same, but the diameter (and volume) of moving air will be larger for the bass. But, when you blow, because the bass has the larger diameter, it will have less resistance to required to move the air. (Is it easier to blow into a soda straw or a paper-towel roll of about the same length? The paper-towel roll, of course.)

But what about the same-fingered note, say a third-space-below-the-staff G on both instruments. The effective length will be about twice a great for the bass, and, as an approximation, we can say that the inside diameter of the bass is about twice as great as that of a soprano. This means that the bass player needs to move about 8 times the amount of air as a soprano player. However, since resistance is proportional to length, but inversely proportional to the square of the diameter, the resistance to the movement of the air in the bass and effort required by the player will still be only half of that required for the soprano.

I think that this misperception of the bass having more resistance or requiring more air is based solely on people's misconception that bigger things require more effort, which, in some cases, they do. (It takes more work to pick up a bass clarinet than a soprano, for instance.)

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics