 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sinebar
Date: 2009-03-31 19:48
That's what Tom Ridenour calls it the killer b. Anyway I have quite a bit of trouble with that middle "killer B" and my trouble is that somtimes it wants to play the 3 finger high G instead of the B. It just pops right up there. Does anyone know what my problem might be other than being a beginner?
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Author: JTS
Date: 2009-03-31 21:22
G on top of the treble clef is pretty close to what you would get for the next partial from the bell-you've probably got a leak near the node for that partial.
JTS
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2009-03-31 22:22
Sounds like a leak to me too...take your "axe" to a repairperson posthaste!
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Author: sinebar
Date: 2009-03-31 23:56
The thing is I have had this problem with every clarinet I have ever owned and I have owned 4. If it's a leak then I must be bending a key when I put one together.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-04-01 02:59
A shot in the dark: are you playing with a relatively close-faced mouthpiece?
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2009-04-01 04:09
Do you have another clarinet playing friend that you two can switch instruments? This might help determine if it's the player or the instrument.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-04-01 11:19
You don't say if this is the only note you have trouble controlling. The kind of harmonic jump you describe, given that it follows you from instrument to instrument, suggests that for some reason you aren't controlling the reed enough - perhaps too lax an embouchure or too much reed in your mouth - but it's hard to imagine either of those affecting only the long B. It's also possible - and might only affect the one note - that your hand position is leading you to open a tone hole somewhere near where the node would form for the 5th partial (which would be a G-sharp if it were in tune but since you aren't aiming for it might be flat, sounding like the G you talk about) when you reach for the B lever. Does it happen more with right hand or left hand or is the problem the same regardless of which fingering you use?
A problem that sometimes happens to accomplished players is that they pick up the wrong instrument and end up producing this kind of squeak when the resistance of the note isn't what they expected. This is a question of voicing and could explain your problem, except that a voicing problem like that should affect other nearby notes as well.
Karl
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Author: sinebar
Date: 2009-04-01 12:18
A shot in the dark: are you playing with a relatively close-faced mouthpiece?
I use a Selmer C85 105 which I think is a 1.05mm opening?
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Author: sinebar
Date: 2009-04-01 12:37
You don't say if this is the only note you have trouble controlling. The kind of harmonic jump you describe, given that it follows you from instrument to instrument, suggests that for some reason you aren't controlling the reed enough - perhaps too lax an embouchure or too much reed in your mouth - but it's hard to imagine either of those affecting only the long B. It's also possible - and might only affect the one note - that your hand position is leading you to open a tone hole somewhere near where the node would form for the 5th partial (which would be a G-sharp if it were in tune but since you aren't aiming for it might be flat, sounding like the G you talk about) when you reach for the B lever. Does it happen more with right hand or left hand or is the problem the same regardless of which fingering you use?
A problem that sometimes happens to accomplished players is that they pick up the wrong instrument and end up producing this kind of squeak when the resistance of the note isn't what they expected. This is a question of voicing and could explain your problem, except that a voicing problem like that should affect other nearby notes as well.
Karl
The problem occurs when using either the left or right hand fingering. I also have trouble with the long C but not quite as much. Also these problems usually occur after I have been playing for a while and I think is associated with moisture because everything is fine when I first start playing. I am also using a #2 legere reed which is pretty soft.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-04-01 12:39
The leak is could be in the barrel or near the top of the upper joint. I have a boxwood barrel that had a leak around a knothole that caused exactly the 5th partial jump you describe. Sealing that leak immediately fixed the problem.
Check the pad seal on the keys near the top of the upper joint. Then try a different barrel and hope that you don't have an upper joint crack.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-04-01 15:11
Well, moisture or fatigue. Those are the most naturally resistant notes (apart from any that are just stuffy because the tone holes aren't ideal) on the clarinet.
Karl
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Author: sinebar
Date: 2009-04-01 19:15
kdk wrote:
> Well, moisture or fatigue. Those are the most naturally
> resistant notes (apart from any that are just stuffy because
> the tone holes aren't ideal) on the clarinet.
>
> Karl
I tried a harder reed 2-1/2 legere and that seemed to do the trick. It's stiff though.
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