 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Baz
Date: 2013-07-08 16:04
I play the same model Selmer clarinet as my brother in law, when he comes to visit from Canada I let him use mine so he does not have to carry his on the plane, he just brings his mouthpiece and his short barrel, on my gig yesterday we both played my clarinet just swapping mouthpieces but he uses a short barrel and I use the standard one......
What I don't understand is why does he have to use a short barrel to be in tune and I am in tune with mine, this question must have a simple answer.
Baz
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-08 16:10
Maybe the mouthpiece he uses plays flatter than yours, or he plays flat generally and uses a shorter barrel to compensate.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-08 17:53
Mouthpiece\Reed\Player in no particular order.
One other test is to take the same instrument\reed\mouthpiece and both try it. This isolates the variables to the player. Do this with both setups and see if you consistently player sharper than he does. This will most likely explain your differences that lead to different barrel necessities.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-07-08 18:10
Isn't the Canadian pitch standard closer to A=440? And I think you Brits play closer to A=443 or 445. It's possible that his model Selmer was set up to play lower (as are the American market horns) and yours is a higher pitch version.
Hmmmm.......... sounds rather silly now that I read this, but still, see what happens when he plays your clarinet with your barrel.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-08 19:05
Paul,
What sounds silly about isolating the variables and trying different things to find the difference between the two in tuning?
Just trying the clarinet with his friends' barrel won't tell you much, since it's shorter it's going to be higher in pitch. That's a conclusion you can be 95% sure of without doing any sort of testing. 5% being left for some freak issue with one of the barrels.
If the goal pitch level is the same (which from the description, that is the case), it's a matter of trying different things to find where the difference between the two players is.
Playing with your setup, figure out what the overall pitch level is on a select group of notes. Take his setup from the barrel up and play again. If it has gone higher or lower, you can continue the process. Try his mouthpiece with your reed and barrel. Lower or higher than your mouthpiece? Switch the process and have him do it. It's more than likely to be a combination of mouthpiece and player tendencies.
It's not silly, it's a method to isolate variables and answer the question the OP posted.
Canadian pitch is more and more often A442, especially in Quebec.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-07-08 19:15
In the UK we generally tune to 440Hz - whether or not the instruments are built to this pitch is another matter and something we have to contend with.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-07-09 01:14
Chris,
Sorry, I was not aware of the current pitch standard in England. My 1010s from the '80s were quite a bit higher than instruments purposely marketed to the US. The Wurlitzer 100cs were also much higher and I am pretty sure Germany still has a lot of orchestras at 445.
Guess I'm not current with the Brits !!!
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: Lee
Date: 2013-07-10 15:51
As Chris said the different mouthpiece may be the cause. When I went from using a LC-3 to using a Bay Nuance I had to go from the standard 66 mm to a 64 mm barrel to tune properly.
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-07-17 00:32
I too am curious. Assuming you were looking for suggestions (since you posted the thread), did anything help you? I'm always curious how many suggestions are taken to heart.
We should all be willing to try things, otherwise what's the point of the bboard?
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