The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

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Re: ugly, stuffy, awful throat tones

Author: GBK
Date: 2005-02-07 03:36

The throat Bb is one of the weakest notes on the clarinet, due to the compromise location of the register key vent. Resonance fingerings are often used to help focus this note.

First, make certain that the vent tube is clean and free of debris. Remove the register key and carefully clean out the tube with a pipe cleaner.

Other areas to check:

For the throat Bb:

Check the opening of the register key. It should be open to about the thickness of a (US) nickel.

If the register key has a cork pad, beveling the pad to a truncated cone shape may help.

Check the opening of the throat A key - is that note also stuffy?

Check all pads on the upper joint for loose or torn membranes.

For the long B:

Check all pads for leaks, torn membranes, etc...

Check spring tension - are any keys being blown open?

Experiment with a different (less extreme) mouthpiece/reed set-up to see if the problem lessens...GBK

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