 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nickma
Date: 2005-12-17 18:57
I wonder if someone can help me understand something: Why do old unplayed clarinets which have come out of a closet play with a more piercing tone intially, even after wood treatment and proper overhaul, before then gradually smooth out and sweeten as they are 'played in' over a couple of months?
Thanks
Nick
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-12-17 19:35
I've been curious about that phenonenon for a very long time, too, Nick.
Maybe it's what you describe; a playing-in process. Maybe it's you getting used to the horn, the horn getting used to you... ? Perhaps there's a logical reason/explanation but I don't know what it is. even though I've experienced it. I hope, as do you, someone can enlighten us.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Shorthand
Date: 2005-12-17 19:59
OK, so the main thing that is happening with these instruments is that they're rehumidifying.
You'll also, for example, see bell rings tighten up.
Rehumidifying will have three effects AFAIK:
1: Surface roughness is reduced as the grain evens itself back out to where it was machined at (even with oiling this is going to be true to a certain extent)
2: The bore will expand, as will the length. Has anyone measured the bore of an instrument like this over that length of time? (I have one like this - my old Bb - so I might just take this experiment on.)
3: Tenons will seal differently (actually they should seal less over time, not more in most cases.)
A more piercing tone means that the fundamental is weak compared to the upper harmonics than it would be in the horn as it gets broken back in.
However, the higher harmonics can take more paths than the fundamental and may be more forgiving in terms of tone hole placement. Is the effect more pronounced further down the horn than say on the throat notes (or high thumb C)? The more I think about it, the more I think that a narrower bore would have the same basic effect - narrow the width of the fundamental peak (and the harmonics) but also favor the higher harmonics a little more.
Of course, it could just be you getting used to an instrument and playing with more tension (i.e. squeezing the reed a bit) until you get used to it as well.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-12-17 21:42
New instruments do the same thing. It took about 3 weeks for my new Opus II to begin to really "play in." I think it's the above mentioned things plus the fact that playing any instrument on a regular basis is good for it--as well as good for the wood. PLUS, I think I begin to understand its "quirks" and respond to them to make them do what I want. Or, as mentioned above, I'm getting used to it and making it work for me. We "bond."
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