 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Rick2
Date: 1999-03-03 05:48
Why do clarinets have a bell? Is it purely for aesthetics, or is there a physical reason? Why not just have the tube end at the proper length, or end it a bit farther down, cap the end, and install a tone hole where the end of the bell is now. Why a bell? A flute has no bell. Nor does a bassoon.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Arnold the basset hornist
Date: 1999-03-03 08:03
The bell has to make a similar high pass/low pass filter characteristica as the series of (small) open tone holes.
You may want to read <a href=http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?id=1795>about the physics of the clarinet</a>, answer No. 1795 in another thread.
The (boehm) flute is designed to have large tone holes (one open hole specifies the accoustical lenth allmost completely) - consequently no bell.
Only some rare old speciems of bassons had bells, nevertheless the conical bore is not continued in the end joint (I do not remember the name of this joint, I would have to look it up in my music dictionaries and handbooks) but is inverted (conical reduction).
The first boem clarinets (made by Klose and Buffet) were designed to have large tone holes, but the result was a bad intonation (Albert made the better intonated instruments with the 'old' system, that's the origin of the idiom 'Albert System'). Well, the volume in the closed tone holes effects the 'accoustical working bore diameter' which results in not speaking to the twelfth exactly anymore (modern compensation method: polycylindrical bore)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: ted
Date: 1999-03-03 17:27
That reminds me ... I've seen photos of clarinets with an open hole (called a E/B hole) right above the bell. It's not intended to be covered by a finger or pad. It's purpose I believe seems to be a regular tone hole for the low E and B, as opposed to the bell serving as the tone hole.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Albert
Date: 1999-03-03 22:52
Rick-
Try to play low E without Mr. Bell. :O)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Arnold the basset hornist
Date: 1999-03-04 06:21
I just forgot to add:
In it's early times the clarinet got a bell thus improving the 'leaping' (I do not have a musical dictionary here, I mean the ease to start the sound, how stable it is just at be beginning) of the clarion long B natural.
I heard this 'response' is a generic problem at the basset clarinets, too - more or less solved by the instrument makers.
In some book of 'Benade' I've seen a picture of a 'selfmade experimental clarinet' with a series of three holes instead of the bell.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: psw
Date: 1999-03-06 05:33
Arnold... I think you are referring to "old bassoons" but nevertheless, today the bell section of the bassoon (and that is what it is called) has a parabolic shape inside... not to the extreme of the exterior design, but the parabole is there...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
