 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2006-11-30 00:47
I have my district band audition on Saturday, and, after a series of backorders, cancellation, etc., it turn out that I won't be getting my new barrel that was intended to improve my intonation for the audition until the NIGHT BEFORE it. I had been using a 66mm Chadash barrel with my R13 greenline, but every single note on the instrument was at least slightly flat, the throat tones more than the others, however. Obviously, I needed a shorter barrel. This Friday night I'll be getting 63, 64, and 65 mm delrin barrels (either Scot or Muncy Back Diamond... I'm really not sure what I'll be getting at this point due to lack of clarity regarding my order status) for trial from Muncy. As it stands, I plan to use a tuner that night to find the barrel that gets me closest to A440 and bring it with me to the audition. The stability of delrin and greenline should mean that if it's in tune Friday, it will be in tune Saturday. I'm concerned, however, that it could affect my tone/overall playing in such a way that I won't be adequately adjusted to it by audition time (I won't have time to practice Saturday until the actual audition, so Friday night is my only time with the new barrel). Are new barrels hard to get used to? Do they affect tone, blowing ease, etc. very much? Or will it simply be a matter of finding the one that improves my tuning the most? I'm just worried as to whether this could have any adverse effects on my performance which I have been practicing for hours every day since I got it last May.
By the way, my old barrel made me so flat that even if there are a few "problem" notes with the new barrel that I will not have time to get used to adjusting on the spot, the new barrel should be an improvement regarding intonation regardless.
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-11-30 01:07
Take all barrels with you to the audition. you never know how the weather inside the audition site will alter your tuning
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2006-11-30 01:30
I'm using a greenline and a synthetic barrel, whichever one I end up choosing. I suppose I could take the others, but could two different air-conditioned rooms drastically alter the tuning of an all-synthetic clarinet?
I'm more worried about changes in resistance, projection, etc. that the barrel could cause. Do you believe that there will be much noticeable difference between my old Chadash and my new barrel other than tuning? Ideally, the only thing I wanted the barrel to change was intonation, but, unfortunately, chadash barrels seem to only be sold in lengths of 65+ mm, and I was flat enough to most likely need a 63 or 64.
Post Edited (2006-11-30 01:31)
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Author: SVClarinet09
Date: 2006-11-30 02:09
well usually at my auditions sites, we are warmed up in the auditorium of the school-rather warm. then we are called out to audition and we wait in a hallway that is usually cooler than the auditorium, then when you go in the audition room,it is significantly cooler. I dont know how your audition is but if i were you id take the ones that normally are used.
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-11-30 02:22
I would recommend you not tinker with this immediately before an audition. You're setting yourself up for a psychologically stressful situation.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2006-11-30 03:36
You may fix the intonation problem, but with that menagerie, you may find that the timbre of your sound is different. It may please you or depress you.
In hindsight, you might have considered shortening the barrel that works.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: LeeB
Date: 2006-11-30 04:57
<<<I would recommend you not tinker with this immediately before an audition. You're setting yourself up for a psychologically stressful situation.>>>
That's good advice. To me it appeared that Clariphant in Bb was psyching himself/herself out even before the barrels arrived.
To Clariphant, I'd say go with the flow and don't put any artificial pressure on yourself. Eliminate the fear, but leave yourself open to possibilities. When the box comes, by all means, check out the new barrels. Maybe you'll pop one on your instrument, and it'll sound like instant Larry Combs. If so, use it. If none of the new barrels work magic, go with what you've been using and be confident (and a tad flat). Are you playing solo, or with accompaniment? If you're solo, it won't be as big of a deal unless the judges have perfect pitch. If they do, just tell them you're fond of baroque pitch.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-11-30 15:39
Your sound(s) with the new barrels(s) may be different, but they won't be objectionable --just a variation on your personality. Play through your audition material with each to assure yourself that there's nothing suicidal hiding in there and then go with the best intonation.
Would it be politically correct to tell the reviewers that you are in the midst of a correction for a known problem?
Bob Phillips
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Author: Indyclar
Date: 2006-11-30 17:47
After your audition, you may want to investigate why you are having the pitch problem in the first place. A Buffet greenline should be pretty close to 440 with a 66mm barrel, and I can't imagine using anything shorter than a 65mm on a Bb clarinet. Perhaps your mouthpiece is making you flat...
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2006-11-30 17:53
Dude it's just a barrel. focus on your music and presentation of yourself and music. i understand your concerns, but other things have greater impacts then just being a tad flat. or if it stresses you so much, borrow a friends barrel and see if it works any better.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2006-11-30 19:11
It's a solo without an accompaniment (Saint Saens Sonata movements I and IV), and my notes aren't terribly uneven comapared to each other. In all likelihood, it is the mouthpiece that's causing the problem. I'll take your advice and only use the new barrel if it's an obvious improvement that takes little effort to adjust to.
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