 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-12-08 23:10
So with two thirds of my studio auditioning for District Band (and eventually state in some cases) I thought my preparations in furtherance of my student's success was done on Friday...and then I was roped into being a judge for the entire day Saturday just to polish things off!
My responsibilities completely attended to, I thought now would be a good time to bring forth some important musicological discoveries concerning the acoustics of the beer bottle.
I have done extensive testing in the past months, and am happy to report my findings now.
Most interesting is that the pitch of the played (or "blown") note is exactly one half step lower than the pitch of the bottle struck at it's base REGARDLESS OF THE VOLUME OF AIR (OR BEER) IN THE BOTTLE. This has been true in every case, and will lead me to postulate something truly important as soon as I can bring my thoughts to bear on the subject.
In the case of this specimen (Sam Light), flicking the body of the bottle will provide a minor seventh above the pitch struck at its' base, and flicking the neck will provide a major seventh above the struck pitch.
And so it can be found that the pitch of the neck is exactly two octaves above the pitch of the played (or "blown") note, and the pitch of the body is the leading tone for for that second octave.
Now to all of you who teach and enable today's youth to discover, succeed, and enjoy an amzing art form whose benefits are truly incalcuable: Cheers!
James Tobin
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-12-08 23:42
Golly-dern, J T, a great discovery, I'm now distressed I didn't pursue this velly interesting reseaarch when opportunity presented itself. In search of our ?desired? "dark" sounds, have/will you continue with a Sam Dark, one of my favs, incidentally? Having been a "bottle collector" [until my B W threw them out], I may have to start afresh to get to the bottom of this. Is your analysis of the harmonics available?, hopefully in "simple minded" differential equations [about as fur a I kan go]. Enjoy, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: James
Date: 2007-12-09 00:38
I predict a beer bottle ensemble (or at least a piece written for one) withing seven months.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-12-09 01:16
and i have 99 bottles of beer on the wall right now.
wonder what I should do with them
btw, how did your students do ?
:-)
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-12-09 02:53
This is true for Sam Light.
But what happens with Dark?
Does it matter if it is Pilsner or Lager?
What happens during Oktoberfest, when Wheatbeer is available?
Did Schoenberg know this??
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-12-09 03:37
James: Let me know when auditions are!
Steve: I'll know in a day or two.
Alseg: I have tested discriminatingly. Clear, green or brown...a great deal of consistency. (Hefewiezens included!)
...and I haven't yet consulted "beautiful mountain" yet.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Mike Johnson
Date: 2007-12-09 04:08
Bottle symphony orchestra:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/908741/bottle_symphony_orchestra/
Mike Johnson
Napa, California
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2007-12-09 09:35
You beat me to it Mike! That video was the first thing that came to mind!
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-12-09 12:29
Aha, so brown is to light
is NOT like oehler is to boehm
They are consistent.
<<Hefewiezens included>>
This is good.
Ready for the Bier Barrel Polka any day now.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-09 13:40
"Most interesting is that the pitch of the played (or "blown") note is exactly one half step lower than the pitch of the bottle struck at it's base REGARDLESS OF THE VOLUME OF AIR (OR BEER) IN THE BOTTLE. This has been true in every case, and will lead me to postulate something truly important as soon as I can bring my thoughts to bear on the subject."
A similar thing applies with flutes and reeds - if you slap your fingers down on the keys without blowing a note, the percussive tones of fingers and pads against the body tube will be higher in pitch than those that are played.
I think a flute has about a semitone difference (sounding about a semitone lower when played in the normal manner) and saxes have around a minor 3rd difference (sounding about a minor 3rd lower when played in the conventional way).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2007-12-10 18:51
Chris,
is that before or after you've "tested" a 6 pack ?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-12-10 20:18
Why settle for a 6-pack when you can have a keg!
Though the effects of carbon dioxide in the breath are also a factor worth considering - as CO2 is more dense than air, it has a flattening effect on the pitch.
Try this simple experiment - as fast as you can, drink a large glass of Coke or any carbonated drink of your choice, and while playing a sustained note, burp.
You will notice a drop in pitch of around a 3rd (or less depending on the volume of CO2 from your stomach), and will resume normal operating pitch after a while once the larger volume of CO2 has escaped (though the air still in your lungs won't be affected). The pitch drop with the extra CO2 is uniform across the range of the clarinet.
But not a good idea with double reeds (especially oboe and cor) due to the high breath resistance - you will need to exhale and take a fresh breath to get back to normal playing pitch as the CO2 can't escape as fast as on a flute (with no breath resistance) or a clarinet, so the pitch drop will last as long as you like before you exhale and take a fresh breath.
And definitely another good reason to discourage anyone from drinking Coke (or any gassy or sugary drink) while playing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: MichaelR
Date: 2007-12-11 22:16
Tobin wrote:
> My responsibilities completely attended to, I thought now would
> be a good time to bring forth some important musicological
> discoveries concerning the acoustics of the beer bottle.
>
> Most interesting is that the pitch of the played (or "blown")
> note is exactly one half step lower than the pitch of the
> bottle struck at it's base REGARDLESS OF THE VOLUME OF AIR (OR
> BEER) IN THE BOTTLE. ...
>
> In the case of this specimen (Sam Light)
Has all your testing been confined to the standard long neck bottle?
What about:
- the stubbie (squat bottle)
- the nip (9 oz)
- shot neck standard
- Anchor Steam's vase like bottle
- 22oz wine like bottle, commonly used by Belgian, Ommegang would be available to you east coast folks
All of these deserve attention.
--
Michael of Portland, OR
Be Appropriate and Follow Your Curiosity
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