 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ted
Date: 2000-09-24 14:05
I just noticed that the throat Bb is very flat on one of my clarinets. ...actually my teacher noticed, and I checked it against a tuner at home. It's about 30 cents flat. The G, G#, A, B, and C are close to being perfectly in tune. I have two questions as a result:
1) How many cents out of tune are acceptable in slower passages?
2) Is that a quirk of that instrument, or can a repairman help without ruining upper register intonation?
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-09-24 17:24
Perhaps the register tube needs cleaning or the height of the register key in the open position needs adjusting.
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Author: DLE
Date: 2000-09-25 12:15
Ted, I have a friend who has EXACTLY the same problem every single time he plays a B-Flat in Wind Orchestra. When he can, he uses a second fingering for the throat B-Flat, which is in tune - unfortunately, I can't remember what the fingering is off hand, but I know it has alot to do with the trill keys on the right-hand side.
Sorry I couldn't help any more.
Dave.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-09-25 16:34
DLE - As many of us know, its the A key plus the next-to-the-top trill key, for me, useable on slow passages and long Bb's. The use of right-hand fingers to lower and stabilize throat tones is common practice also and has been discussed here frequently, Search the Phorum. Don
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Author: Eoin
Date: 2000-09-25 23:23
How flat is acceptable?
100 cents = 1 semitone (half step)
If a Bb is 100 cents flat, it is an A, perfectly in tune.
50 cents is so flat that it is exactly half to the next note so a Bb that is 50 cents flat is as much
an A as a Bb.
30 cents flat is very close to this and totally unacceptable.
10 cents flat is audible as flat by most players.
5 cents fllat is audible by some people but not by others.
The limit of acceptability is probably somewhere around 10 cents flat.
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Author: ted
Date: 2000-09-26 01:57
...many thanks. I took the register key off and cleaned the register tube. After putting the key back on, I'm now under ten cents flat. The note sounds better too, and the upper register is still in tune.
Intuitively I thought that crud in the tube would have raised the pitch, but what do I know?
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