 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Grandpa
Date: 2010-03-01 00:13
I have three clarinets I want to adjust the pad height on to get them in tune. The University of Wisconsin here has a very good music department and I am trying to get a student who knows clarinet to play while I record the results on a tuning chart and then make adjustments to the cork to adjust the height of the pads. I may also take a few beginning clarinet lessons at the age of 69. I did play violin in highschool. I have read that a high pad makes a note sharper and it is possible to go lower, but not so much that the not is muffled. I have noted entries on this blog referring to this tuning technique. The clarinets I want to tune are the wooden Sears Silvertone, a plastic Vito vari-tone and a Model 40 Noblet from 1960. Someone recently had a posting about a Schwenk & Seggelke M1000 clarinet where they also posted the Tuning Chart http://www.paulplaysclarinet.com/main/Blog/Entries/2010/2/18_Schwenk_&_Seggelke_M1000_Clarinets_Part_Deux_files/S%26S%20TUNING%20CHART%20-%20Bb.pdf and thought it might be something to work from; however, I don’t know what I am doing here and maybe the best thing is to just try to come close on a tuning meter. I need help here on how to proceed.
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2010-03-01 01:29
I would take it to a reputable repair person. If you bend one of the arms leading to the pad cup, trying to adjust its height, you run the risk of the pad not seating correctly.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2010-03-01 03:24
Adjusting pad heights will fix issues where a few notes are off from the others ; but won't address a generalized intonation issue.
E.G., if you are always flat on most notes, or always sharp, then its probably technique (possibly equipment: mouthpiece and or reed) and not pad heights.
You're never too old for lessons. Go for it.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2010-03-01 12:35
You can of course put temporary shims (bits of tape) in certain places to 'try out' changes before you adjust anything 'permanently'.
Bear in mind also that many tuning issues can be helped significantly simply by pulling out at either the middle joint or even the bell.
Remember that each pad controls several notes (the two main registers, for starters).
For older clarinets, try and work out before you start what they might have looked like when they were new. What's worn? Why were things done that way in the first place?
Above all, remember... look twice, cut once!
Have fun!
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Author: Grandpa
Date: 2010-03-01 12:41
The Silvertone needed a lot of bending because it was way off to begin with. I found that if I thought about angles and where to do the bending that it went OK. Also, the 273 page book by Ronald Saska, A Guide to Repairing Woodwinds, helped. Unfortunately Saska does not say anything about adjusting pitch. It seems to me the logical thing to do is use a tuning meter and adjust to that as best I can. I have read that a technician can spend several hours playing and adjusting to get a clarinet in tune with itself. I also understand that tuning rings and barrel length adjustments are needed at times. Richard Bush, Throat tones, tune up note and barrels, Thu, 26 Aug 1999 wrote up a long article about that here, which could be quite helpful.
Additional Editing: Bassie, you and I must have been posting at the same time and you slipped in just ahead of me. Thanks for the encouragement. Some folks here might be apalled at the idea, but I have always done my own automotive repairs and I find there is quite a bit of carryover in working on a clarinet. For me bending key pads was not a problem, the metal is just softer with not as much spring to it as mild steel before it starts to bend. Duck bill pliars and especially the Crescent type of adjustable wrenches work best for me.
Post Edited (2010-03-01 13:13)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2010-03-01 13:48
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you cannot get a clarinet to play perfectly in tune with itself by making physical adjustments to it. Some notes will (and should) always be a little off by default (usually sharp). If you tinker around with it too much, you run the risk of creating more problems than you solve.
To play in tune, you have to make little adjustments here and there with your mouth.
Here is a page about clarinet tuning you might find useful:
http://www.clarkwfobes.com/articles/TuningtheClarinetforPS.htm
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Author: Grandpa
Date: 2010-03-01 15:38
Thanks so much for the link, Tuning and Voicing the Clarinet. This looks exactly like what I want. I am not working with professional quality clarinets, so if I destroy an $80 clarinet (including new pads) not much is lost, plus I get to learn and try something new. I have read that as you get older, those of us who keep using our minds manage to keep our cognitive abilities better. I remember a bluegrass concert at a college many years ago where there were six players that took turns and one of them was a 96-year-old fiddle player who gave an excellent performance. Maybe learning to play the clarinet will help keep me young. The more I get into it, the more the instrument fascinates me.
Update: You have to realize that I am not playing any of these horns yet, so it's not like I have any attachment to them, that I treasure any of them yet because I know just how they have to be played.
Post Edited (2010-03-01 15:43)
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2010-03-01 15:47
The suggestions above are V G. Caution is advised. I should think that the Noblet would be your best choice to ask/play-for a Clarinet repairer's opinion if pad height adjustment is even needed, or if something else would be better. LUCK, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: kdk
Date: 2010-03-01 16:55
Another thing to consider -
Often the same fingering tunes differently in the chalumeau from the way it tunes in the clarion (a twelfth higher). Be sure to check both registers for any changes you make. You often have to compromise.
Karl
Post Edited (2010-03-01 16:56)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2010-03-02 05:47
Do you have an electronic tuner? It may save you a lot of time taping a college student playing your clarinet. Another issue is the student may play differently than you.
If you can pick up a tuner, probably $30 or so, could help you more than a student.
There are other things that could cause the clarinet to play out of tune, such as the holes are too large or too small. Sometimes just using a different barrel could help.
Feel free in emailing me in depth advice.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-03-02 08:50
Bob Bernardo wrote:
> Do you have an electronic tuner? It may save you a lot of time
> taping a college student playing your clarinet. Another issue
> is the student may play differently than you.
>
> If you can pick up a tuner, probably $30 or so, could help you
> more than a student.
There are a number of suitable tuner applets in http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~tuner/tuner_e.html, all of them free (as in beer).
--
Ben
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2010-03-02 09:23
Didn't know that! Thanks for the info. I still prefer free beer over a tuner! Can we have both?
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Author: Chris J
Date: 2010-03-02 10:10
Or an on-line tuner....
http://www.seventhstring.com/tuner/tuner.html
Chris
Post Edited (2010-03-02 10:11)
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