 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: javier garcia
Date: 2000-12-22 11:37
I've recently purchased a Buffet Bass Clarinet, 1180 model.
An interesting feature is that the low Eb is on the low joint, not in the bell. There is an open hole in the bell that allows me to play the low D, with my foot! (only for fun).
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2000-12-22 12:44
The open hole on the bell creates the proper tube length for an in-tune low E-flat. And I realize you are just kidding when you mention closing the hole with your foot to play a D, but there is no guarantee that closing it would create a good note at a specific pitch. My low-C buffet is similar and I admit that I haven't tried plugging the hole to see what would happen. Truth be known, the bell provides very little functionality on a clarinet and you could probably take a hacksaw (which I don't recommend) to the bell at about the point where the hole is and still have an instrument that sounded just as good.
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Author: bob gardner
Date: 2000-12-22 14:39
I have read or heard that the bell is 95 percent looks and very little function. Try playing with out it and see what happens.
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Author: javier garcia
Date: 2000-12-22 14:52
I'll try this evening. I guess the only difference will be low Eb out of pitch. On the other hand, I've read that the bell is a crucial part of brass instruments, that allows waves to stabilize in the tube.
Naturally the "low D" is only for fun but it sounds in pitch (according to my ear, I don't have a tuner do verify it)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-12-22 16:34
javier garcia wrote:
>
> On the other hand, I've read that the
> bell is a crucial part of brass instruments, that allows waves
> to stabilize in the tube.
That's as good a statement as any other. The flare on the bell of a brass instrument is an acoustic "impedance matcher", which takes the pressure waves from a narrow section of pipe and gradually allows them to expand and match the resistance of the "outside world". Doing so changes the harmonics in the sound - something gets changed in that gradual expansion, and the rate of expansion changes with different bell flares. Many brass instruments have replaceable bells, so you can change basic tonality by changing bells.
Clarinets (except for the lowest note(s)) have almost of their sound escape via the toneholes. The bell actually acts as a very large tonehole. It's flared again to help the low note "match" the outside resistance.
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