 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2011-10-05 20:11
Greetings to you all. I have not posted in a long time. I have a nice used clarinet, but the other day I found one pretty cheap at a thrift store, so the kid in me had to have it. Well, it is an Artley, and it needs a barrel. Was wondering what length I should buy, since I have one already in other clarinet and would a different length be a good choice or try to find standard? I just wonder what would be a great choice. I certainly do not want to invest too much in this, but I see various options on the internet. I live in a humid climate with a lot of heat in the summer and some cold in the winter. Thanks so kindly for your time and recommendations in length. Blessings to you all.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-10-05 20:24
The only real choice is whatever length plays in tune on the instrument. Is the other clarinet an Artley?
Regardless of what brand it is, does the other barrel fit on the Artley's tenon? If so, try the other barrel and see where the instrument's pitch is. If it's very sharp you need something longer. If it's flat, you need a shorter barrel for it. You want to have a little room to adjust upward when the instrument is cold or the band is sharp, so ideally you'd want a barrel slightly too short so when it's all the way in it's slightly sharp. If the one you have does that then get another of the same length.
Some players keep a second shorter-than-ideal barrel around for playing in really sharp ensembles, but you wouldn't want to play on that all the time. It isn't good to have to pull the barrel out more than a millimeter or so.
Karl
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Author: William
Date: 2011-10-05 20:32
The "standard" Bb clarinet barrel length is 66mm, but they do vary from 64mm to 67, depending on the length of the rest of the instrument. Before you buy a new barrel, you should check how the pitch is with your clarinet on a tuner. Standard pitch is A=440. When you play your B on your clarinet, it will register on the tuner as an A and if the pitch is too low, you need a shorter barrel. If the pitch is too high, you need a longer one. It's as simple as that. I would suspect that an Artley would be built to somewhat standard specifications and that the barrel length needed would be 65mm or 66mm. However, try before you buy.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-05 21:14
Artleys usually had a fairly short barrel as standard (around 64-65mm at a guess), though I suspect they may be better with a 66mm one.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2011-10-05 23:27
Wow!!!! Thank you all so very much for your information and advice. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT !!!! THANK YOU!
I would definitely have made some bad choice, I am sure, without these comments from you all. Thank you for sparing me from them.
I will see where I am with the tuner and proceed from there, and I do see a possible barrel on the internet, so first things first.
By the way, regarding clarinet replacement pads...if one or so needs to be replaced how are they replaced? Does one use any kind of glue or adhesive to keep them in or ??? Actually, I get the feeling a lot of people are doing it themselves nowadays, so wonder what the standard fair is for doing so??? Any links? Thanks so kindly.
Also, another question...LOL...in the past I have taken old instrument cases and totally soaked them with dish washing detergent (Dawn), which causes the plush fabrics to loosen out of the case, and then I totally wash out everything, completely and thoroughly, and sun dry it all and re-glue it all and had tremendous success in doing all this work (sometimes a project takes days to complete), and well, what if with all that, one day one opens a case to find tiny specs surrounding a part of the instrument, pads, cork, etc. What is that? And what caused it? Bearing in mind, one thinks they got it absolutely germ free and so forth, squeaky clean that is...???? Anyone know what I am talking about? Resolution??? Cause???? What is it? Thanks so kindly again.
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Author: Elkwoman46
Date: 2011-10-06 20:00
Just wanted to follow up and state: that I saw a link here to another website about clarinets and got my information about the Artley! It was so refined with information that I actually learned that buying a longer one was a great choice because the original shorter ones played too sharp for that particular Artley. So, I am set. Thanks so much for whoever posted that link!
Learned so much and am so thankful!
Blessings to you all!
I have a feeling that beginner clarinets are some how geared for shorter barrels deliberately making them sharper to coincide with all the other instruments in the band that tend to be sharp as well, yes?
What would we do without our tuners? I have no idea. I'd be so confused.
Or I should say, I'd be even MORE confused. LOL
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-10-06 21:19
Artleys were most likely supplied with shorter barrels so beginners won't have to struggle so hard to play up to pitch while their embouchure muscles are still developing.
But on the negative side it does mean their embouchure muscles won't have to be as well developed than they would be if they had a longer barrel and they made the effort to play up to pitch.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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