 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: klook
Date: 2011-12-07 19:39
Attachment: IMG_5034.JPG (282k)
A very interesting thing has occurred.
In trying to find a suitable mouthpiece for an old "C" Cousenon clarinet I just refurbished I came across what is almost certainly an old "C" mouthpiece made of wood.
Its just a tad shorter than a modern Bb mouthpiece, a modern reed JUST fits on the table, actually the butt goes right to the end.
The bore is perfectly suited for the instrument, its unmarked, in good shape, and has a very short lay. Using a stiff reed this mouthpiece totally transforms the clarinet into something out of this world, its incredible.
Now the issue is this:
When I first tried the piece out I played for a few minutes and checked the tuning quick, just a slow run up chromatically, and it seemed quite decent.
Today I played the mouthpiece for an hour or so, and I noticed things seemed sharp. The instrument and mouthpiece, being wood, were now warmed up, and checking with the tuner everything was 20 cents or so sharp except for the lowest notes.
Can a wood mouthpiece really change that much? If I have the tip opened up how much might that affect the tuning?
I can't pull the barrel enough to compensate for the sharpness.
The instrument plays in tune to A-440 with a hard rubber piece I have, it just doesn't sound as good!
Any ideas would be great!
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Author: klook
Date: 2011-12-07 19:41
I should add, in the pic attached to the last post the "C" piece is pictured next to a standard Bb piece.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-12-07 22:21
Someone will have to chime in on the actual Cousenon C clarinet requirements, however, if the bigger mouthpiece is really in tune, then the smaller mouthpiece will have far too little internal volume to match it. You would in affect throw off the internal pitch of the whole horn if this is the case. I use "if" just in case the mouthpiece requirements are actually reverse. In which case the bigger mouthpiece would never get a correct internal pitch on that horn.
There is one other alternative. Both mouthpieces may be wrong for that instrument but again you'd have to wait for a learned reply.
As for the wood, material in itself makes NO difference to pitch. I personally prefer wooden mouthpieces (you can get them from Greg Smith for example) for the sound they achieve - distinctive, 'woody,' but with fewer overtones.
.................Paul Aviles
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