 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: drew
Date: 2001-02-10 01:07
As you can see, this clarinet has a special mechanism (a "Full Boehm") when compared to the majority of clarinets (Standard Boehm, 6 ring/17 keys). The hole you are asking about is a tone hole for the g#/c#, one of the special features of this clarinet.
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Author: Pam
Date: 2001-02-10 01:08
There is an extra hole there to accomodate the extra keywork of the "full boehm" system. You may notice that this clarinet has several additional keys -- more than a standard clarinet.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-02-10 11:50
When you assemble the clarinet this hole lines ujp with another one in the tenon socket. So the C#/G# key is mounted on the lower section of clarinet.
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2001-02-10 16:14
That hole is placed in it's best position for proper intonation. Standard clarinets have this G# hole shifted a little to allow the clarinet to be broken down there. This is the reason the one piece clarinet is coming back into vogue. You can place the G# hole in it's best location on a single piece clarinet even if it is a standard Boehm!
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-02-10 17:48
Nice question, Bill. Let's get a bit more light on the subject. You may wish to get out your clarinet to compare. . .
On your clarinet, the C#/G# key is located on the bottom of the top joint . . . right? Notice that on this clarinet, the key is missing. No key . . . therefore no tone hole under the right hand trill keys.
Now notice on the ebay photos that the C#/G# key has been transplanted to the very top of the bottom joint. Also notice that there is one additional tone hole at the top of the joint covered by a pad that your clarinet doesn't have. That tone hole is the missing tone hole from the top joint. You can see by how close it is to the top of the joint that the tenon joint would interfere with this tone hole if the joint didn't have a hole drilled through it.
One thing to note is that this change does not make the ebay horn a full Boehm. This modification is found on a lot of horns. It's the EXTRA keys, not the transplanted keys, that make it a full Boehm, including the low Eb keys seen for both hands on the lower joint.
Another thing to consider is that A clarinets have a reputation for being resistant to blow; so do full Boehms. Does this mean this horn will be doubly resistant to blow? I dunno. LeBlanc makes a great horn, so I doubt that it's really bad. But I wouldn't expect it to play like your Bb. Great breath support exercise though.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-02-10 19:18
Fred wrote:
>
> ... One thing to note is that this change does not make the ebay
> horn a full Boehm. This modification is found on a lot of
> horns. It's the EXTRA keys, not the transplanted keys, that
> make it a full Boehm, including the low Eb keys seen for both
> hands on the lower joint.
It's not just the extra keys alone that make an instrument a full Boehm. It must also have the articulated C#/G# mechanism. This is not an extra key by any means but just a different way of doing the key that allows easy trills from clarion F# to clarion G# or the corresponding chaluemeau register trill. It's quite common to build clarinets that are a bit more than a standard Boehm but not quite a full Boehm.
The full Boehm has all these features in comparison to a standard Boehm.
1) Forked Eb/Bb mechanism
2) Articulated C#/G# mechanism
3) Left hand Ab/Eb key
4) Low Eb key
If it doesn't have all four, it's less than a full Boehm but more than a standard Boehm.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-02-10 23:30
Terry, the big down-side of a one-piece clarinet is checking for leaks. I get one section, put a cork in the end, close all the keys with one hand, and push a mouthfull of air gently into the other end. If there is a slight leak it can almost always be localised by blowing a lot harder so the escaping air can be heard, and using the FREE HAND to squeeze the various key cups tighter shut, one at a time, until the audible air gush stops.
With a one piece clarinet both hands are occcupied closing the keys, so squeezing tests cannot be done.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2001-02-11 18:26
Thanks for the clarification, Dee. Actually, I was more focused on explaining what the photo's dark spot in the cork was than going into detail on what the criteria for a full Boehm is, and also differentiating the many horns that have the feature Bill asked about from the much rarer full Boehm. But I trust that everything you said was technically correct.
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Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 2001-02-11 21:37
I presume the reason that a full Boehm Bb clarinet is more resistant to blowing than a standard Bb is that it is longer. An A clarinet is also longer. So it should be more resistant as well. An A clarinet which also has the low Eb key enabling it to go down to a written Eb, actual pitch C would have to even longer again, making it even more resistant. I'm guessing here.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-02-12 02:39
I serviced a pair (Selmer Paris) this morning and I don't like them. Tooooooooo heavy. Too resistant. They fight against me playing them. The Low Eb could be useful on the Bb for playing transposed works for the A. But why have the low Eb on the A, making it so heavy!! Has anybody ever written a work for A clarinet going down to Eb?
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