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Excellent article on how the clarinet works

Author: oca
Date: 2012-03-12 07:32

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/flutes.v.clarinets.html

Too long; didn't read:
Because of the closed pressure on only one end the amplitude of the variation in pressure and the amplitude of the variation in the flow in air is different, thus the pressure wave completes 1/4 of its cycle in when it gets to the end, instead of the open ended instruments which completes one cycle at the beginning and one at the end resulting in 1/2 of the cycle, explaining why a flute playing the same note as a clarinet with a body of the same length will play an octave higher than the clarinet (wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional).

Tl;dr Tl;dr
Open ended instruments and close ended instruments have different pressure patterns which dictate their pitch relative to the length of the instrument.

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Re: Excellent article on how the clarinet works

Author: Tobin
Date: 2012-03-12 12:51

Yup -- the clarinet (like the pipe organ) is a stopped cylindrical pipe, essentially vibrating at four times it's length.

James

Gnothi Seauton

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