 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JordanT
Date: 2013-11-17 00:36
Issues I am seeking to resolve: 1. Sharp throat tones: open G and A 2. Slightly flat lower register, and 3. Upper register always in tune........what gives? I play on a VD B45 mouthpiece, it seems okay. I have a Mitchell lurie M4 (also from the 70's), which I haven't used for a few years now - and a 67mm barrel. I have used covered fingerings for G, it helps, but not enough.
Is anyone aware of a "mechanical" problem that might cause any of these issues? Suggestions on anything I have mentioned happily considered. Would also appreciate your opinion on the Selmer C95 130 and M13 Lyre mouthpieces. I've been playing for 30 years, and play in a civic orchestra - but am by no means a clarinet expert. Thanks!
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-11-17 14:14
What part of the "lower register" is slightly flat? It's more or less normal for the bottom two or three to be flat - I've never been sure why, but it seems to be axiomatic that if the chalumeau bell tones are in tune, the twelfths (long B, C and C#) will be sharp. Not apparently much to be done about it.
Throat intonation is the most affected by barrel length or pull-out (a millimeter is much larger proportionally to throat A than to the bell notes). Often, *if the rest of the instrument is tuning satisfactorily*, you can bring the throat notes down by putting narrow strips of thin tape - thin plastic like electrical tape - layer by layer around the *upper* half of the circumference of the A tone hole (for A and G#) and the tone hole under the A key, which is the first open hole when playing G. You can use tape for any note that's a little sharp to the rest of the instrument, but doing it to these holes has no other unintended consequences (like throwing the twelfths of the note out of tune). If A is good but G# is still sharp, you can do the same thing to the G# tone hole.
You put the tape around the top to make the tone hole a little smaller and also, in effect, to lower it a little along the instrument's length. The tape strips need to be cut narrow enough not to protrude into the bore or, of course, above the pad seat. I think some players may use nail polish brushed on a layer at time, but that' a little too permanent for me - if I change mouthpieces the pitch adjustment may need to change and tape is much easier to remove than lacquer.
This assumes the clarinet in general is in tune with the barrel and mouthpiece you're using. If you change mouthpieces you may well have to take the tape out entirely or use less because mouthpieces contribute their own effect on an instrument's tuning.
Karl
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-11-17 23:25
The 13 series 440 vandorens will tune lower, especially in the throat tones. That would help quite a bit.
To check the instrument, have someone you trust try it with your setup and then their setup. Note any differences in pitch from you to the other person on the same setup. Then see if they have similar issues with their own setup on your horn. If that's the case, the horn has some imperfections (bore size changed or wasn't right from the beginning, etc).
It's all basic scientific method. Isolate your variables and analyze the data.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-11-17 23:40
The VD mouthpiece is ostensibly designed to be used on German clarinets (though the tenon on one I tried back in the late 90s was too small to work on a real German clarinet), and I would surmise that the internal dimensions will only wreack havoc on the internal pitch of an American pitch Buffet.
Just try a normal mouthpiece (non 13 Series 5RV Lyre). I think a typical mouthpiece and a 66mm barrel (what most of us used back then anyway) should even things out.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-11-18 00:55
Paul Aviles wrote:
> The VD mouthpiece is ostensibly designed to be used on German
> clarinets
Paul, which "VD" mouthpieces do you mean?
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2013-11-18 01:37
My apologies !!!!
I misread the post in haste. There is a Vandoren VD (which is NOT what the poster was talking about). Sorry, I have no answer to this query.
................Paul Aviles
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