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Re:

Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-03-05 19:15

Lisa:

Let me state things that may be obvious to you; I'm not sure....apologies if this is already known to you--I don't want to insult your intelligence:

The distance the sound travels from the mouthpiece to the first opening in the clarinet affects the pitch of the note (as in whether it's not only sharp, flat or in key, but what letter note it is on the scale.)

Only notes like the low "E" or middle "B," where all fingers are down truly use the clarinet's bell as their primary exit point. All other notes emmanate in large part from the next opening in the clarinet's "pipe."

Purists will rightfully say that the full length of the clarinet isn't irrelevant when playing notes with only a few fingers down. Rather, let's just say that said length becomes closer to essential with the addition of fingers.

That said, anyway that we lengthen the clarinet will, all other things constant, lower its pitch. Usually, the first place this is deliberately done, when a clarinet plays sharp compared to either a tuner, or the rest of an ensemble of players is to create distance between the left hand joint and the barrel. But creating this distance between the mouthpiece and barrel, instead or additionally, is valid too. This can be done by creating space between the joints, or in the use of a longer barrel.

When a player is unusually sharp, it is best to create the length in the clarinet by not merely creating additional distance before the left hand joint, but between the left and right hand joints as well. This is because merely adjusting tuning at the area around the barrel more affects notes created with few fingers down than those with more fingers down.

This should be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYx3pj0L790

Glad to hear you've returned to your clarinet studies. : - )

Post Edited (2015-03-05 19:25)

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