 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2015-12-07 21:39
Often when I play clarion B, I get an undertone along with it. Both the B and the undertone sound muddy. I've been scratching my head, trying to figure out why I get it sometimes and not at others. Does it have to do with the flow of air, fingering, or something else? Normally, I play that B with both R and L pinkies down rather than just one or the other. Any ideas?
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2015-12-07 21:45
Make sure all the finger holes are closed completely (sometimes pushing pinky keys subtly moves one of the RH or even LH fingers enough to make a gap). Also make sure you're "supporting" your air from the abdominal muscles.
If you're using "cool/cold" air that'll help (i.e. raised back of tongue in an "eeeee" position). One other idea I use with my students is to have them think that the clarinet is twice as long as it actually is, and that they have to blow that "long" of an airstream.
Also have the instrument checked out. It could be the skin on a pad is creating the illusion of an undertone.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-12-07 21:59
Most of the time I use standard B4 ![[B4]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/b4.gif) fingering, but there are a couple of places in my repertoire (especially forceful sustained B4's) that I find it helpful to also vent the LH A key. Try it, you'll like it.
I'm pretty sure this came from one of Tom Ridenour's books or videos.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-12-07 23:10
The cause is almost certainly that the crow's-foot attached to the bottom of the right-hand low F key is out of adjustment and does not completely close the low F key when you press the E/B key.
To test this, play third-line B with your right little finger pressing the F/C key. The B will almost certainly be fine. Raise and lower your right little finger, which will bring the B out of focus and then back in.
The cure is to bend the crow's-foot slightly to make the F/C pad seal exactly along with the E/B pad. Any repair tech can do this in a few seconds and probably with no charge.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2015-12-07 23:46
I second the use of the throat A key as an extra vent for the B, but you should also check that the speaker tube is completely clean and clear as this has a significant effect on that B.
You can use a cotton bud (reduced in size if needed) to clean the tube but since it's shape is often an hour glass or inverse cone it might be worth ahving a tech check it, it's only a small job.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2015-12-08 02:51
I use a dampened pipe-cleaner to clean the register tube. The kind that looks like a miniature bottle brush.
Ken Shaw
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2015-12-08 12:04
Does it happen throughout the length of the note?
Or only when you start the note?
If the latter, how about when you move in legato from another note? For example a close note like C or a far note like something in the low register or upper clarion?
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2015-12-09 07:45
One time my lower joint E/B made the most amazing sound. It was like a combination of two notes sounding in harmony, or rapidly alternating, like multiphonics. The RH Ab/Eb pad spring was loose. It kept the pad closed enough so that you didn't notice it, but leaked when played.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2015-12-09 23:12
Another easy-to-fix cause of this problem could be that the crow's foot itself is fine, but the bumper-cork on the crow's foot (where the crow's foot meets up with the key-lever bottoms) has worn down.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2015-12-11 07:20
Clarnibass..."Does it happen throughout the length of the note?
Or only when you start the note?
If the latter, how about when you move in legato from another note? For example a close note like C or a far note like something in the low register or upper clarion?"
I've been sorting through all the suggestions people have made and am still scratching my head with some of them, usually because I think I may need a second set of hands to help "seal" the hole right below the F/C area. However, I know exactly how to answer YOUR questions. The double tone comes only at the very beginning of the note. Sometimes even the C does the same thing and it only happens at the very beginning of the note. It doesn't seem to matter whether I lead into it from a low register note or a high register note.
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2015-12-11 07:25
Good one, Stan. It sure made the B sound better and, although I'm not yet positive yet, it may have solved the problem. I'm GUARANTEED, that if I play the E above the B and go right to the B, I'll get the double sound. However, if I also slightly play the LH A, I don't get the second sound. Wow! Now I'm wondering why this is!
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2015-12-11 08:07
Glad I could help. First time I tried A on long B I was amazed.
The register key is a compromise. For the best, most stable and good sounding long B (and a range of other notes), the hole should be bigger than it is. But that would make the throat Bb bad. (Or I've got something backwards, somebody will correct me, LOL.) When you vent the A also, long B is more like it should be. But that doesn't work for any other notes.
Register key limitations are the reason for all the funky alternate keywork in old and a few new clarinets, trying to engineer around the problems. Never really worked that well, and added to the complexity with more things to go wrong. That's why the simpler design is still the standard.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2015-12-11 08:09)
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