 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: nron
Date: 2016-05-24 19:03
Just curious, my xoo xoo Bb/Eb has never been in tune on my clarinet until recently when I took the clarinet to a repair tech for some things and specifically asked him to have a look at it.
My question, is it normal for the Bb using this fingering up the register to be very resistant? or at least more resistant than the other options to play that note. It could be that it came out of adjustment as soon as I took it out of the shop too.
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2016-05-24 19:13
The linkage between the top/bottom joints must be properly adjusted and aligned or you can get leakage in the pad between the 1st/2nd fingers of the left hand. This in turn can make the 1-1 fingering resistant, stuffy or even impossible to play.
If properly adjusted and aligned, this fingering should be clear, responsive and in tune.
Bob Barnhart
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-05-24 19:38
The long Bb/1-1 Bb/xoo|xoo fingering can be more resistant compared to the side key fingering due to the fact you're diminishing the venting by effectively closing two toneholes further down the instrument when RH finger 1 is held down.
In addition to that, the C#/G# key being naturally closed means there are in reality three closed toneholes between the LH2 chimney (or Eb/Bb tonehole) and LH3 tonehole (or D/A tonehole), so that extra resistance is to be expected.
The side or cross key fingerings for Bb (and lower register Eb) are much better vented and therefore less resistant as there aren't any closed toneholes on the lower joint.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2016-05-24 19:39
Try turning the middle joint one way and then the other and check each time to see if it gets better. My clarinet is very picky about the alignment of the middle linkage.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-05-24 20:36
The RH finger causes a pad to close on the upper joint, as well as one on the lower joint. The connection between is via the bridge. The cork on the bridge needs to be of a thickness to make the closures work. If the cork is too thin, the upper joint pad will not fully close. If the cork is too thick, the pad on the lower joint will not fully close, or will resist closure.
If the clarinet is assembled with the bridge parts misaligned, then usually that means not enough cork is coming into play, so the upper joint pad will not fully close. That would tend make the 1-1 Bb resistant or otherwise bad.
Note, that important cork can wear over time from use or careless assembly of the two joints. If the wear is gradual then the alignment tends to get increasingly picky. Eventually the cork needs to be replaced, or possibly the connection can be augmented with something like duct tape (which I blush to admit having done.)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-05-24 20:52
You adjust the long Bb linkage by fitting a thin piece of silencing material and gently bending the key until you have the pressures on both ring key pads right.
I personally prefer the LH2 ring key pad to close with a bit more pressure than the RH ring key pad as that will ensure the long Bb is reliable as it won't be if the LH2 pad closed with less pressure.
There's a certain amount of torsion in the keywork and also compression in the pads and silencing material (if soft pads and silencing materials have been used) that will allow things to work well for the long term.
With any linked keywork on woodwinds it's best to have the uppermost pad to close with the firmest pressure and then all pads below it to close with progressively lighter pressure as you go down to the lower end of the instrument so just using a single key will close all the pads in question. This is how the crow's foot regulation should also be set up so using just the LH E/B lever will give you E/B without having to hold down the RH F/C touch. And also on low C basses where all the lower joint keys from the RH F/C touch to the low C key can be closed to get low C with one single touchpiece.
Work with the materials and the torsion in the keywork and you'll have better reliability and stability as opposed to going on the theory as in practice things aren't always the same. Go with what works.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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