 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: dibble
Date: 2018-05-14 18:58
Hi all, my Selmer 10s is 10-15 cents sharp from clarion A (left hand) on up. Do any of you have this experience with this model? How does one deal with it? Lower the tongue for these notes? Loosen embouchure for this area?
It is not me I'm sure because I can play my newish Antigua by Backun clarinet pretty well in tune in all registers. Also, the instrument is in perfect adjustment with the 12ths below the said sharp notes in tune with current pad heights.
Thank you!!
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-05-14 23:56
Here is a general outline of tuning fixes. Your question is answered near the top.
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Lower register flat and left hand upper notes sharp?
Barrel bore too large.
Sharp in the upper part of the second register and the lower altissimo notes?
Barrel bore too large.
Altissimo notes flat?
Barrel bore needs to be cylindrical or mouthpiece bore too large.
Altissimo sharp and the throat tones flat?
Barrel bore needs to be conical, (smaller toward the bell).
Flat in the upper part of the second register and the lower altissimo notes?
Barrel bore too small.Twelfths near the mouthpiece too wide?
Barrel bore needs to be conical, (smaller toward the bell).
It is essential to use a mouthpiece with the correct bore size and shape for a given clarinet.
A mouthpiece with a bore smaller than ideal will play;
*Sharp up to about A in the second register and flat above that?
Mouthpiece bore is undersize.
*Flat up to about A in the second register and sharp above that?
Mouthpiece bore is oversize.
(Because –This works for the lower register, esp. throat area. However, the effect diminishes when going higher. For the altissimo it's mainly the length of the bore that counts, not the volume. So, reaming your mouthpiece makes the throat notes lower but will not alter the altissimo.)
Left hand twelfths too wide?
Expand the bore around the speaker hole either conically or cylindrically.
Altissimo is sharp and the twelfths near the mouthpiece are too large?
A conical barrel will help.
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Post Edited (2018-05-15 19:50)
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Author: Chetclar
Date: 2018-05-15 17:59
I have had the same problem with 10G tuning. I found a good older Gigliotti P mouthpiece that really improved the tuning of the instrument. The internal bore of this mouthpiece fits the 10G better. Also, try a Selmer Paris mouthpiece with the facing written on the table from the 1940’s-60’s.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2018-05-15 20:53
dibble wrote:
> Hi all, my Selmer 10s is 10-15 cents sharp from clarion A (left
> hand) on up. Do any of you have this experience with this
> model? How does one deal with it? Lower the tongue for these
> notes? Loosen embouchure for this area?
>
I've played a 10G Bb clarinet since 1972 and bought my 10G A (which I also still play) a few years later. The A clarinet has more of this clarion sharpness than the B. I don't know how the intonation in the upper clarion of the 10Gs compared to that of the 10S, but the 10G stock barrels incorporated Moennig's reverse taper, which was meant among other things to help correct the tendency to sharp A5-C6 of R13s of the time. I don't know if the Moennig taper will help with the 10S, but the barrels that are specifically advertised as having a reverse "Moennig" taper are Buffet-Moennig and Chadash.
Are you using the original barrel or an after-market one? I've always found, whenever I've tried aftermarket barrels, that I've come back to using the original stock barrels - even when I've tried Chadash and Buffet-Moennig barrels with the same type of taper. The originals tune better. I think Selmer's entry bore may have been slightly larger than R13's, and I know the taper in the 10G barrels starts like a Buffet-Moennig taper but opens up farther at the bottom end. 10S may be completely different.
There are custom makers who, if they're knowledgeable about the 10S's specific entry bore size and shape, might be able to make a barrel that would improve the tuning.
As far as ways to bring the pitch down while playing are concerned., I don't like to have to slacken my embouchure on a regular basis - I give up too much in control to be a good trade off. Lowering the tongue or in general enlarging the oral cavity, if it helps enough, can be useful.
Karl
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