Author: donald
Date: 2019-06-08 09:20
At the end of the 19th century German makers (mainly Oskar Oehler and his disciples) learnt that there were advantages to keeping the bore in the lower joint as cylindrical as possible - a design characteristic that remains to this day. The flare in the bore that is present in the lower 3rd of the Boehm joint happens much later in the Oehler clarinet. This has a few positive effects on the tone, and makes upward slurs/leaps into the altissimo register smoother. However it also makes the tones at the lower end of the instrument stuffier UNLESS there is more venting - hence the double tone hole (and the hole in the bell that helps vent E/B, this hole was originally not there for intonation but response).
It is noticeable that on many modern Boehm clarinets the G/D at the bottom of the instrument is a slightly stuffy note, and it seldom has a tone as "ringy" at that of the F/C and A/E either side of it. Having the double tone hole helps to even up the response and tone quality of these notes by brightening the G/D. It may also be used to allow the bore to remain cylindrical further down the joint, but it appears Boehm makers have not found this to be necessary.
As pointed out above, in German system clarinets the double hole allows the "patent C#" fingering, which allows the E/B to F#/C# interval to be played by lifting the right hand little finger. I don't know which came first - the tonal advantage or the fingering advantage (or if it was all pre planned in a stroke of design genius). Albert in Brussels used this fingering/key extensively but I don't know if he actually invented it, or if one of the German makers did.
dn
Post Edited (2019-06-08 09:29)
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The Clarinet BBoard
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