 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-07-20 23:07
What is it about the clarinet that makes it overblow on 12ths? Could they make a clarinet that overblows octaves?
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-07-21 01:32
The bore is near parallel (no flare) and this results in the register change.
A conical bore would blow the octave with the register key, like a Tarogato or Soprano sax.
I'm paraphrasing those that have gone before.
Do a search in the Archives for Daniel BENade and physics.
We, as clarinet players, are either lucky or cursed (or both) to have an exceptional instrument.
anji
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Author: Rene
Date: 2001-07-21 07:57
A clarinet that overblows in an octave is called a saxophon. Compare a soprano sax and a metal clarinet (for pictures go to http://www.ebay.com:). They look alike, but the bore of the sax is conical with a wide open bell. Overblowing in an octave means less range (obviously), but the benefit is the lack of inferior throat tones. A clarinet of same size will also be deeper, since it contains only a quarter wave (hope I am correct here). Moreover, the overtone structures of the clarinets are completely different, and the sound is finer (at least to my ears). The wide bell of saxophones and the big bore is responsible for their loudness, I guess.
Rene
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-07-21 12:29
Here is the explaination found on the following wed site:
http://www.hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html Once there click on the "sound" link, then the "instrument" link, and finally the "clarinet" link.
John
Register Key of Clarinet
The lower notes of the clarinet are achieved by opening holes along the closed cylindrical air column to shorten the air column and raise its fundamental frequency. A higher series of notes, called its "upper register" can be produced by forcing the air column to vibrate at its third harmonic frequency instead of the fundamental. This upper register is achieved by using a register key or "speaker key" which opens an additional hole in the side of the instrument close to the mouthpiece. This open hole destroys the fundamental mode and forces the air column up to its next resonance, which is the third harmonic (closed cylinders produce only odd harmonics). The open hole produces a pressure node at a point where the fundamental mode produces a significant pressure variation, so that the lowest vibrational mode cannot be sustained. The musical interval between the lower and upper registers is an octave plus a musical fifth, compared to an octave interval for overblowing the flute.
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2001-07-21 19:04
Hm. My internet server won't let me open that wed site. It's very disappointing, too, because I was hoping to find my husband. (Just teasing!!) Actually, thanks for the explanations everyone, I had heard something similar to this in the past, but wasn't quite sure. Now I know without a doubt why the clarinet sounds better than the sax!
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2001-07-23 16:23
A great one to add to your reading list is O.Lee Gibson's book, Clarinet Acoustics.
It's not very long and really helped me to understand a lot about the various things involved in playing the clarinet. You can get it through Barnes and Noble <www.bn.com> at a pretty good price. It's one I'm glad I got. I keep it handy for questions that come up.
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