 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-10-11 21:50
Hello,
My question pertains to tuning individual notes, not the whole instrument.
For example, the G above the stuff is a little sharp on my A clarinet.
I can use three techniques to bring it down to tune:
1. Lip it down- find this not very reliable; maybe need to practice more time to get reliable result.
2. Press F/C key- that works fine but involves movement I am not accustomed to so sometimes coordination is a problem. I am sure it can be improved with more practice.
3. Lastly, if I lower the three fingers of the right hand to the point that they almost touch the rings, I get very reliably tuned G.
What techniques do you use?
Thank you
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Author: Ed
Date: 2025-10-11 23:15
How is the low C? You might consider pulling the middle joint slightly as long as that note is not flat.
If keeping close fingers helps, that is also beneficial for overall technique
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2025-10-12 00:00
If there is a prolonged note that is quite prominent in the texture of whatever is going on, I may use some alternate fingering, however, I find tuning with the embouchure the surest and fastest method to tune a quirky note. Remember the entire Boehm principle is to "lip" the B at the center of the staff down. That's how we got away from the "clunkier" German fingerings.
It is a good time to go back to addressing the general tuning. I had most of my life kept the in-tune posture at a point where my embouchure was pretty much at a maximum tension. I find now that keeping the "in-tune" for the clarinet at a more relaxed tension of the embouchure makes tuning easier. One glaring example is at the top of our range. Once you are in the altissimo, going from "somewhat relaxed" to "a little relaxed" is MUCH easier than tearing through your lower lip.
...........Paul Aviles
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-10-12 23:08
Ed wrote:
"How is the low C? You might consider pulling the middle joint slightly as long as that note is not flat. If keeping close fingers helps, that is also beneficial for overall technique"
The low C is fine. I understand that pulling the middle joint will change all the notes below it and on my clarinet they are fine.
I need to practice more and develop a habit of either keeping the fingers down and/or lipping down the G.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-10-13 05:27
Does that G5 tend to be sharp on some Boehm clarinets? Would adjusting downward the height of the top ring-controlled pad on the lower joint help?
Special fingerings here and there, such as the one described, seem to gain normalcy over time. If the F/C key works, then for opening the Mozart Concerto that would be a safe way to go.
Lowering the rh fingers just enough sounds interesting, perhaps needing considerable practice, reminiscent of a quarter-tone technique. Do other people use this method for pitch correction?
One might adequately voice a pitch change, which is different than "lipping" down or up. Try lowering the G (or any clarion note) with tongue alone, keeping jaw and embouchure steady. This needs practice for accuracy, but with familiarity may become automatic.
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-10-13 07:45
Philip Caron wrote:
"Does that G5 tend to be sharp on some Boehm clarinets? Would adjusting downward the height of the top ring-controlled pad on the lower joint help?"
a
I find the G5 sharp on most clarinets I have tried. In general, the left hand 12th are wide, Lowering the 3-ring key on the bottom joint affects both the G5 and lower C.
Usually, the low C is made a little flat and the G5 a little sharp - a compromise.
For Mozart concerto and quintet, pressing F/C key produces a very reliably tuned G5, at least on my instrument.
"One might adequately voice a pitch change, which is different than "lipping" down or up. Try lowering the G (or any clarion note) with tongue alone, keeping jaw and embouchure steady. This needs practice for accuracy, but with familiarity may become automatic."
I believe the above would work well, if I had better control over my embouchure.
Practice, practice and more practice.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-10-13 15:20
I tune to the upper register B only and think just because that one note's in tune, everything else is in tune a clarinets are always in tune.
Not really - I tune to a Concert D minor chord up and down the instrument. And it's better to have an upper register note that's slightly sharp than one that's flat as a sharp note can usually be flatted much easier than sharpening a flat note.
If both the same fingered notes are sharp in both registers, then they can be addressed with some tuning work to flatten them - you can even do that yourself by sticking a piece of Blu-Tack on the north side of the tonehole from where the notes issue directly from, so id D/A (xxo|ooo) is sharp, you add material to the LH3 tonehole as that's where D/A issues from as you can see in the fingering diagram as the LH3 tonehole is open. Similarly if both are flat, but take it to someone who knows what they're doing as sharpening a flat note is more involved.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2025-10-13 15:49)
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-10-14 00:48
Chris,
Thanks for advice. I mostly see the left hand low C,D, E and thumb F slightly flat, and the corresponding 12th slightly sharp.
Some of these can be improved by undercutting - one need to go to a tech who knows how to do it. Once done, almost impossible to reverse.
***On R13s from 60s, the B5 and C6 are often very sharp, but the corresponding E and thumb F are in tune. Not sure if they came out like that from the factory or had some undercutting done later in their lives.
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Author: David Eichler
Date: 2025-10-14 02:07
"...a sharp note can usually be flatted much easier than sharpening a flat note." Words to live by with the clarinet.
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