 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2026-06-01 17:47
Those are by far the worst notes on clarinets to tune to, yet players insist on tuning to just those notes when there are other and far better notes to tune to.
Just because the mid stave B (on Bb) or C (on A) is the same pitch as the given A tuning note, that doesn't mean it has to be the only note to tune to, especially as it's one of the most stable notes and moving the barrel has the least effect on it compared to notes nearer the mouthpiece end.
Tuning to intervals (3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 8ves, 10ths, 11ths and 12ths) is much better than tuning to just the same note which offers little to no flexibility.
And why tune to 440Hz regardless of temperature when playing in a wind ensemble if there aren't any other fixed pitch instruments involved? If it's cold, tune to 438Hz and if it's hot, tune to 442Hz (where 440Hz is standard) and that way you're not having to use a shorter barrel or pulling the mouthpiece or barrel out or pulling out the middle tenon which only causes more problems than it solves.
Even so, the flutes are always going to be sharp regardless.
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.
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Author: SecondTry
Date: 2026-06-01 18:33
I appreciate your points about there being better single notes to tune to with others, or even using a tuning device.
Perhaps though, the importance of a superior single clarinet tuning method gets drowned out by the reality that playing in tune isn't, as I am sure you appreciate at least as well as me if not better, simply a "before playing music" process but a "constant and ongoing one while we play."
Even if we didn't play an instrument like the clarinet whose very design is an acoustical compromise, but perhaps more so because it is, we are tasked with making constant, albeit minute ("minoot") embouchure and fingering adjustments, particularly on notes more apt to be sustained, to match the pitch of those around us, even if that pitch might fall short of idea when compared to a tuning device.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2026-06-01 23:12
Chris: I was always told never to pull the mouthpiece out. Is this just superstition? Does it bring about bad luck?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-06-02 00:36
ruben wrote:
> Chris: I was always told never to pull the mouthpiece out. Is
> this just superstition? Does it bring about bad luck?
>
"Never," I think, is always based in superstition. But in general pulling the mouthpiece out to help with tuning can bring about "bad luck" under two conditions:
1. If there's any wobble at all in the mouthpiece tenon's fit into the barrel's socket. One of the most unsettling feelings I know is having the mouthpiece move as I play.
2. If you use different barrels for your A and Bb clarinets, you obviously have to guess how far to push the mouthpiece into the barrel after an instrument change. I know there are players who move the mouthpiece and barrel together for instrument changes, but I don't think you can even do *that* for changes to and from C clarinet.
I guess any wobble can be taken care of with careful, skilled corking. So pulling the mouthpiece out might be reliable for a player who only plays Bb clarinet and never uses an A or C instrument. Otherwise, there's always a potential for trouble.
Karl
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Author: kdk
Date: 2026-06-02 01:10
Chris P wrote:
> Just because the mid stave B (on Bb) or C (on A) is the same
> pitch as the given A tuning note, that doesn't mean it has to
> be the only note to tune to, especially as it's one of the most
> stable notes and moving the barrel has the least effect on it
> compared to notes nearer the mouthpiece end.
>
> Tuning to intervals (3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 8ves, 10ths, 11ths
> and 12ths) is much better than tuning to just the same note
> which offers little to no flexibility.
When practicing at home or even warming up on- or back-stage (using an electronic tuner), I wouldn't disagree with any of this. But the pre-performance tuning note is simply a last-minute chance to get at least one representative note on every instrument to be in tune at the start of a piece - if only for the first dozen bars. There's obviously not time during those last few seconds before the conductor comes out and gives the downbeat to test and/or adjust the plethora of tuning points that a really well-tuned scale would require.
And, as SecondTry says, tuning needs to be ongoing throughout a performance to compensate both for changes in the instruments as they are played and for acoustical tendencies of specific notes on individual instruments independent of the playing environment.
>
> And why tune to 440Hz regardless of temperature when playing in
> a wind ensemble if there aren't any other fixed pitch
> instruments involved? If it's cold, tune to 438Hz and if it's
> hot, tune to 442Hz (where 440Hz is standard)
I guess to prevent the delay of starting a performance while everyone debates and disputes what pitch should be chosen.
There are almost always fixed pitch instruments involved in a band or orchestra program - mallet instruments, pianos and harps among them.
> Even so, the flutes are always going to be sharp
> regardless.
>
That depends for many flutists on which register they're playing in.
Karl
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