 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Won Kim
Date: 2001-08-28 23:19
Hello...I have used this board once and It haelped me...so I'm writting again. I'm a high school clarinet player and playing the clarinet for my only entertainment..My parents bought me a Selmer Clarinet USA CL210..and I like it very much...I'm using a Vendoren B45 mouthpiece. The only problem that I have is I cannot tune correctly...If I tune for the lower resister my upper resister goes incredibly sharp unlike other clarinets....everyone in my band complain that their hgh pitches are flat...but mine is always sharp....and my E to open G and B flat is totally out of tune.. is there any way to adjust them...otherwise I have to change my embouchure for every single time and it's getting really annoying....should I change the barrel? I'll appreciate if you reply me...
And I got better on playing the bent notes...Thanks for those who gave me answear...I recorded some of them and you may find them on my past topic..
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Author: William
Date: 2001-08-28 23:46
Here is what I recommend: Use a tuner and 1) Tune your second line G (open tone, no fingers). Pull your barrel joint if sharp--if flat with barrel all the way tight, then you need a shorter barrel; 2) Next, tune G an octave higher--if this note is sharp, pull your middle joint until acceptable pitch is reached (within two cents flat or sharp is acceptable); 3) Next, tune your middle line B. If sharp (usual), pull bell joint out a bit--if flat, push middle joint in a bit. Your clarinet should now be as well "in tune" with itself as is possible. No clarinet will ever be perfect in all registers on every sinle note. What we must do, after the above tuning process, is to learn to pitch tendencies of our clarinet notes and then compensate by tightening or loosening our embouchure to bring those "maverick" notes into line. Generally, clarinets will tend to be sharp in the upper register--A above the staff and on up--so you will need to play these notes with less embouchure support than, say, second line G and below. If you have learned to "bend" notes, than you already have a "feel" for what you must do with your lips to bring these notes down to pitch where they belong. This all varies from clarinet to clarinet and that is one of the things that makes our instruments so much of a challenge (fun??) to play well. Good Clarineting!!!!
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Author: KevinS
Date: 2001-08-29 02:23
Here's another recommendation:
If you can afford to, try some of the other mouthpieces that are available. Look at the sponsors page here on the board. There are some good ideas there. If you do a search on mouthpieces, you can read everyone's recommendations on this subject. Be sure to try a few of whichever one you decide on. It really makes a difference. Inevitably, one of the mouthpieces will play better than the others for you. If you decide to stay with Vandoren (they're good mouthpieces) give the "M series" a try. Again, be sure to try several if you can. I bet you'll be able to solve most of your intonation problems this way.
The B-45 mouthpiece, unless it is an "M" series is not specifically made for clarinets pitched at A440. Being it tune seems to be hit or miss with these mouthpieces. I just replaced a 5RVLyre mouthpiece with a Greg Smith mouthpiece and a matching barrel. I went from between 5 and 12 cents sharp to dead on in tune throughout the range of my clarinet.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-08-29 03:24
Let me throw my support behind KevinS on this one, the B45 is an excellent
STARTER mouthpiece. It is pretty easy to blow, and has a decent sound.
You have probably outgrown it.
The Selmer CL201 is generally well-built, with nice wood for the money.
I doubt the horn is seriously out of tune, the design is pretty good.
Matching the mouthpiece and barrel to the horn will have more overall impact on the tuning and tone than you can imagine.
Take your horn and a couple of good reeds (you have some goodun's doncha?)
to the store nearby with some mouthpiece selection. You may even wish to try out some second-hand mouthpieces that have been cleaned.
Put them to the tuner test.
You should not need to struggle with the gear. If it's too hard to blow, forget it!
Let us know how you make out? - anji
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Author: KevinS
Date: 2001-08-29 04:37
Anji's right.
There are enough struggles trying to keep good technique. Having to fight the horn to stay in tune makes the task way too difficult. Obviously, you will need to learn to "bend" a little to blend in certain performance situations, but this shouldn't be a the method used to play in tune. I'm sure that some people will disagree, but my opinion is that the equipment and setup should do as much of the "work" as possible, so we can concentrate on "making music"
Good Luck!
Kevin
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Author: Won Kim
Date: 2001-08-30 00:37
Thank you everyone....and as you all recommanded to me, my private teacher said he can find a nice mouthpiece for me...and of course I'm going to test the tune before I buy it thnak you....
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