 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Dave
Date: 2002-09-03 07:47
I'm fairly new to the clarinet, been playing for 9 months. I have a fairly basic student model, Earlham with B40 mnouthpiece and Vandoren 2.5 reed. When I play a G on the clarion register, I get an undertone that I can't seem to avoid. This is especially prevelant on staccato notes. I've tried every mouth position, read position, changed to a different mouthpiece, all to no avail. If I buy a better clarinet, will it be easier to stop this undertone or do I just need more practice?
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-09-03 21:37
Perhaps the register key hole is partially plugged. Good luck!!
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Author: jez
Date: 2002-09-04 13:17
Try practising playing different overtones from the standard fingerings. Clarion G is possible while fingering 3rd. line B. (as are C E G A & D, you can play bugle calls without moving the fingers) If you can control the harmonic with the embouchure, it makes it that much easier when you use the normal fingering.
jez
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-09-04 18:14
To follow up on Wes's comment, it's quite easy to take off the register key and run a dampened pipe cleaner through to clean out any crud. That can made a big difference.
If the register key is too far open, it hurt the response. You should just be able to slide a nickel under the open register key. This is a very easy adjustment for a repair shop to make.
There's often a gap between the bottom of the tenon and the top socket on the lower joint. Steve Hartman said here about a year ago that he had a repair shop put a cork shim on the bottom of the tenon, which improved the response in that area.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-09-05 00:02
"Earlham.....different mouthpiece, all to no avail. If I buy a better clarinet, will it be easier to stop this undertone.."
I have worked on many makes, but never Earlham. Some clarinets are designed so poorly in an acoustic sense that they have these sorts of problems, inherent in the body, not the mouthpiece. Most players have never experienced this phenomenon because they have never played a clarinet this hopeless.
Could the Earlham be one of these? Made in China, India, Taiwan?
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Author: Robert
Date: 2002-09-06 09:55
Undertones on clarion G-C are quite a common problem, especially on the A-clarinet. The most common cause is the players' embouchure. Make sure you don't have an air blowing into the cheeks. Also make sure not to blow too much air into the instrument.
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