 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kehammel
Date: 2022-03-05 21:46
Oehler clarinets and some higher end German system clarinets have this correction, as mentioned by Chris P in an earlier post:
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=497052&t=497052
Using my Albert system clarinet (which lacks this correction), I compared the forked top line F, xxx xox, with the same note played using the dedicated F/B flat key, xxx xx(+key)o. I also compared the corresponding chalumeau B flats. There is a difference in tone quality, but my strobe tuner picks up very little change in pitch.
I know Chris P has previously mentioned that German system clarinets are cylindrical for most of their bore, whereas the Albert bore starts to widen higher up on the bottom joint. Is this difference in bores responsible for how the F/B flat tunes, with Alberts not needing the corrrection? Or do they in fact need it and I'm just failing to detect a difference?
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Author: muziker
Date: 2022-03-15 18:47
It’s an interesting question, Ken.
I’m not an expert, but I am a keen observer and, having recently worked on several “Albert system” clarinets I can make these points:
1. Some of the added keyword found on modern German clarinets is not there to correct pitch, but rather to improve the tone quality of the ‘forked’ fingerings. An extra hole opens to compensate for the fuzzy tone caused by the extra finger or pad that closes.
2. We who first learn on Boehm system clarinets perhaps take it for granted that fingerings used in the 1st register should work acceptably in the 2nd, and vice versa. People I know who were trained on “Albert” and on modern German clarinet systems do not have this assumption. Even though modern German instruments have extra keys that compensate for both tone and pitch when using the forked fingerings, players are taught to avoid using them in the low register, where they tend to produce fuzzy tone &/or poor intonation, and to favor them in the upper register, where they help to take the edge off some of the brighter tones.
Years ago, when teaching at a workshop in Germany (where the participants were roughly equally divided between players of French and German style instruments) I suggested to the players of German clarinets a 2nd reg. high c’’ by fingering b’ plus the side key used for 1st register f-natural - the same fingering that is considered better-sounding in the first reg. for f’. Two of the Germans looked back at me with very skeptical expressions. One of them said, very firmly, “It is forbidden”.
In the same session I learned that fingering c#” with thumb and register key alone is likewise ‘forbidden’. It’s well in-tune on most German clarinets, but it’s tone is too open - too strident.
I am sure that these restrictions are observed by students but that more experienced players would use these ‘forbidden’ fingerings, being aware of - and knowing how to compensate for - their qualities and limitations.
My conclusion: None of this has much to do with the more flared lower bore of Belgian/French/Boehm clarinets. That flare exists mainly to narrow the 12ths of the 2 or 3 lowest-fingered tones. It may have a slight effect on b’-flat/f’’ but - for older instruments especially - there is to begin with no expectation that fingerings will work equally well in both 1st & 2nd registers for those tones.
Related to this:
On “Albert” clarinets and other pre-Oehler non-Boehm clarinets, much greater use of closed holes can be used for tones in the upper portion of the first register. I just recently serviced a Buffet Albert B-flat clarinet which has no LH ring keys. On this instrument the ‘forked’ fingering for 1st register f’ (Thumb + R2) is useless, being extremely sharp. Adding L3 lowers the pitch significantly, but produces a very fuzzy tone. Adding more fingers however - closing all three LH finger holes, adds resonance making the tone very good AND makes the pitch almost perfect. Similar added fingers improve the tone of e’, f#’, g’ in ways that are impossible on Boehm clarinets.
None of these fingerings are standardized - they will vary from one instrument to another.
KB
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2022-03-15 20:56
Muzikat, I suppose you meant RH instead of LH in this sentence: "Adding more fingers however - closing all three LH finger holes..." Correct?
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