 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2005-10-21 13:05
thank you for the advice on my tuning problems. i am sitting here doing what was advised and i want to tell you my findings.
G4 ...extremely Sharp (30-35 cents) pulled out barrel ..fixed the problem
G5...(right on)
C5... slightly flat...lipped up okay but cant maintain
D,E somewhat flat ...lipped up but didnt quite make it. cant maintain.
F...nearly 40 cents flat (use what i call "fork key" which fixed the problem. BUT ..its almost like a completely different note. why is my high F so flat without that added key? can this be fixed?
every time we play something that requires a D or higher, the conductor notes that "we're" flat.
so..the problem is the upper notes being flat which is why i thought i was making it worse when i pulled the barrel out to adjust for the sharp notes.
what is your next suggestion.
i would like to add the following information
my barrel is 625 (the 645 wasnt working out)
ive been playing over 15 yrs (not consecutive ..past 6-7 straight)
i do not have a teacher i can talk to about this so im thankful for your advice.
jan
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Author: William
Date: 2005-10-21 14:30
My next cyborguess--not having you and your instrument here "in person," that is to say--is that perhaps your F#4 pad needs to be lowered to help correct your sharp G4. I have done this on all of my clarinets and most repairpersons can easily accomplish this without too much hassel (or cost to you). Your G#. A & A# 4s can also be lowered (if abnormaly sharp) by adding more cork underneath the G# key. All of thes notes may remain sharp in comparison to the rest of your instrument and you eventually may need to learn to lip them down. Pulling the barrel to make them "perfect" will only make that "problem" flat F5 worse, so lowering the F#4 pad along with adding the G# cork and having to pull the barrel joint less may be the answer.
After the F# and G# 4s issues have been resolved, try retuning with the method I suggested and you should have better results. Ultimately, your G#5 may remain a tad sharp, you may have to pull the bell to help your "slightly" sharp C5 & B4 and you may have to learn to lip down your G-Bb 4s, but you F5 should raise in pitch to the point where you can easily lip it up. I would guess that you will be pulling your barrel joint to tune the G4 and your bell joint to bring down the C5, but will leave your middle joint unpulled.
Remember, perfect tuning is done "by ear" and solely a result of "perfectly" tuning your instrument. Of course, it is good to have your clarinet as finely adjusted as possible, but--as a good friend of mine here in town says, "It is more important to play in tune than to be in tune." Good luck.
BTW, if you have any more questions for me, you can contact me directly rather than posting.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2005-10-21 16:01
Hi Jan,
Wow, a thread with my name on it. Does that mean that William and I have arrived?
Send me an email and we can discuss it although I would tend to agree with what William says and yield to his greater expertise. However, is the 625 barrel a 62.5mm? Seems quite short.
Is it the F5 that is 40 cents flat? That's a very tough one since there are no nearby pads that could be too low. Head scratching sound &#*F$)*&.
There may be a tech looking at this thread that could shed some additional light on the problem.
HRL
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2005-11-03 12:34
hi guys - sorry i didnt get a chance to email you.just an update... i spoke with a clarinet teacher at a college last night and im going meet with him tonight to see what the problem is. another clarinet player in my wind symphony suggested that the bore may have to be redone. i do hope its the clarinet and not me. i think that would be the easier fix lol
jan
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