 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2006-10-21 13:16
I have read the archives, and found a posting by Ralph Morgan particularly interesting.
Lately I have been working very closely with my Seiko ST-1100 chromatic tuner and find that a single note can vary 5 or more cents depending on whether it is attacked as a single tone or played as part of a phrase. As well, I find the tone can sometimes "resolve" (from sharpness or flatness) as it is held.
I find this a little maddening. My tuner can tell me generally what the tuning parameters for my clarinet and set-up are (sharp fundamental, etc.), and whether the 12ths are wide, but as far as individual tones go, the needle finds a different spot each time. C6 (I guess you would call it, "two C's higher than C4") is a prime example. Attacked as a single tone, TAAAHHHH, it is always sharper than when it is part of a phrase. This variation can be as great as 10 cents.
All these observations take place, of course, using the same clarinet, same mouthpiece, and same reed. When one of these elements changes, that's an even wilder ball game.
Has anyone found this too?
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
Post Edited (2006-10-21 13:16)
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2006-10-21 14:30
Notes do start a little sharp when attacked, and there are various theories about that, which I'm sure you can find here if you search the archives. The note usually starts a little high, and then settles down. To avoid this, you can always expell a little air before starting the note.
Regarding going sharp when quiet and flat when loud, practising like you are doing with the tuner can help overcome this to a certain extent. I've also found that some mouthpieces are easier to control than others in this regard. My new Greg Smith mouthpiece is great for this!
You can also learn to use fingers to "shade" the notes down a bit when playing very softly. Or pull out/push in just before a particularly out of tune passage at a given dynamic.
In the end, it is maddening, but we have to accept the limitations of the instrument and do the best we can to overcome them. Sometimes a comromise is necessary. We have:
1. Intonation
2. Dynamic
3. Sound colour
These 3 are interconnected, but 99% of the time Intonation is the highest priority.
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2006-10-21 16:00
I agree with Liquorice that accepting instrument limitations and trying to overcome them is where we have to be as players. As Bill is pointing out in his post, we also have to deal with inconsistency in our own playing, having to do with embouchure set, articulation, and connections from note to note.
I believe that our best route to good intonation is to achieve the trained ear to hear where we should be with a note, and also the flexibility in embouchure and fingerings to make good intonation happen.
Intonation is little understood and sadly enough, little taught. By using a tuner as a tool and a tuning CD or just the tones on a tuner, we can help ourselves. The best way I have found is a tuning CD along with a tuner using a tuner pick-up so I can hear the note intervals as well as see the results on a tuner. For the inconsistency problem, playing a fairly short repeated note with a rest in between and trying to nail the pitch each time would be a good exercise. It takes some time out of practicing the "hard stuff", but it is well worth it. As Liquorice said, intonation is a high priority.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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