 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John Stackpole
Date: 2007-03-15 01:16
This is an (idle) physics question.....
When making sounds (I can't call what I do "playing") where does the sound - the air compression waves that reach my ear - come from?
Presumably when playing the low E, it comes out through the bell. All the other holes are blocked or covered.
But when playing middle C, for example? The Bb hole? Or all the open ones?
Before you say "all", remember that I can put my right fingers down when playing open G and up.
And what about the higher "cross-fingered" notes? or low B & F#(on top of the staff?
Does anybody have a very "focused" micro-microphone that could listen to one hole at a time?
Maybe this is a good Science Project?
JDS
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Author: Koo Young Chung
Date: 2007-03-15 03:23
Most sound energy come from the highest open hole and lesser degree
from the open lower holes.
Some energy come thru the wood and bell.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-03-15 11:03
"But when playing middle C, for example? The Bb hole? Or all the open ones?"
When you play middle C (xxx|ooo), the note issues from the C tonehole (which is covered by the pad connected to the bottom joint rings) and other toneholes below that to a lesser degree, and some sound emits from the bell. Take the bell off and play C and you'll notice a difference in the tone quality.
As for the B (xxx|oxo) the note emits from the B tonehole (RH finger 1 chimney) and there's a resistance set up by RH 2 so to a lesser degree the sound comes from RH 3 chimney and the lower open toneholes and bell.
The 'Acton vent' was invented to give the correct venting for B and F# (and a good altissimo Eb with oxx|oxoEb fingering) as it compensated for RH 2 being closed, effectively by 'uncrossing' a cross fingering.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-04-04 06:39
Get a clarinet and a microphone and test it for yourself. It's a common problem in amplifying woodwinds. More dramatic on lower clarinets (bass, contrabass), since the toneholes are so far apart.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2011-04-04 06:45
Yes, it's an excellent science project!
Then maybe we can stop sound guys the world over stuffing microphones up the ends of our instruments like we're (gasp) saxophonists or something.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-04-04 08:54
Worse still is having them think we're like brass players - especially if we're sax players!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-04-04 14:30
For what it's worth, when my bell developed a crack, the sound became nasily THROUGHOUT the clarinet irrespective of which note was being played. So the answer may not be so pat.
.................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2011-04-04 20:14)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-04-04 15:40
If you think about the fact that if the key pad on the next opened hole is too close to the hole the note you're playing will be stuffy, and even a bit flat if the pad is too close to the hole. I agree that the tone comes out of the first open hole and than somewhat each hole after that to a lesser degree. Of course the tone will be effected by the body of the instrument as Paul pointed out. A crack in the bell might effect the tone of any note because the tonal column goes through the entire body of the instrument. That's why, when I tried the Backun bells, I found that my B and C 6 sounded better to my ear when I played them even though the tone was actually coming out in the top joint. If you play your clarinet without the bell you will still get the correct pitch and tone but there will be something missing from the tonal quality. As you play down the scale of course, the tone and pitch gets more effected. Also, if you play a C 6 without the bottom joint you will not get the correct pitch even though the tone is mostly coming out of the first hole in the upper joint which proves that the tonal quality and pitch is based on the entire body of clarinet. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2011-04-05 00:16
Arthur Benade's book "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics" explains this pretty well, but it's not a real easy read.
Here's an analogy: Think of a loudspeaker cone -- it moves the air around it, generating a pressure wave which reaches the listener as sound, but the speaker cone itself doesn't "blow" any air (there is no NET movement of air, just back and forth movement of the same air molecules). The toneholes on your clarinet, although not covered by a physical diaphragm (i.e. the cone of the speaker), do essentially the same thing: they take the standing wave generated inside the bore of the clarinet and couple the vibrations of the standing wave to the air just outside the clarinet, which then radiates outward to your ears. There is no requirement for any "net" air flowrate to pass through the toneholes at all --- your breath moving through the instrument is not there to "blow" sound towards the listener, but instead is just a means to generate the standing wave inside the instrument.
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2011-04-05 22:41
For many of the notes it's easy to determine - you can feel the air coming out of the open holes. For low C4 xxx|ooo you can feel the air coming out of the
next 3 holes xxx|airairair. With an assistant and a little piece of tissue or feather you can easily determine whether any noticeable amount of air is coming from the lower holes or bell. On my R13 Bb I can't determine any change in sound if I take the bell off or even shove a sock into the bottom of the lower joint. Playing C4 and adding pinky keys does change the sound a bit.
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