 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: perryg114
Date: 2013-11-25 15:16
I have a question about what is considered a normal level of tune for a clarinet. I know that ideal would be +-5% but most tuners have the first major division at +-20% and maybe will have a tick for 5% and 10%. I am trying to get a feel for what a normal level of tune an out of the box clarinet should be within. I realize that some notes will be right on and others way off but what is considered unacceptable? At what level of tune would be considered out of tune for say a band?
Perry
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2013-11-25 16:48
Check the instrument database at http://www.clarinetpages.net/
with respect to acceptable it really depends on level you are playing at. Noone would complain in middle/high school if you have a few out of tune by 20%. 5% would be a pro level horn, most intermediate instruments would not be as good.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2013-11-25 17:16
For serious playing, nothing should be so far out of tune that you can't comfortably bring it in by small embouchure, oral or finger adjustments. Of course, out of the box, some notes can be fixed mechanically more easily than others by a skilled repair person.
Karl
Post Edited (2013-11-25 18:21)
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Author: snilsson
Date: 2013-11-25 22:40
It's difficult to find hard facts about this, but since I've bought no less than three clarinets in the last 6 months, and tested a few more, I can at least give you some anecdotal evidence.
A few months ago I bought a pair of CSG Yamaha clarinets and both of them have close to perfect intonation. Every single note, including the most common alternate fingerings, in the first three octaves is spot on, i.e. much less than 5 cents off. The exceptions are the bottom E and F. They are noticeably flat at loud dynamics. This is quite common with most clarinet brands. In fact, Yamaha offers a special key to compensate for this as an optional feature.
I also recently bought an intermediate YCL 650 Yamaha Bb clarinet. The side Eb/Bb was 5 cents flat, but everything else pretty much perfectly in tune.
All three of these instruments were bought straight out of the box and I never tested any more instruments of the same model.
During my 40 years of clarinet playing I've been using plenty of other instruments, mostly Buffets, and none of them had intonation anywhere close to this. In fact, I recently tested a Buffet Divine A clarinet and the clarion G of that instrument was more than 10 cents off. Make of that what you want.
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Author: perryg114
Date: 2013-11-26 13:26
Well that narrows it down some. I am trying to get a handle on what level of tune a run of the mill clarinet should have. It sounds like the newer they are the better in tune they are. I am dealing with old clarinets that I rebuilt and am trying to figure out how good of a job I did. Not knowing how they performed when new, does not give me much of a frame of reference. Most of the ones I have, are not top of the line so they may not have been great to start with. Most of the clarinets that I have, are from the 1970's era. I expect alot has to do with the quality of the player, mouthpiece, etc. I guess the bottom line is that if it is not less than 20% then something is seriously wrong.
Perry
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Author: William
Date: 2013-11-26 14:40
When Tom Ridenour tweaked the clarinet I had just selected (from a hundred), he said that acceptable tuning would be within 2 "cents" for all notes between F3 and C6. That is with the needle moving just slightly off "spot on" in either direction.
FWIW, Tom R was the head acoustician who developed Leblanc's very successful Opus, Concerto, Sonata and Infinity line of clarinets back in the 90's.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2013-11-26 17:38
> I am trying to get a handle on what level of tune a run of the mill clarinet should have. It sounds like the newer they are the better in tune they are. I am dealing with old clarinets that I rebuilt and am trying to figure out how good of a job I did.
not necessarily.. PMs rule they are much better in tune then many modern horns.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-11-26 18:44
Hey, this is Dick Vigorous here, borrowin Lelia's brain an fingers fer a sec. Ya know, it all depends on who's listenin whether somepin's outta tune or not. Tune, shmoon, I wanna hear them squeaks, nice an loud. Mozart, fart, who cares about Moz-fart whether it's somebody's idea of "in tune" or not, who cares anyhow? Humans, that's who. But if ya wanna play good for yer biggest fans, which is us rats, then ya gotta go all bendy-windy, see. 20 cents on them meters ain't nothin. Go thirty cents, forty cents, up or down, mostly up, then squeeeeeeeeak! Squeak squeak squeak! That's real music. Yeah.
(Yeah, yeah, some of ya know and I ain't denying I'm a rat, yeah, a so-called dirty rat, although I ain't nearly as dirty as some humans I could mention if we're talking metaphorical instead of literal. Yeah, see, I ain't dumb. They read all them books an I sit up inna attic an take em in telepathically. So I know what metaphorical means an ya know what? It's a pile of cat barf, that's what. I don't do metaphorical. Anyhow, hey, what's it to ya?)
Dick Vigorous the 12th
Okay, Lelia can have her brain back. An fergit them bass clarinets, them contras. Phooey. I wanna hear squeals.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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