 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LaurieBell
Date: 2015-06-05 15:35
First Question. . .
Last year I purchased a 66 mm Delrin Clarinet Barrel (by Wes Rice) for my Buffet R13 Bb Clarinet. I like the barrel a lot, but I have a tendency to play sharp, so I wondered if a 67 mm barrel would help. Or is the 1 mm length increase not enough to make a difference?
Does anyone have some suggestions to help me bring my pitch down without totally flattening my throat tones?
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Second Question . . . instruments aside, why do some players (like me) play sharp?
I played in a military band for 9 years (30+ years ago) and returned to the clarinet last year. I totally have my chops back now, and have a well-developed embrochure and a decent tone. (I don't feel like I'm biting too hard or clenching.) I think my set-up is pretty good (Buffet 13 Bb clarinet, Zinner-style mouthpiece by Brad Behn, Vandoren V12 size 4 reeds).
Here's one thing that is curious to me. I play 1st clarinet with a 50-piece wind ensemble. Six of the clarinetists play together in an ensemble. When we tune, the three of us who play 1st or Eb clarinet in the large ensemble play sharp; the other three who play 2nd or 3rd, seem right on pitch. That left me wondering if playing in the high register a lot fosters playing sharp.
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Author: JHowell
Date: 2015-06-05 16:47
Are you playing the same clarinet you had 13 years ago?
A simple experiment, if a colleague will cooperate: sit down with one of the players who is "on pitch," and a tuner. If you're comfortable doing this, switch setups, reed and all. If he/she plays sharp on your setup and you play lower on his/her setup, equipment may help, and it's a matter of figuring out what is different between the setups. The length of the barrel is only one dimension, can't say for sure that it isn't the issue, but easy to swap out barrels. Easy to switch clarinets, sometimes the pitch of instruments climbs over the years.
Are you pulling out at the barrel and the middle joint? Sorry if that's an insulting question, but if you pull out 1mm at the barrel (not very much) you've got your 67 mm barrel. If it works and you don't want the gap (which is a handy thing to have, in my opinion), then you can get a 67. You might also try a 3 1/2 reed. Lots of players play 4s, nothing wrong with that in itself, but a stiffer reed will, all other things being equal, play a touch higher.
But in the end, you play where you hear the pitch, including when you practice. I know lots of players who play in tune, but when I play their equipment I struggle with certain notes or ranges. They've learned to compensate. Practicing with a pitch reference (many tuners nowadays will play a drone on any pitch within 3 or 4 octaves) may be the best approach.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-06-05 16:50
You don't mention the mouthpieces involved, which can have as much influence on playing pitch as barrels. It's odd that the three of you who play the high parts are all sharp, but I would say it's coincidental. Hard reeds can drive your pitch up a little. Some mouthpieces play sharper than others.
A millimeter can make a difference. It depends on how sharp you are. The pitch is determined by the total volume of air in the system, so a mouthpiece with a large chamber or throat may play lower than one with the same external dimensions but a smaller chamber or throat diameter. Two 66 mm barrels may give you different pitches if their bores are of different widths - if their bores are tapered, even more variability is introduced. which is why just getting a longer barrel may not bring pitch down much if its bore is significantly smaller than the bore of the shorter barrel. You still may need to test several.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-05 22:32
I'd say, if you're speaking strictly of the same Delrin barrel manufacturer, a 1mm difference would probably do it nicely.
I have to disagree just slightly with the idea of "playing where you hear pitch." If you do not have perfect pitch (and only 10% in the world do - and I am NOT one of them thank God!), the tendency without an objective source (tuner, oboist, someone with perfect pitch) is to play where you are comfortable playing and in a way that only takes the sonority of the notes into consideration.
I always thought I was such a hot shot, and continue to play professionally. However, as I "took a break" from my tuner to work the altissimo, I found (when vacation ended - the tuner came back into the room) that my altissimo notes where pretty damn sharp. I am also a "clamper" who needs to feel some "pushing" against the reed to be comfortable.
As stated above, it is a great idea to have a fixed pitch generator ON tonic as you run through scales and scale like exercises (like the Kroepsch one line exercises). It certainly won't do any harm and you'll be surprised how it will also encourage less "clamping."
The real trick is getting your other two cohorts on board.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: LaurieBell
Date: 2015-06-05 22:46
Yes, I'm playing on the same clarinet I purchased in 1973. Guess it's as "vintage" as I am:-)
I've talked one of the players into trying the experiment JHowell suggested -- switching set-ups and checking each other's pitch. Will do that tonight and report back.
As for the mouthpieces, I ask the other 5 players tonight what they are playing. It hadn't occurred to me that a mouthpiece might be a little sharp, but hey, that's why I'm signed up on this forum -- to learn what I don't know.
Paul's advice is sound, to practice with a fixed pitch generator ON tonic. I wonder if someone can recommend an inexpensive turner that has that function, or better yet, is there "an app for that?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-06 03:27
Bite the (relatively small) bullet and get a Korg OT-120. It has an actual needle meter, plays all chromatic notes in its range (two volume levels), and has a "transposing temperament" button (so you can look at "C" and it's "C" on your clarinet!).
I absolutely love mine.....you won't regret it.
.............Paul Aviles
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Author: maxopf
Date: 2015-06-06 03:48
If you're looking for an app, Tonal Energy tuner is great.
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Author: tylerleecutts
Date: 2015-06-06 04:40
My behn Zinner was a bit sharp, but not enough to need a longer barrel. Good mouthpiece.
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Author: LaurieBell
Date: 2015-06-12 21:57
I tried the suggested experiment of swapping my set-up (clarinet, barrel, mouthpiece, & reed) with a friend's set-up who plays pretty well in tune. A few things I noticed:
- I was not as sharp playing my friend's set up.
- I sounded really bad (IMO) on her set up (she had a old Selmer with a very old mouth piece (probably more than 20 years old) and she plays on a strength 3 reed.
- My friend was not very sharp on my set up.
- My friend sounded about 10 times better on my set up.
- My friend could play my 4 strength reed just fine on my Zinner-style mouthpiece by Brad Behn.
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While practicing this week, I tried many different reeds, and do see that the pitch is relevant to the reed.
I also pulled out a neat handbook I received from Backun called MoBa Alternate Fingerings for Throat Tones. Turns out I knew a few, but there were a bunch more (Who'd'thunk?). My throat A is very sharp and I found a fingering that brought it down a bit, but what was more interesting was how some of the alternative fingers really made the throat tones more clear and beautiful sounding. I didn't even know they were a little fuzzy until I tried these other fingers.
I played a chamber concert this week and had to leave my clarinet out in the cold room for the first half hour while the piano soloist played. When I tuned up for the performance I was right on pitch. Say What! I always thought a colder instrument would play sharp, but go figure.
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I bit the bullet and ordered a Korg OT-120 tuner (like Paul suggested). It should come in next week.
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Now that I'm aware that I have a bit of a problem, and also several tools that can help me fix it, I'll hit the woodshed to see if I can improve my pitch.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. They were well appreciated:-)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-06-12 23:05
That all sounds great. Glad to hear about the tuner. A good tuner is soooo essential to what we do (the physical needle is much more responsive than the digital versions).
One thing though about tuning. We as wind players are subject to the vagaries of air temperature. The colder the air, the more dense it is (or the slower the molecules bump into each other) and consequently the pitch will be lower. The converse is true.
Of course the opposite is true of strings because the colder the physical string gets, the tighter the string gets, the sharper the string plays.
.............Paul Aviles
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