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 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date:   2016-12-09 23:15

I've been playing Boehm system all my life, but started learning Oehler about six years ago and now play both about equally (in frequency of use, though I still have somewhat better facility on Boehm). Just from my own experience, I believe the differences in sound and response come mostly from the mouthpieces. Because I can't play the traditional very long/very close German facings, I've refaced all my German mouthpieces to be more "French", and besides that often use French mouthpieces on the Oehler instruments. So the two systems are (for me) pretty much interchangeable.

I can't tell any difference in sound between my Oehler and Boehm clarinets, when using the same mouthpiece/reed combination on both.

For most playing I find the Boehm fingerings slightly easier, but that could easily be the result of much longer experience playing that system. Some fingering patterns are definitely easier on the Oehler instruments, but some are harder. The finger spread on the Oehler is initially less comfortable, but (like oboists and flutists who have similar spreads) one gets used to it pretty quickly.

All of that refers to soprano clarinets. Now BASS clarinets are a different story, as the German-system bass clarinet is very small (~19.8mm) compared to the typical Boehm-system bass clarinet bore of about 23.7mm. The mouthpiece for an Oehler bass is barely larger than for a Boehm soprano clarinet; the reeds are narrower than Boehm alto clarinet/alto sax reeds (though slightly longer). While the comments about fingering comparisons still apply, the sound, response and feel of the Oehler bass are very different than from its Boehm counterpart.

Currently, I don't know if anyone plays Oehler-system bass clarinets (somebody please chime in!) - I've read that even German players have been transitioning to Boehm-system basses lately.
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 Topics Author  Date
 Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
ruben 2016-12-09 02:27 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
seabreeze 2016-12-09 02:50 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
patrica 2016-12-09 04:41 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-09 05:02 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Wes 2016-12-09 05:59 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
maxopf 2016-12-09 07:06 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
patrica 2016-12-09 09:57 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
tictactux 2016-12-09 17:40 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
ruben 2016-12-09 17:58 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 19:06 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-09 18:21 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
wkleung 2016-12-09 18:21 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 18:55 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
ruben 2016-12-09 20:22 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 20:31 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-09 20:25 
 Post Deleted  new
seabreeze 2016-12-09 20:38 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
seabreeze 2016-12-09 20:41 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-09 21:20 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 21:34 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-09 22:03 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 22:15 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
maxopf 2016-12-09 22:29 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
David Spiegelthal 2016-12-09 23:15 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-09 23:36 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-09 23:59 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
seabreeze 2016-12-10 00:52 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Micke Isotalo 2016-12-10 14:59 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-10 15:24 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-10 20:12 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-11 02:36 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-11 02:47 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-11 03:44 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-11 03:54 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-12 08:34 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
DavidBlumberg 2016-12-13 03:32 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Jeroen 2016-12-13 12:25 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Chris P 2016-12-13 10:37 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-13 17:35 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
seabreeze 2016-12-13 19:18 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
ruben 2016-12-13 20:24 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
seabreeze 2016-12-13 22:27 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
modernicus 2016-12-20 19:52 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
HANGARDUDE 2016-12-14 15:20 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
D Dow 2016-12-15 22:46 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
Klose 2016-12-16 00:39 
 Re: Why is the German clarinet becoming extinct?  new
dorjepismo 2016-12-16 00:04 


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