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Re: Selmer 10s sharp clarion let hand

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-05-15 20:53

dibble wrote:

> Hi all, my Selmer 10s is 10-15 cents sharp from clarion A (left
> hand) on up. Do any of you have this experience with this
> model? How does one deal with it? Lower the tongue for these
> notes? Loosen embouchure for this area?
>

I've played a 10G Bb clarinet since 1972 and bought my 10G A (which I also still play) a few years later. The A clarinet has more of this clarion sharpness than the B. I don't know how the intonation in the upper clarion of the 10Gs compared to that of the 10S, but the 10G stock barrels incorporated Moennig's reverse taper, which was meant among other things to help correct the tendency to sharp A5-C6 of R13s of the time. I don't know if the Moennig taper will help with the 10S, but the barrels that are specifically advertised as having a reverse "Moennig" taper are Buffet-Moennig and Chadash.

Are you using the original barrel or an after-market one? I've always found, whenever I've tried aftermarket barrels, that I've come back to using the original stock barrels - even when I've tried Chadash and Buffet-Moennig barrels with the same type of taper. The originals tune better. I think Selmer's entry bore may have been slightly larger than R13's, and I know the taper in the 10G barrels starts like a Buffet-Moennig taper but opens up farther at the bottom end. 10S may be completely different.

There are custom makers who, if they're knowledgeable about the 10S's specific entry bore size and shape, might be able to make a barrel that would improve the tuning.

As far as ways to bring the pitch down while playing are concerned., I don't like to have to slacken my embouchure on a regular basis - I give up too much in control to be a good trade off. Lowering the tongue or in general enlarging the oral cavity, if it helps enough, can be useful.

Karl

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