Author: OneWatt
Date: 2021-02-15 01:12
Thanks to those who've replied sharing some solid ideas. While I'm loath to do anything permanent to the Berkeley adjustable barrel, perhaps that's my only option in the end.
Karl asked: "Is there a reason why you're switching barrels? If this were the only barrel you were planning to use, you could just replace the tenon cork with a thicker one. Is there a specific purpose in exchanging barrels?"
Fair question. I certainly like the barrels that came with my two clarinets (all of which are easily interchangeable with each other as far as "tenon fit" goes) and I'd be inclined to continue using them most of the time.
The adjustable barrel was intended merely to "sharpen up" a bit when playing against my own produced accompaniment tracks (440-pitch) and/or when playing piano/clarinet duets with my wife on our concert grand piano at home (also @ 440).
In each case, I seem to be running a bit flat across the board. Both clarinets are otherwise fairly easy to play in tune with themselves across registers (notwithstanding my need to touch up execution on a few notes as my technique improves).
If this Berkeley barrel would do the trick, then swapping barrels back and forth would be inevitable. Hence I don't want to start messing with the tenon corks which fit perfectly on all other stock barrels (from my Ridenour and Huchtens).
Maybe I'm avoiding the real issue? ... While I can "pinch up" my embouchure across-the-board to get into tune with these accompaniments, I prefer to play with a slightly more relaxed embouchure. So, perhaps that's my problem. Ugh.
Okay, so maybe returning the adjustable barrel and instead focusing my attention on embouchure technique is the best advice? I'm a double-lipper, so biting remains out of the question ;-)
[Then again, electrical tape (inside the Berkeley) may be worth a try, though it seems like a sloppy/temporary approach.]
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The Clarinet BBoard
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