 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Reformed
Date: 2024-07-26 18:01
B/F#2 are (I think) the most widely used forked fingering on the Boehm clarinet. My experience is that both the B and F#2 are normally well tuned on quality clarinets. Maybe the B tends to be very slightly sharp and the F#2 tends to be very slightly low, but are easily managed through the embouchure. This becomes automatic for the experienced player.
Of course there is the Eb/Bb2 forked long fingering (xoo-xoo), This is normally un-useably sharp for the Eb but well tuned to the Bb2 offering an alternative voicing to the Bb for the player to use as needed. (I do use xoo-xxx with F/C key for Eb2 to Eb trills).
Clarinet twelfths are a compromise due the use of a single speaker key, but this should not be too influential in the middle of the instrument.
Also, I think it my be acoustically true that forked fingerings produce a narrower twelfth than "pure" fingerings (e.g. the Eb/Bb2).
So my question is - what do good clarinet makers or tuners do to ensure the correct pitch for F#2?
I ask this question because I recently acquired a pair of early pre-war B&H 1010s that are both unacceptably flat on F#2. For example, the opening of Weber clarinet concerto no.2 is impossible to play well (A - D2 - F#2).
However I have other slightly later pre-war 1010s where the F#2 is in tune or only very slightly low.
What can be done to improve the tuning of F#2?
Over the years I've used some of the advice in Clark Fobes intonation articles https://www.clarkwfobes.com/pages/articles but find nothing specific to the forked F#2.
As a life long 1010 player, I am aware of the Acton mechanism and even have this on some Reform Boehms and a later 1010, but most makers seem to successfully work around the problem without extra mechanism. How?
Post Edited (2024-07-27 17:29)
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