 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2009-08-21 19:16
I dont know how to explain why if you tune your C to a tuner, that doesnt mean your high E or low F will be in tune. But I dont exactly understand why, other than, its the way clarinets are made.
can someone tell me in a little more detail why this is so?
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-08-21 19:38
Just say that each note has it's own tuning, and that tuning is also affected by other factors like mouth pressure and the reed.
There is no perfect scale, only generally close - then it's the musician who has to listen and adjust.
Kinda like a car that doesn't steer itself. The road curves and you best curve with it.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2009-08-21 20:55
Perhaps the register key is part of the issue here. The low notes have their own fingerings but when we get to the next register for example B in the staff is the same as low E with the addition of the Register key. The register key doesn't do a perfect job of helping the clarinet play in the next register in tune. As a result some notes are slightly flat or sharp. Often you will find low E to be flat and B in the staff to be sharp. Fixing one will make the other worse.
When we tune with the barrel joint it tunes several registers and effects them differently. When people manufacture clarinets they drill the holes in various spots. This affects the tuning. Finding the best spot to place all the holes might seem easy but it is not. If you drill a hole higher on the clarinet it might help one note and make another worse. For this reason you will find different makes of clarinets tune slightly different.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2009-08-22 03:10
"can someone tell me in a little more detail why this is so?"
Not detailed, but clarinet makers still have not figured out how to make a perfectly in tune clarinet. It's really complex and they just have not worked it all out perfectly yet.
Maybe one day they will.
Post Edited (2009-08-22 03:11)
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-08-22 12:06
Which explanation you use depends on who your audience is. If you are a teacher and your students are clarinetists then the above ones are appropriate. Certainly string instrument players such as guitarists and violinists wouldn't even ask the question....including pianists.
Bob Draznik
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Author: janlynn
Date: 2009-08-22 12:45
well the person who asked IS a guitarist. but that is interesting that you say that and i am curious why they wouldnt ask? is it because their instruments are always in tune? That might be why i am not getting through to him that just because you use a tuner doesnt mean all notes will play in tune. the person asked after attending a trio concert and noticing that the clarinets were not always in tune with each other.
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Author: Pappy
Date: 2009-08-22 13:07
Certainly I would expect that a pianist or guitarist might ask because once tuned, those instruments are generally "in tune". You press the keys or stop the string at the fret and it plays the note in tune. For a violinist I would think it would a different reason for asking. Intonation is, IMO, a whole other animal on a violin/viola/cello/double base. Of course there is getting the open strings in tune, but the struggle to play in tune - with yourself and your peers - on a violin seems much more intense and constant. It is complex to the degree that violinist might easily assume that any wind instruments "tuning" is closer to a piano than to a violin in that once the instrument is tune, just press the button and the note plays in tune. Clarinetists know that isn't the case for a clarinet, but the explanation is often difficult I agree. It does give us something to complain about though, which is important to a musician's bonding experience. :p
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2009-08-22 17:09
Guitar might be a good example. You can tune a guitar perfectly with the meter. If the instrument is not set up right it will be out of tune when you play higher notes on the neck. Take it into the shop and have it adjusted. There are adjustment screws and neck positioning etc that alter all this. With clarinet you can't take it into the shop because makers haven't perfected the clarinet as much as the guitar regarding tuning. The guitar has its own problems as the strings don't stay put. At least with the clarinet once you set the barrel joint etc it doesn't move around (unless you put way too much cork grease on it.)
Freelance woodwind performer
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