[Dixielandjazz] Tuning the clarinet

[Steve barbone]

Surely of interest to Larry, Russ, Paul and other clarinet players. May not
be to some so if not curious about how difficult it is to really tune a
clarinet, (Especially for large bore clarinet players, Russ). So, if tuning
bores you, please delete now.

Note also that unless you have "perfect", perfect pitch, you need an
electronic tuner to do it as urged below.

Snippet quoted From Tom Ridenour's web site. Note the discussion on barrels.
I use a 63mm barrel on my Selmer 10G to play in tune with the rest of the
band, in place of the 66mm barrel supplied originally. And they tune to 440.
:-) VBG.

Cheers,
Steve


The clarinet needs to play in tune with the groups you will be playing in,
and play in tune with itself.

Playing in tune with groups can usually be accomplished by various
combinations of barrel lengths, bore tapers and mouthpieces.

Today there are many mouthpieces on the market which have Chedeville style
interiors.  These include my own Ridenour Model Z, Gilliotti, Gennusa, and
the M13 Vandoren.  These mouthpieces tend to be low pitched; that is, they
will play 440-441 Hz. with the standard 66 millimeter barrel supplied in
most professional clarinets.  If your organization plays on the high side
(442Hz+) and you prefer this style of mouthpiece you may need a shorter
barrel, or else risk the danger of playing flat to your group at least until
you are well warmed up.

Once you determine that the instrument you are selecting will play at the
pitch level of your performance groups you need to check to see if the
clarinet will play in tune with itself.

The best way to do this is to first warm up the clarinet well in a room that
is around 70-72 degrees.

Once the clarinet is warm play the open "G" and pull the barrel until it is
in tune.  Sometimes the open "G" is quite sharp to the rest of the
instrument.  This may actually an advantage, since its' tendency toward
sharpness will allow the player to cover the right hand fingers and still
play the "G" in tune.

Putting these fingers down will make the open "G" better in tone and will
make playing the middle break smoother as well.

Once the open "G" is in tune by pulling the barrel, test the clarion "G" and
pull the middle joint until the octave "Gs" are in tune with one another. 
So half of your tuning is done at the barrel and half at the middle joint.

Once the "Gs" are in tune you are ready to see how well the clarinet plays
in tune with itself.

Test the tuning from low to high by playing slow arpeggios. Also play the
twelfths and see if there is any spread between them.  For instance, play
low "Bb" for several seconds then touch the register key and produce clarion
"F". See if the needle of the tuner moves when you make the change to the
"F".  If it stays the same you know that the "Bb" and "F" are in perfect
relation to one another.  If the needle moves then there is a ratio spread.

Go throughout the clarinet testing the twelfths.  If it is a small bore
clarinet you will most likely find that the  twelfths are pretty good in the
middle of the clarinet, but there is a spread in the twelfths at either end
of the clarinet (E-B, F-C,D-A). 

This is common to most clarinets, especially the small bore clarinets most
of the best players play.  There are no perfectly in tune clarinets, but it
is good to keep the ratio spreading to a minimum.

One thing to watch out for is right hand sharpness in the low register,
especially low "A", "Bb", "B", and low "C".  Large bore clarinets (bores
over 14.7mm) can be very problematic in this regard.  If you select a larger
bore clarinet it is not likely that you will be able to play in tune with
other clarinetists.

Almost 95% of professional classical players today play small bore
clarinets, and they do this primarily because the tuning is better.

Once you are in tune on the open "G" check the throat tones to see if you
can play them in tune as well.  It is good to have a bit of sharpness in
these tones because  that will enable you to use long fingerings to improve
their tone color and resonance.  If they are just barely in tune adding the
long resonance fingerings may make them go flat.

If the throats are flat you may want to try a slightly higher pitched
mouthpiece.  Some of the Chedeville style mouthpieces not only tune
generally low, but individual mouthpieces may play the throat tones low to
the rest of the clarinet.

If you are simply in love with your mouthpiece and a find a specific
clarinet, but the throat tones are low, don't despair.  All is not lost!  It
is not a great problem to tune the throat tones to play quite well in tune
for the mouthpiece you love so much with no detriment to the other playing
properties you like.