[Dixielandjazz] A = 440 or 442?

[Kimberly Shaffer]

>>> Pete Petersen <pete at petepetersen.com> 11/08/2005 >>>
By way of explanation:

440 refers to 440hz, the frequency of the sound wave of a "perfect" A.  In other words, if you play the A above middle C into an oscilloscope, it will measure the sound wave at 440 Hertz.  442 would sound slightly sharper than 440 because the sound wave is moving exactly 2Hz faster.  440 is the accepted standard for A in both classical and jazz.

Actually, I know why they offer different mouthpieces and barrel joints tuned to different tunings:  to provide an  easier setup for  "Doublers" (i.e. sax players who pick up a clarinet once in a while to play an 8-bar passage the music calls for clarinet on but they're mostly playing sax the rest of the night).  Doublers usually approach the clarinet with more of a sax embouchure: blowing straight into the horn rather than at an angle, a slightly looser, less focused embouchure with the chin not quite so bunched up, and the upper tongue in a different position inside the mouth, etc.  This will produce a flatter pitch that's more like 438-ish, which will cause most players to try to bite harder to compensate, which destroys the tone quality and also the lower lip of the player.  Also, doublers usually use softer reeds on the clarinet to make it easier to get a sound with a loose embouchure &not have to work so hard, and the soft reeds will actually buckle under the pressure of trying to bring the pitch back up to 440 using lip adjustment.

The alternative is to use a slightly shorter clarinet to compensate.  (Shorter clarinet = higher pitch) So many clarinet manufacturers have an available optional barrel joint that's a few millimeters shorter, bringing the pitch up 2Hz to offset the 2Hz of flatness in the other direction caused by a sloppy embouchure.  But: this changes the overall tone quality of the instrument - most clarinets are designed with a "sweet spot" so that when it's played with the proper barrel, the resonant vibrations hit the wood just right, giving the horn a full array of overtones and harmonics that give the instrument its character.  Shortening the length of the instrument changes the physics of tone production just slightly enough to lose some of those nice resonant overtones, making the sound thinner and less full.

A more open-chamber mouthpiece might be able to compensate for the difference created by using a shorter barrel, I don't know the physics of instrument design well enough to know, but I can believe that some mouthpiece manufacturers are advertising that their mouthpiece overcomes this deficiency on clarinets played with shorter barrels -- but to me it just seems like a way to sell more gear.  Really, anybody can produce a quality tone, in tune, with any mouthpiece if they spend some time practicing long tones and firming up their embouchure.   Using correct technique and the original barrel joint with its Sweet Spot intact is a much better way than looking for shortcuts or buying gear.  But: The short barrel and/or extra mouthpiece do make it easier to switch back and forth from clarinet to sax and be in tune without a whole lot of extra effort - which, if you're primarily a sax player with only occasional need for clarinet, makes perfect sense.  

P

>>> Steve barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net> 11/07/2005 >>>

Interesting this 440/442. Somebody must be tuning A to 442 because several
clarinet mouthpiece manufacturers offer mouthpieces which they purport are
specifically designed for A=440 and others which they purport are
specifically designed to work well at A=442.

Same facing, different chambers. Paul Edgerton is probably much more
knowledgeable on this subject than I.

IMO most folks can't differentiate. Those that can, make the lip adjustment.
e.g. Clarinet players have to lip adjust because the horn is not in tune
with itself. A=440 (usual tuning for jazz in the USA) will result in the
throat tones being sharp on just about any clarinet.

Like my pal/neighbor Hank D'Amico told me 55 years ago, listening is easy,
but really hearing is something else.

Cheers,
Steve



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