title: The clarinet: how blowing pressure, lip force, lip position and reed "hardness" affect pitch, sound level, and spectrum.
abstract: Using an automated clarinet playing system, the frequency f, sound level L, and spectral characteristics are measured as functions of blowing pressure P and the force F applied by the mechanical lip at different places on the reed. The playing regime on the (P,F) plane lies below an extinction line F(P) with a negative slope of a few square centimeters and above a pressure threshold with a more negative slope. Lower values of F and P can produce squeaks. Over much of the playing regime, lines of equal frequency have negative slope. This is qualitatively consistent with passive reed behavior: Increasing F or P gradually closes the reed, reducing its equivalent acoustic compliance, which increases the frequency of the peaks of the parallel impedance of bore and reed. High P and low F produce the highest sound levels and stronger higher harmonics. At low P, sound level can be increased at constant frequency by increasing P while simultaneously decreasing F. At high P, where lines of equal f and of equal L are nearly parallel, this compensation is less effective. Applying F further from the mouthpiece tip moves the playing regime to higher F and P, as does a stiffer reed.
authors: Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Maine, Le Mans, France. andre.almeida@univ-lemans.fr
authors: Andre
authors: A
authors: Almeida
authors: David
authors: D
authors: George
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Smith
authors: Joe
authors: J
authors: Wolfe
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D009146:Music; D011312:Pressure; D013016:Sound; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013997:Time Factors