07-20-2019, 01:22 PM
(07-19-2019, 11:59 PM)Samulis Wrote: The VSCO 2 one was auto-tuned.
Ah-hah! Well that explains it. Maybe I should try that with the offending samples and simply re-render them. Still, not sure how well any auto-tune plugins I have will work on staccato notes.
(07-19-2019, 11:59 PM)Samulis Wrote: I think reed instruments in general are very finicky. Even a professional oboe or sax player, without an absolute pitch reference to keep true to, can waver a lot (often sharper in the high register).
That's true for all woodwinds I think; the higher the note the more air pressure required, and the more air pressure the better embochure needed to keep the notes on pitch and stable like Michael says below:
(07-20-2019, 05:07 AM)Michael Willis Wrote: Embouchure can have a big impact on playing in tune. A really good clarinetist will use this to compensate for all of the above, but I can't claim that I am very good at this. Under many circumstances I find that my playing can suffer from what my high school band teacher called "wobblies"; if a clarinetist doesn't have extremely good control of embouchure, the tune can go all over the place, which I would guess is a big part of the problem that Mattias describes.
Still, judging by the samples I have (even commercial ones) clarinets seem more afflicted by tuning issues than other woodwinds. Or maybe it's because of the instrument's pure and most commonly vibrato-less tone -- perhaps the wavering is just more noticeable.
(07-20-2019, 05:07 AM)Michael Willis Wrote: Then there is the matter of temperature. A cold clarinet will play a bit flat, but after playing for a few measures it will warm up and tend to be a bit sharp. It is fairly common for clarinetists to dread coming back in after having several measures of rest, because it is hard to know how the instrument will respond. During one performance I took to blowing air through the instrument softly enough that it didn't engage the reed, with the hope that it would keep it warmed up enough to not sound horrible when I started playing my part. Of course that would probably look really goofy in a more formal performance.
The only woodwinds I can play are tin whistles (and Irish flute, to some small extent) and it's common to blow into the whistle with your finger over the blade before playing to warm it up, otherwise it will play noticeably flat. So again, I'm not sure this is unique for the clarinet. Then again, a clarinet has more mass than a whistle so I suppose the problem might be more pronounced.
(07-20-2019, 05:07 AM)Michael Willis Wrote: Shameless plug - I would love to try recording a live clarinet track for anybody here. If you're inclined, it would probably be best to try it out on an experimental piece, something that you're not too serious about. I can't make any promises as to how well it would turn out, but it would be fun to try.
I'd love to take you up on that, though at present I don't think I have any tune I'm working on that features clarinet in a major way (i.e. something that would actually be interesting to play). But I'll keep your offer in mind! Didn't you experiment with sampling your clarinet though?
