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JPSJ News and Comments 11, 17 (2014) http://dx.doi.org/10.7566/JPSJNC.11.17

The Mechanism of the Register Key of the Clarinet

Tsuyoshi Mizuguchi (Department of Mathematical Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University)

Published December 1, 2014

The clarinet has a small but elaborate device, the register key, which gives the clarinet its large pitch range. The physical
mechanism of this small device has remained an open question. A differential and difference equation model provides
insight into how the register key can produce specific higher harmonics of tones within a certain range.

The register key is a small hole with an open/close mecha-

nism set about 14 cm from the tip of the mouthpiece on the
clarinet (Fig. 1). When pressed to open the key, the pitch of
the note is raised by a twelfth (19 semitones). Clarinetists can
play more than an octave with this elaborate device. Other
woodwinds like the saxophone and oboe have a similar (but
not the same) device called an octave key, which extends the
range of the tone. The register or octave key not only expands
the potential of the woodwind, it also poses some questions:
By what mechanism does a small hole excite the third har-
monic for all tones within a given frequency range? What is
the range covered by this device? Why were the particular
size and position of the hole selected? Are other higher har-
monics excited? How this small hole works with respect to
these questions has remained unanswered.
Takahashi et al. [1] focused on finding some answers to
these questions. They used a differential and difference equa-
tion model of the clarinet. The oscillation in wind instruments Fig. 1. The clarinet and the register key (hole) [courtesy of Professor
Kin’ya Takahashi (author of Ref. 1)].
is well modeled by this type of equation [2]. However, from a
mathematical viewpoint their analysis is difficult because the
model equation is intrinsically a multi attractor system, i.e., REFERENCES
[1] K. Takahashi, K. Goya, and S. Goya, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 83, 124003 (2014).
even with the same parameter sets, the behavior of the system
[2] N. H. Fletcher and T. D. Rossing, The Physics of Musical Instruments
depends on the initial condition, which should be a function (Springer, New York, 1998) 2nd ed.
of all (or part) of the past states of the system. [3] K. Ikeda and M. Mizuno, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 1340 (1984); M. Mizuno
The Takahashi et al. model consists of two delay terms and and K. Ikeda, Physica D 36, 327 (1989).
a dumping term. The equation was suggested by Ikeda and
Mizuno for the optical resonator [3] to clarify the complex Tsuyoshi Mizuguchi received his Ph.D. in
behavior of a nonlinear optical system. The two systems physics from Kyoto University in 1993 and
resemble each other in that the competition between the subsequently spent two years as a postdoc-
toral fellow in Kyoto and Sendai. In 1995, he
two delay terms causes a kind of frustration in selecting an
became an Assistant Professor at Kyoto Uni-
oscillation mode. Analysis of the model shows that even versity. In 2001, he moved to Osaka Prefec-
harmonics suffer from negative delayed feedback and odd ture University as a lecturer and is now an
higher harmonics, including the third harmonic, are relatively associate professor. His research interest is
emphasized. The register key creates conditions in which nonlinear science, including pattern forma-
tion and collective behavior of biological in-
only the third higher harmonic becomes dominant. After
dividuals.
the mathematical analysis, the correspondence between the
mathematical model and the actual instrument was discussed,
where they considered the geometry of the instrument and News and Comments on “Mode Selection Rules for Two-Delay Systems:
the acoustic characteristics were determined by the reflection Dynamical Explanation for the Function of the Register Hole on the
function. Finally, they discussed why only the third higher Clarinet” [K. Takahashi, K. Goya, and S. Goya, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 83, 124003
harmonic is excited in the clarinet. (2014)]
The results of this article can be applied to other woodwinds
and provide insight into the mechanism of mode selection in
multiple delayed systems.

© 2014 The Physical Society of Japan