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Make your own Mr Curly

& other Clarinets - pdf
by Linsey Pollak 

(Includes measurements, photos, and video links)

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Make your own Mr Curly

& other Clarinets

by Linsey Pollak 

copyright - Linsey Pollak 2013

 photos - Lisa Businovski
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INTRODUCTION
In 1971 a bamboo grove in Glenfield (outer Sydney) started me on my
 journey of woodwind instrument making. I began by experimenting with

bamboo flutes
woodturning toand then
make moved to timber,
renaissance at first
flutes, and thenteaching
taking amyself
woodturning
course. In1976 I travelled to Europe measuring renaissance winds in
museum collections and ended up in London where I set up a workshop
making renaissance flutes for nearly 2 years. On returning to Australia in
1978 I again set up an instrument making workshop and influenced by
the 8 months I had spent in Macedonia I also began making
Macedonian and Bulgarian gaidas (bagpipes) and experimenting with
other wind instruments.
During the 1980's I moved between Sydney, Perth and Broome,
sometimes making instruments and sometimes performing and running
workshops and also setting up the North Perth Ethnic Music Centre. In
1987 I moved to the Adelaide Hills to be near my lover and partner
Jessica and again set up an instrument making workshop, this time
beginning to develop my own designs such as the tarogatino which

developed into the

well as making saxillo. Infrom
instruments 1989 we moved
timber back
I started to Sydney
exploring the and as
 possibilities of instruments made from found objects which I first used
with the trio "Paranormal Music Society" and later during the 1990's with
the marimba based band "Xylosax", but especially in a series 8 solo
shows (1990 - 2013) which have toured all around the world featuring
the live looping of music made from found object instruments.
Since 1990 I have lived on the Sunshine Coast and during that
time have combined instrument making, running Community Music
workshops, composing, creating and directing shows and performing. A
long term musical collaboration with Tunji Beier beginning in 1996
created the World Music duo "Dva" and it is particularly for this music
 project that I have developed the many and varied types of folk clarinets
which I call "clarini". This word is partly a diminutive form of "clarinet" but
also influenced by the Greek word for clarinet - "clarino". The clarinis I

have developed are made from various materials and are in a wide
range of tunings. They use various mouthpieces (alto sax, clarinet,
sopranino sax). I have also experimented with bass clarinis using non-
linear bores (see instruments in this book such as "Bella", "Crow" and
"Mr Curly". This book features these instruments from the clarinet family
(single reed instruments with a cylindrical bore).

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Contents 

 p8. Soprano polypipe clarini (1/2" polypipe riser)

 p9. C major polypipe clarini (1/2" HP irrigation pipe)

 p10. F major clarini (1/2" polypipe riser)

 p11. F major clarini (bamboo)

 p12. F major clarini (aluminium tube)

 p13. G Hijazkar clarini (1/2" polypipe riser)

 p14. G Nawar Athar clarini (1/2" polypipe riser)
 p15. F minor clarini (Gidgee)

 p16. Carrot clarinet

 p18. Mr Curly (plastic contra bass clarinet)

 p20. Bicycle seat clarinet

 p22. Watering can clarinet

 p23. Feather duster clarinet

 p24. Bella (glass narrow bore bass clarinet)
 p25. Crow (wooden narrow bore bass clarinet)

 p26. Mrs Curly (glass contra bass clarinet)

 p27. Saxillo

 p28. measurement chart

 p29. fingering chart for soprano clarini

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 Audio Tracks
There will also be an eBook where most of the instruments
have accompanying audio tracks as examples of that particular

instrument being played:

Soprano clarini - "Birds" (Linsey Pollak)
F major clarini - "Clarini" (Linsey Pollak)
G Hijazkar clarini - "Hijazkar improvisation" (Dva)
G Nawar Athar clarini - "Rocks & Feathers" ( Dva)
F minor clarini - "A Crystal Night" (Dva)
Carrot clarinet - "Carrot & Mr Curly" (Linsey Pollak)
Mr Curly - "Dietrich's Demo" (Linsey Pollak)
Bicycle seat clarinet - "Sigi" (Linsey Pollak)
Watering can clarinet - "Watering can quartet" (Linsey Pollak)
Bella - "Woolly Bear" (Dva)
Crow - "Reflections" & "Crow & Kanjira" (Dva)
Mrs Curly - "Mrs Curly Rocks" (Dva)
Saxillo - "The Dust has settled" (Dva)

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OVERVIEW

This book will show you how to make your own musical
instruments. The instruments in this book are all members of
the clarinet family (with the exception of the saxillo which has a
conical bore). This means that they have a cylindrical bore and
a single reed. I have developed these designs and
measurements over the last 25 years and include just a small
selection of instruments with various tunings and materials. For
interest I have included a few other designs at the end of this
book without measurements, as examples of other instruments
that I have designed. The materials for the instruments in this
book are easily available from Australian hardware stores or
irrigation suppliers. Other countries may not have exactly the
same tubes and pipes, but dimensions are included so that you
can hopefully find equivalent materials. The most common
 pipes I have used in this book are 1/2" polypipe riser material
and 1/2" HP (high pressure) polyethylene irrigation pipe. The
inside and outside diameters of all pipes used are included in
the individual instrument measurement tables. You can
experiment with different materials, however the important thing
to remember is to use tubes that have the same inside and
outside diameters as described, if not, the tuning will vary.

 As well as the particular instruments I have included in this book

you can experiment with other materials and tunings using the
table that I have included at the end of the book on page 28.

Some of the instruments are diatonic and are designed to play

only in a certain scale or mode, others are chromatic and use
cross fingering to play all notes in a chromatic scale (for
example - the Soprano clarini and the Carrot clarinet) I have
included a fingering chart for the Soprano clarini on page 29.
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If an instrument is designed to play in a certain scale and key

then this is included in the title of the instrument (eg "G
Nawar Athar Clarini" refers to the clarini which plays the
 Arabic scale "Nawar Athar"). If the instrument is chromatic
and not confined to a diatonic scale then no scale name is
attached to the instrument (eg "Soprano Clarini"). For non-
chromatic instruments the notes in the scale that an
instrument plays can be found in the measurement chart for
that particular instrument next to the corresponding
fingerhole.

For all instruments in this book I have used an alto sax

mouthpiece (except for the feather duster, Bella and the
saxillo). This is because I prefer the sound that an alto sax
mouthpiece gives with its larger chamber and wider reed
compared with a clarinet mouthpiece. Although a sax
mouthpiece is used the instruments are still clarinets as they
have a cylindrical bore! It is possible to use a clarinet
mouthpiece, however the instruments will then not be in
tune! The fingerhole positions would need to change slightly
to suit this different mouthpiece. A suitable and cheap alto
sax mouthpiece is a Yamaha 4C or 5C.

Linsey's You Tube channel: [Link]

[Link]/user/SquealyD 
Linsey's website Instrument page: [Link]
[Link]/wordpress/instruments/  

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Soprano polypipe clarini

1/2" polypipe riser. 6 fingers - D
alto sax mouthpiece

There is a 40mm long 1/2" HP polypipe connector which fits

into the top of the tube (you need to ream out the tube a little
for a friction fit) this connector should create a smooth airtight
fit extending 30mm into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 15mm 

outside diameter - 21.5mm 

fingerhole diameter &

distance from bottom 

of mouthpiece to: 
thumbhole (D) - 5mm / 28mm 

1st fingerhole (C#) - 5mm / 40mm 

2nd fingerhole (B) - 5mm / 58mm 

3rd fingerhole (A) - 5mm / 77mm 

4th fingerhole (G) - 5mm / 103mm 

5th fingerhole (F) - 6mm / 139mm 

6th fingerhole (E) - 7mm / 154mm 

7th fingerhole (D) - 7mm / 185mm 

end of tube (C) - 237mm 

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C major polypipe clarini

1/2" HP irrigation pipe. 6 fingers - D
alto sax mouthpiece
Tube extends about 30mm into alto
sax mouthpiece

Bore diameter - 12.6mm 

outside diameter - 16mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 7mm 

distance from bottom 

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (D) - 39mm 

1st fingerhole (C) - 56mm 

2nd fingerhole (B) - 67mm 

3rd fingerhole (A) - 85mm 

4th fingerhole (G) - 104mm 

5th fingerhole (F) - 126mm 

6th fingerhole (E) - 143mm 

7th fingerhole (D) - 171mm 

end of tube (C) - 218mm 

Total length of tube - 248mm 

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F major clarini
1/2" poly riser pipe. 6 fingers - G
alto sax mouthpiece

There is a 40mm long 1/2" HP polypipe connector which fits

into the top of the tube (you need to ream out the tube a
little for a friction fit) this connector should create a smooth
airtight fit extending 30mm into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 15mm 

outside diameter - 21.5mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 8mm 

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (G) - 117mm 

1st fingerhole (F) - 146mm 

2nd fingerhole (E) - 161mm 

3rd fingerhole (D) - 192mm 

4th fingerhole (C) - 226mm 

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 265mm 

6th fingerhole (A) - 284mm 

7th fingerhole (G) - 324mm 

end of tube (F) - 397mm 

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F major clarini
bamboo. 6 fingers G.
alto sax mouthpiece
There is a 40mm long 1/2" HP polypipe connector
which fits into the top of the bamboo tube (you need
to ream out the tube a little for a friction fit) this
connector should create a smooth airtight fit
extending 30mm into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - approx 16mm

outside diameter - approx 24mm

all fingerhole diameters: 8mm

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to:

thumbhole (G) - 124mm

1st fingerhole (F) - 153mm

2nd fingerhole (E) - 168mm

3rd fingerhole (D) - 196mm

4th fingerhole (C) - 232mm

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 273mm

6th fingerhole (A) - 291mm

7th fingerhole (G) -332mm

end of tube (F) - 412mm

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F major clarini
 Aluminium tube. 6 fingers - G
alto sax mouthpiece

Tube extends about 20mm into alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 13.6mm 

outside diameter - 16mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 8mm 

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (G) - 112mm 

1st fingerhole (F) - 138mm 

2nd fingerhole (E) - 153mm 

3rd fingerhole (D) - 182mm 

4th fingerhole (C) - 216mm 

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 255mm 

6th fingerhole (A) - 275mm 

7th fingerhole (G) - 317mm 

end of tube (F) - 385mm 

Total length of tube - 405mm 

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G Hijazkar clarini
1/2" poly riser pipe. 5 fingers- G
alto sax mouthpiece
There is a 40mm long 1/2" HP polypipe connector
which fits into the top of the tube (you need to ream
out the tube a little for a friction fit) this connector
should create a smooth airtight fit extending 30mm
into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 15mm 

outside diameter - 21.5mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 8mm 

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (F#) - 131mm 

1st fingerhole (Eb) - 177mm 

2nd fingerhole (D) - 192mm 

3rd fingerhole (C) - 226mm 

4th fingerhole (B) - 244mm 

5th fingerhole (Ab) - 304mm 

6th fingerhole (G) - 324mm 

7th fingerhole (F#) - 350mm 

end of tube (Eb) - 456mm 

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G Nawar Athar clarini

1/2" polypipe riser. 6 fingers - G
alto sax mouthpiece
There is a 40mm long 1/2" HP polypipe connector
which fits into the top of the tube (you need to ream
out the tube a little for a friction fit) this connector
should create a smooth airtight fit extending 30mm
into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 15mm 

outside diameter - 21.5mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 8mm 

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (G) - 117mm 

1st fingerhole (F#) - 131mm 

2nd fingerhole (Eb) - 177mm 

3rd fingerhole (D) - 192mm 

4th fingerhole (C#) - 207mm 

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 265mm 

6th fingerhole (A) - 284mm 

7th fingerhole (G) - 324mm 

end of tube (F#) - 376mm 

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F minor wooden clarini

Timber (Gidgee). 7 fingers - F
alto sax mouthpiece
There is a 40mm long x 16mm OD aluminium
tube which protrudes 13mm into the top of the
wooden bore (glued in position). This connecting
tube extends 16mm into the alto sax mouthpiece.

Bore diameter - 14.5mm

outside diameter - 23mm
length of wooden body - 379mm

fingerhole diameter &

distance from bottom
of mouthpiece to:

top of wooden body - 11mm

thumbhole (G) - 8.5mm / 117mm

1st fingerhole (F) - 8mm / 144mm

2nd fingerhole (Eb) - 9.5mm / 178mm

3rd fingerhole (Db) - 9.5mm / 205mm

4th fingerhole (C) - 9.5mm / 225mm

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 10mm / 263mm

6th fingerhole (Ab) - 8mm / 300mm

7th fingerhole (G) - 8mm / 323mm

end of tube (F) - 390mm

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Carrot Clarinet 
6 fingers C.
alto sax mouthpiece

Lowest note is middle

C and using recorder
cross-fingering it plays
one chromatic octave

There is a 37mm long

connector tube which joins
the mouthpiece and the
carrot. 22mm of this
connector is about 16mm
diameter and fits tightly
into the alto sax
mouthpiece, the other
15mm has a diameter of
12mm and fits snugly into
the top of the carrot. (I use
a 12mm irrigation pipe
connector).

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Bore diameter - 12mm 

outside diameter - depends on carrot size 

all fingerhole diameters: 7mm 

distance from bottom

of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (C) - 22mm 

1st fingerhole (Bb) - 39mm 

2nd fingerhole (A) - 54mm 

3rd fingerhole (G) - 74mm 

4th fingerhole (F) - 97mm 

5th fingerhole (Eb) - 123mm 

6th fingerhole (D) - 140mm 

end of carrot (no funnel) (C) - 187mm 

If you want to use a funnel inserted in the end of
the carrot (for sound and visual aesthetic) the
length will be shorter than 187mm. 

YouTube clips for the carrot clarinet:

[Link]

[Link]

Making the carrot clarinet:

[Link]
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Mr Curly 
6 fingers - F, alto sax mouthpiece

Mr Curly is a narrow bore contra-bass clarinet. Initially I used

narrow bore pre-coiled garden hose. With a bore of this length
the fingerholes are too far apart to play if the bore is straight and
so I have brought the fingerholes close together by creating a
spiral. The spiral is formed by wrapping the tube around a 40mm
diameter aluminium tube. This tube has no effect on the sound
of the instrument and could be another material such as PVC.

NB: Mr Curly works best as an electro-acoustic instrument. The

acoustic sound is very soft. I use an in-bore microphone which I
attach to the mouthpiece, this picks up the internal bore sound. I
also process the sound slightly, enhancing certain frequencies
and add phasing. The pickup I use is a Danabug, and although

these are no longer available there are other similar wind

instrument in-bore microphones available. eg: PT100PV clarinet
 pickup - [Link]

I originally used pre-coiled

narrow bore garden hose,
but this is not always
easily available, so the
measurements are for
clear vinyl tubing with an
internal diameter(ID) of
8mm.

YouTube clip for Mr Curly:

[Link]

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Use clear vinyl tubing with an internal diameter(ID) of 8mm.

 After marking the the positions of the fingerholes the tubing
is wrapped around a 20cm length of 40mm (OD) aluminium
tube (it can be any material as long as it is 40mm OD, it has
no effect on the sound). I simply use electrical tape to hold
the tubing in place(see photo). Use a 50mm length of
standard garden hose to fit on the end of the 8mm tube (you
will need to build up diameter of the 8mm tube with electrical
tape to create a tight fit). The garden hose extends 15mm
 past the end of the 8mm tube. The alto sax mouthpiece then
slips tightly onto the garden hose. To make the fingerholes I
use a 6mm OD metal tube which I heat with a gas torch and
melt the holes (don't breathe in the fumes - use a mask).

Bore diameter - 8mm, OD - 10mm - 11mm 

all fingerholes: 7mm 
aluminium tube diameter - 40mm, length - 20cm 

distance of top end of tube to: 

thumbhole (F) - 590mm 

1st fingerhole (E) - 660mm 

2nd fingerhole (D) - 805mm 

3rd fingerhole (C) - 950mm 

4th fingerhole (Bb) - 1095mm 

5th fingerhole (Ab) - 1245mm 

6th fingerhole (G quarter tone flat) - 1385mm 

7th fingerhole (F) - 1535mm 

end of tube (Eb) - 1750mm 

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Bicycle seat clarinet 

6 fingers - C
alto sax mouthpiece

The alto sax mouthpiece fits

directly into the bicycle seat
stem, pushed in only 7mm. It's
a pressure fit and the
mouthpiece outer diameter may
need to be slightly adjusted
depending on which alto sax
mouthpiece you are using. For

example
mouthpiece - a Yamaha
needs to be very
slightly reduced by careful
sanding.

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Bore diameter - 22mm 

outside diameter - 27.2mm 

all fingerhole diameters - 8mm 

Distance from top of tube to: 

thumbhole (C) - 98mm 

1st fingerhole (Bb) - 109mm

2nd fingerhole (A) - 127mm 

3rd fingerhole (G) - 148mm 

4th fingerhole (F) - 175mm 

5th fingerhole (Eb) - 203mm 

6th fingerhole (D) - 218mm 

7th fingerhole (C) - 247mm 

2 tuning holes (Bb) - 209mm 

YouTube clips for the Bicycle

seat clarinet:

[Link]

[Link]

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 A Hijaz Watering Can Clarinet

1/2" HP irrigation pipe. 5 fingers - A.
alto sax mouthpiece
Bore diameter - 12.6mm 
outside diameter - 16mm 

all fingerhole diameters: 7mm 

thumbhole (G) - 100mm 

1st fingerhole (F) - 122mm 

2nd fingerhole (E) - 139mm 

3rd fingerhole (D) - 169mm 

4th fingerhole (C#) - 185mm 

5th fingerhole (Bb) - 238mm 

6th fingerhole (A) - 263mm 

7th fingerhole (in spout) (G) - 305mm 

(depends on spout diameter) 
Length of tube depends
on watering can spout.
(about 300mm)

YouTube clip for the Watering

Can clarinet:

[Link]
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Feather duster clarini 

Eb major. 6 fingers - F.
sopranino sax mouthpiece

I used the original tube that

made the feather duster handle.

Bore diameter - 8mm 

outside diameter - 11mm 

fingerhole diameter & 

distance from bottom
of mouthpiece to: 

thumbhole (F) - 4mm / 40mm 

1st fingerhole (Eb) - 4mm / 50mm 

2nd fingerhole (D) - 5mm / 67mm 

3rd fingerhole (C) - 5mm / 83mm 

4th fingerhole (Bb) - 5mm / 100mm 

5th fingerhole (Ab) - 5mm / 117mm  To hear the Feather duster

clarinet - listen to the audio
6th fingerhole (G) - 6mm / 132mm  clip "Dietrich's Demo" on Mr
Curly's page. The Feather
duster comes in half way
7th fingerhole (F) - 6mm / 154mm 
through.
2 tuning holes (Eb) - 6mm / 182mm  YouTube clip for Mr Curly
and Feather duster clarinet:

[Link]
Iu60MwpMiow  
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Bella
I just wanted to include this as an example of
a glass clarini. It's a narrow bore bass clarinet.
This is a collaboration between myself and
glassworker Arnie Fuchs. We have designed
and made a number of glass clarinets
together. Apart from the beauty of the curly
design, the curls make it possible for the
fingerholes to be close enough for my fingers
even in a bass clarinet. Using glass makes it
 possible to do this by creating the bends
when heated. The lowest note is an octave
below middle C. It uses a sopranino sax
mouthpiece.

YouTube clip for Bella's sister

instrument - "Donna"
also made as a collaboration with
glassworker Arnie Fuchs

[Link]

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Crow

This instrument is called

"Crow" because I made it from
the timber - Crows Ash. It's
another narrow bore bass
clarinet. Like "Bella" I have
created a bore that curls
backwards and forwards and

in thislonger
much way the bore
than theitself is
instrument. I did this by
cutting the wood in half and
then routing out the channel
that became the bore before
glueing it back together. It is
the same pitch as "Bella". The
lowest note is an octave below
middle C. It uses an alto sax
mouthpiece.

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Mrs Curly
Mrs Curly 
Mrs Curly is a glass narrow- 
bore contra bass clarinet.
 Another collaboration with
glassworker Arnie Fuchs. In
the accompanying audio file
(with Tunji Beier playing
Nigerian rocks and cymbal),
Mrs Curly has some audio
 processing of her sound, but

the actual raw

essentially the sound
same, is
with no
 pitch shifting. It uses a
sopranino sax mouthpiece,
with an in-bore microphone.

[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 26/31

 

5/24/2018 Ma ke Your Own Mr Curly Othe r Cla r inets - slide pdf.c om

Saxillo
The saxillo is not a clarinet as it has a
conical bore, however it is a cousin
from the saxophone family. I have
included it in this book as it is the
instrument I have spent most time
designing and developing, with many
small changes over the years. I was
originally inspired by the Hungarian
Tarogato which is like a wooden

soprano saxophone
bore similar with a conical
to the soprano sax, but
narrower at the top of the bore and
using a narrow bore mouthpiece.
While tarogatos have keys (similar to
the Albert System) I wanted to design
a conical bore single reed instrument
with no keys. I began my experiments
in 1987 and have ended up at this
stage in 2013 (Mk 17) with the
instrument shown in the photo.
Originally I called this instrument a
Tarogatino, now I use the name -
Saxillo.
The range is one and a half
octaves from middle C to G, and it is
chromatic, using cross fingering
similar to a recorder. The instrument
in the photo is made from African
Olive with a brass bell. The
mouthpiece is a remodelled clarinet
mouthpiece.

YouTube clip for the Saxillo:  

[Link]
[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 27/31
5/24/2018 Ma ke Your Own Mr Curly Othe r Cla r inets - slide pdf.c om

[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 28/31

 

5/24/2018 Ma ke Your Own Mr Curly Othe r Cla r inets - slide pdf.c om

The Bicycle seat clarinet and Carrot clarinet use similar

fingering but both sound one tone lower than the Soprano
clarini.

[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 29/31

5/24/2018 Ma ke Your Own Mr Curly Othe r Cla r inets - slide pdf.c om

[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 30/31

5/24/2018 Ma ke Your Own Mr Curly Othe r Cla r inets - slide pdf.c om

[Link] pdf.c om/re a de r/full/ma ke -your-own-mr-c urly-othe r-c la r inets 31/31