Boehm system (clarinet)

Klosé and Buffet took the standard soprano clarinet, adapted the ring and axle keywork system to correct serious intonation issues on both the upper and lower joints of the instrument, and added duplicate keys for the left and right little fingers, simplifying several difficult articulations throughout the range of the instrument.

[1][2] By the early twentieth century, virtually all clarinets used by performers outside of Germany, Austria, and Russia were of the Boehm system or one of its derivatives.

The ring keys Boehm created for his flute gave other instrument inventors the means to devise logical fingering systems that allowed for more physical agility.

Ring keys and needle springs were the two major features adapted for Klosé and Buffet's new design.

The ring, in turn, is connected to a long axle (borrowed directly from Boehm's flute), which then causes another hole located elsewhere on the instrument to be covered by a padded key.

As an original invention for the clarinette à anneaux mobiles, Buffet utilized needle springs in order to control the opening and closing of keys mounted on axles.

Fork- and cross-fingerings create a greater number of closed holes—another cause of the pre-Boehm clarinet's dull tone.

Boehm system clarinetists became able to play using more sequential fingering patterns, therefore improving the accuracy of fast passages.

The Full Boehm system clarinet is the only extensively accepted modification of Klosé and Buffet's 1843 design, though its added complexity, weight, and cost have kept it from supplanting the latter altogether.

Other than the need for the clarinetist to learn the new throat fingerings, the main drawbacks to the system were the weight and complexity of the mechanism.

Lacking funds to work on improvements, the McIntyres tried to interest a major clarinet manufacturer in the system but were unable to reach an agreement, and production of the instrument ceased.

In order to avoid repetition, reference is made to the main article Reform Boehm system (Development, 2nd section).

An additional resonance key on the right side of the lower joint to improve the sound of Bb3 and the F#5 (Acton mechanism) 9.

International soloists such as Charles Neidich, Shirley Brill and Richard Haynes have had such instruments made.