  This study investigates the role of localized nonlinear losses in the
register hole on the production of second-register notes. First, an experiment
is conducted to study the ability of a register hole to produce second
register. A cylindrical tube is drilled with holes of increasing diameter. Five
are at the same level as the register hole of a B-flat clarinet, and five are
at the same level as the thumb hole. Participant clarinetists are then asked to
play with constant control parameters. At the beginning of each measurement,
all holes are closed. The operator then opens randomly one of the ten holes.The
resulting register is noted. The experiment is replicated numerically by time
integration of two different models. The first is the state-of-the-art model
based on the modal decomposition of the input impedance of the resonator. The
second accounts for localized nonlinear losses in the register hole, through
the model from Dalmont and Nederveen (2002). These losses are handled through a
variable modal coefficients method. For the first model, simulations never
produce second register, for any of the open holes. For the second, the
proportion of second-register production is close to the experiment for
upstream holes, but remains at zero for downstream holes.
