Klarinet Archive - Posting 000166.txt from 1993/12

From: sabinson%ccvax.hepnet@-----.GOV
Subj: Re: The wooden clarinet
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1993 12:56:10 -0500

> I think, very fortunately for us, that clarinets are less sensitive to
> their material of construction than are many other instruments. Metal
> clarinets of soloist quality were made during the 1930's (I'll gladly
> elaborate on this if it triggers any interest)

I wish you would elaborate, when you have time. I have a number of reasons
for wanting further information, besides the fact my first clarinet was
metal and dearly beloved by me. As I mentioned the other day, my first
"good" clarinet," an R-13, cracked after about three months. An oil stain
developed toward the bottom of the lower joint. The fit of the bell then
did not feel right. I will never forget that click of grenadilla snapping
as I opened the case (15 degrees Celsius that morning). I still have
nightmares about it. Another friend here had a similar problem. Should
anything happen to my Prestige due to climate, I would investigate metal or
take up the Soprano Sax.
An additional problem which is not dealt with here in Brazil is the
problem of tuning and temperature. What would be normal climatic
conditions in France are "true" here maybe five days a year. We are having
a very hot and muggy spring, with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius
(mid-nineties) every day, but even the normal highs for this period are in
the mid-eighties. (No air-conditioning for the most part and no heating
for a dry winter in which daytime highs are rarely below 15 degrees
Celsius.) Tuning can be hell. I have an hypothesis that metal might be
more stable than wood in hot climates and can be adapted more easily to
Brazilian conditions. Any ideas of the relative stability for pitch of
different materials and tuning for different climates?

ERIC

   
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