Klarinet Archive - Posting 000495.txt from 1995/03

From: Thomas Labadorf <Labadorf@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: eating before playing
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 22:56:50 -0500

>From Lynn Thomas:
---
As a teacher, I have spent many hours cleaning or replacing pads in
instruments because of Tastykakes, sodas, and the like. I can believe
toothpaste does a number on them as well. And then there was the student who
decided to boil his mouthpiece to get rid of the gunk...and got rid of the
mouthpiece instead!
---

OK. Since we're sharing eating stories and students:

I also had a student who was having some problems getting some notes to speak
during his lesson. My first step was to investigate his reed. When I took
it off for him, to my amazement I discovered a build-up that could have
furtilized a vegitable garden! My student told that he had some ginger snaps
for snack just before his lesson, but not only that, he never took his reed
off his mouthpiece! And he was putting this thing in his mouth! He was
always a healthy guy probably from the antibodies he built up as a
risistance.

*I* learned three things from that lesson: 1. Teach proper care of reeds
and mouthpiece, 2. Always let the student remove his/her own reed, and 3.
NEVER play anybody elses setup!

Tom L.