Klarinet Archive - Posting 000209.txt from 1995/12

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Howdy
Date: Sat, 9 Dec 1995 11:55:31 -0500

On Sat, 9 Dec 1995, Kevin McFadyen wrote:

> Does anyone know how I can find out how old my clarinet is?

Yes. You have to submit a sample of the wood for carbon dating. So,
first you decide from what part of the instrument to remove the wood. I
suggest the lower end of the lower body joint. Naturally, after
performing this procedure, you won't be able to play all the notes on the
instrument, but the clarinet has a very wide range, so you will hardly
miss these few notes. Some people might suggest taking the needed wood
from the bell where there are no keys or tone holes, but to me, this
leaves the instrument with an esthetically unpleasing appearance. On the
other hand, if you remove the tenon and some other wood from the lower
body joint, you can still assemble the clarinet, although you may need
some duct tape to keep it from falling apart. But most people in the
audience won't notice this.

So, take the clarinet to your workshop, specifically to your band saw
table. Remove all the keys from the joint from which you are going to
take the sample of wood. (You don't want the metal of the keys to dull
your saw blade.) Saw off a couple of inches of wood. Then reassemble
the keys, if you can remember how they were attached before the
procedure. You may have cut off a couple of posts, so all of the keys
may not go back on. Don't worry about this, because with a good
fingering chart, you will be able to learn alternate fingerings for some
of those notes. If you encounter a note for which you can't find an
alternate, just stop playing for a few seconds, look at your reed, and
frown. This has worked for woodwind players for centuries!

Then, take the wood sample to a scientific laboratory for carbon-dating
tests. This should cost you only a couple thousand dollars. Of course,
you have to consider the fact that carbon dating is accurate only to
within a century or so, but at least they will be able to tell you
whether you clarinet was built withing the past 200 years.

Hope this helps!

Ed Lacy
*********************************************************************
Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2252
*********************************************************************

   
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