Klarinet Archive - Posting 000457.txt from 1995/12

From: "Pavalonis, Jennifer L." <JP233532@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Cracked Clarinet
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 1995 14:55:39 -0500

I heard tell of an experiment someone did dealing with wood and plastic.
Given that the reed, mouthpiece, etc. were constants, there was very little
diff in the sound quality. A lot does have to do w/ the player, mpiece (you
wouldn't *believe* the diff a good mp can make!), reed, etc. Practicing and
stuff really helps more than people give it credit for. A good player can
make even a really crappy cheap instrument sound atleast half decent. I do
not know about the cracked clarinet-thing, but my advice is to keep building
those chops up! Every little bit helps. Oh, and put a nice new shiney
clarinet on your list to Santa!

Jenn (jp233532@-----.edu)

I have an old clarinet that I bought from a local music store. It is marked
"EVETTE & SCHAEFFER, PARIS FRANCE, MODELE BUFFET-CRAMPON". It appears to be
made out of some type of wood. There is a noticeable crack in the bell that
starts
at the bottom and extends upwards about two inches. I know very little about
clarinets and I was wondering if the crack can be repaired. The clarinet
looks like it was heavily used by its previous owners. Is it worth fixing? I
think it sounds better than my other clarinet, a plastic student LeBlanc,
but the pads and mechanism are not in good condition.

How much of an effect does the material (plastic or wood) have on the sound
of a clarinet? I've noticed that there is alot of discussion about reeds,
mouthpieces and barrels. Sometimes when I listen to CDs I wonder why the
tone of the clarinets sound so different from each other and my playing. Is
it 95% practice and technique or is the instrument important too?

--
John A. Limpert
johnl@-----.Net