Klarinet Archive - Posting 000447.txt from 1997/02

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Clarinet age 1 mo time
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 16:57:20 -0500

On Tue, 11 Feb 1997, Holly Suzanne Jones wrote:

> If you have a quality instrument and if you take good care of it,a
> wooden clarinet should last as long as you want to play it.

Grenadilla wood does change with time. The process is called
"depolymerization." I don't know exactly what that means from the
standpoint of the chemistry involved, but it is a natural and inexhorable
process, and it does affect the playing characteristics of an instrument.
Probably the changes are so gradual that a person wouldn't notice them,
and would automatically make the necessary changes in playing techniques
to accomodate them.

There was a thread on this topic on the double reed list some time ago.
One person related an experience in one of the manufacturers in France.
As it was reported, they found a block of grenadilla which was around 70
years old, and they decided to try to make an instrument from it.
Usually, when the wood is being turned on a lathe, there are long,
string-like pieces of wood which are removed from the instrument, much
like you might see if turning metal. However, on the older block of wood,
only a very fine dust resulted from its being worked on the lathe.

It certainly is true that some people play very well and are very
satisfied with their 40 or 50-year-old instruments. Unfortunately, due
to the passage of time and changes in our physical makeup and playing
techniques, we can't remember exactly how an instrument felt many years ago.

Ed Lacy
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Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
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