Klarinet Archive - Posting 000532.txt from 1997/02

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Clarinet Blow out
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 13:57:36 -0500

I would challenge Dan L. in a heartbeat that clarinets do indeed blow out
(so would Gigliotti). I'm sure also that there players out there that like
that in a clarinet too. I do however think that 5 years is extreme even if
someone played 4 hrs. daily for it to blow out. 10 years is not the "magic"
number, but it is an aproximate figure.

At 12:02 PM 2/15/97 -0330, Lorne G. Buick wrote:
>THanks to Dr. Ed for a little bit of actual information on this subject,
>which has been discussed at length on this list too. (If anyone's
>interested, search the archives (via sneezy) for the words "blown out".)
>Since Dan L. is temporarily unwith us, let me remind everyone that his
>opinion is that the idea that clarinets get "blown out" or lose their tone
>after ten (or however many) years is "horse hockey"; in other words, it's
>something we imagine happens because we heard somewhere that it happens.
>I'm not so sure; I've definitely had clarinets whose bore changed over a
>period of years such that the tone quality and especially intonation were
>adversely affected. Unfortunately we have only anecdotal evidence one way
>or the other ("well I'm playing a 200 year old clarinet that still plays
>perfectly" "yeah but my 2-year-old Buffet is completely blown out") until
>someone does a 20-year study involving 100's of new clarinets. Any grad
>students out there think they can get a grant for this project? Be sure to
>post yearly updates to the list... :-)
>>
>> 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
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>LGB Lorne G Buick St. John's
> lgbuick@-----.net Newfoundland
> Canada
>
>
David C. Blumberg
reedman@-----.com
Principal Clarinet Riverside Symphonia
Adjunct Woodwind Instructor Univ. of Penn,. Bryn Mawr College
Foundation of Arts and Musical Excellence Summer Music Festival (FAME)