Klarinet Archive - Posting 000744.txt from 1997/09

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.com>
Subj: Re:swab test
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 03:02:04 -0400

Good idea, just make sure that the Mouthpieces are wet between each
swabbing. Otherwise there will be much more friction from the dry swabs.
David Blumberg

Steve Wrote:
My daughter, Allegra, whose only reward will be name recognition in the
clarinet world early in her clarinet career (she just started clarinet one
month ago) will randomly choose two mouthpieces. She will pull a silk swab
through one mouthpiece and a cotton swab through another 5000 times
(equivalent to swabbing more than once daily for 10 years). - the
mouthpieces, of course need an identifying mark.

I will then send the mouthpieces back to the technician for remeasurement
without informing him/her of which 2 mouthpieces were swabbed.

The numbers will then be sent to a statistician (list member or perhaps
spouse) who will come up with p values for whether differences are
significant or not.

The results will then be presented with great fanfare to the list (and
perhaps published in The Clarinet?

What does everyone think?

Needed:
Volunteer to temporarily donate 10 mouthpieces, identical brand, hard rubber.
Volunteer clarinet technician to donate time and expertise.
If one of the supply houses would be willing to supply 2 free cotton swabs
and 2 silk swabs, it would be greatly appreciated.
Volunteer statistician to crunch the numbers (and also to provide input on
study design - eg., is 10 a good number?)
Input (serious - no jokes) from teachers/perfomers on list concerning other
aspects of study design, eg., is it necessary to dip the mouthpiece in water
between each swabbing to more approximate real conditions? Is this a fair 10
year approximation? Is 10 years a reasonable goal or do people think a
mouthpiece should last 30 years?

Thanks in advance

Steve Gordon, M.D.
Beaverton, OR