Klarinet Archive - Posting 000076.txt from 1998/01

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: cleaning mouthpieces
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 14:28:26 -0500

At 02:50 AM 1/3/98 -0600, you wrote:
>On Tue, 30 Dec 1997, Dee Hays wrote:
>
>> Washing the mouthpiece a couple of times a week with room
>> temperature water and soap should keep it clean. Of course this assumes
that
>> you swab it out after each and every use.
>
>I was surprised that nobody responded to this. Maybe it is meant as
>a joke and I'm the only one who doesn't realize it? Swabbing out a
>hard rubber mouthpiece after every use is a good way to gradually make
>a new mouthpiece for yourself. The friction, even with a silk swab,
>will slowly erode the inner chamber of the mouthpiece and alter the
>geometrical qualities which afforded the mouthpiece its acoustical
>identity in the first place. The danger is that the changes which
>occur will go unnoticed by the player, because the changes are
>gradual and it is impossible for the player to recognize that the
>sound and response are being altered infinitesimally each time a swab
>is drawn through the chamber. After a year or two of daily swabbing,
>the inner dimensions are no longer the same. It's best to keep swabbing
>to a minimum, i.e.; once a month, if even that frequently, and never
>draw a cloth swab all the way through.
>
I remember we went through this not too long ago. Apparently you are one
of a very small minority who believe that, in the war between a soft silk
or cotton cloth and ebonite, the cloth will win. If that is so, surely the
relentless pounding the facing receives from the vibrating reed would
render the mouthpiece useless in a matter of hours! I'm going to keep
swabbing, and if I find that I do wear one out from the inside before I
drop it or wear a groove all the way through the top, I'll go out and buy a
new mouthpiece!

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

   
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