Klarinet Archive - Posting 000095.txt from 1998/01

From: Edinger/Gilman <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: swabbing really does wear it out
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 19:25:09 -0500

Re the suggestion that the reed is "slamming against" the tip and rails
of the mouthpiece, so to speak: this is definitely an incorrect
description of what happens when you play. If the reed were vibrating
against the tip and rails, there would be no sound coming through, would
there? The reed vibrates in the air as the air passes through the mouth
and the mouthpiece; TONGUING closes the reed against the mouthpiece,
very briefly. Neil and Roger get my vote: just as you can polish a
bore or a mouthpiece or a razor, for that matter (and steel is a lot
harder than rubber), you can indeed eventually wear down the rail edges
and the tip. I know, I'm guilty of it. The frequency of swabbing, the
type of cloth (think of a razor strop of a lens-polishing cloth), and
the tightness of fit would all be factors varying the effect, but the
effect is, in my opinion, indisputable. So there :).

Bill E.