Klarinet Archive - Posting 000096.txt from 1998/01

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: swabbing really does wear it out
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 19:25:10 -0500

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.12
> Subj: swabbing really does wear it out

> 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, in my opinion, the effect is very disputable. What evidence
do you present to support the view that (a) this phenomenon occurs
to the extent that you suggest, and (b) that it has a specific effect
on something?

>
> Bill E.
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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
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