Klarinet Archive - Posting 000127.txt from 1998/01

From: avrahm galper <agalper@-----.com>
Subj: SWABBING MOUTHPIECES
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 05:15:54 -0500

Swabbing mouthpieces

Some years ago, when the Toronto Symphony played in Ann Arbor (lovely
hall) I visited Frank Kaspar
It wasn't the Chicago one but the Ann Arbor one. This is the Kaspar who
worked with Stubbins on the throat Bb mechanism.

We were discussing this and that and eventually came to the subject of
mouthpieces.
This is what he said," I use Kleenex to wipe both the barrel and the
mouthpiece".
He showed me how to fold the Kleenex in such a manner that one end is
pointed (somewhat like making an airplane out of paper). He would insert
the pointed end through the mouthpiece until it came through the window
and then pull it through. He would wipe the barrel separately and the
mouthpiece separately.
He maintained that the repeated pulling through of a swab would make
some changes eventually.

Since then, I've used only Kleenex for wiping the mouthpiece.
When I do pull the Kleenex through, I take care to have the forefinger
of one hand on the tip of the mouthpiece, so that the kleenex does not
rub against it. The kleenex can then be used to wipe other wet sections
of the clarinet.
There is a section inside the mouthpieces that is not touched by the
Kleenex. It's just below the window. There I use a little mouthpiece
brush and twirl it gently to get some of the moisture out. This little
brush does not extend beyond the beginning of the window.

This is not a commercial for Kleenex.

Avrahm Galper