Klarinet Archive - Posting 000353.txt from 1998/02

From: avrahm galper <agalper@-----.com>
Subj: RELAX AND LIVE LONGER by ROBERT MARCELLUS
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 21:40:15 -0500

Relax and live Longer by ROBERT MARCELLUS (Part 1)
This is from an article that appeared in the Clarinet, a Symphony
Quarterly in 1952
(It is not a reed fixing article.)

The reed problem confronting the clarinetist today is a difficult one to
solve, and it's more difficult to keep calm about it, particularly when
the cane is bad as much of it is now.
Here in Washington (Marcellus was Principal there at the time) we played
nineteen concerts in the first month of our season, and I went through
quite a few reeds in the course of that month.
I never seem to hit those "two months"reeds that you hear about.
Consequently I did a lot of looking.
I know, not only other symphony men in this country, but those abroad
share my present experiences with cane as well.
I recall an evening spent with the clarinet section of the Danish State
Radio Orchestra, which visited here recently. I asked them about their
reed situation, saying that I presumed the good cane was being kept in
Europe for European consumption.
They promptly informed me that good cane was sent to America for
commercial reasons, because all they had was junk (I can't give you the
Danish word they used; I don't believe its quotable)

A system.

I have worked out a system which saves me fatigue as well as time, and
perhaps it is an old story to many others.
I open a couple of boxes of reeds, wet them thoroughly, rub them down
slightly, and place them flat against a glass to dry.
I bought a piece of half-inch glass, 16x20 inches, for the purpose.
I usually repeat the process in 24 hours.
Then I wait a day or two, moisten them and try a few at a time.
This saves quite a bit of time, for you can usually discover which reed
will warp away from the face of the mouthpiece, and you can also detect
the obviously useless pieces of cane by simply holding the glass over a
light.
It's best to discard most of those reeds right away.
I've become a singularly adept marksman through this procedure. On a
good day, I can hit a wastebasket in the far corner of my room, four
times out of five- but I've had lots of practice.

Perhaps the most important time to relax is while actually trying the
reeds.
Try to keep calm no matter how desperate the situation may be
Believe me, that takes a lot of discipline

Avrahm Galper
Clarinet Tone Enhancers
http://www.sneezy.org/avrahm_galper/index.html