Klarinet Archive - Posting 000473.txt from 1998/02

From: "Kevin J. Bowman" <kbowman@-----.com>
Subj: bothersome b
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 13:52:57 -0500

Tony wrote:

>I've been playing my clarinet again for about a month now following a
>layoff of many years.
>
>I'm having difficulty getting the third-line B to play. I can make it work
>if I really think about it, but often when I'm moving along through an
>exercise, I finger the B for an eighth note or a sixteenth note and nothing
>sounds.
>

I encountered a similar problem when I began playing after a 6 year
hiatus. I discovered that the sping on the Ab/Eb key on the lower joint
had become weak and was, therefore, allowing air to leak through
the corresponding cup. You can check this as follows:
1) remove lower joint from instrument
2) cover the bottom of the joint with the palm of your left hand
3) finger low E with your right hand (so all the holes are closed)
4) place mouth over top end and blow.
You should be able to blow quite hard without any pads "lifting"
or leaking. Any weak springs can be fixed by a repairman.

BTW - anybody have any suggestions for weak or broken spring
"quick" fixes? I thought about using a spring hook to release and
retention the spring but, unfortunately, I don't own a spring hook.

Kevin Bowman