Klarinet Archive - Posting 000382.txt from 1998/04

From: "Scott Morrow" <sdm@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Re: DENTURES AND CLARINET PLAYING
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 14:39:31 -0400

>
>In a message dated 4/6/98 10:10:18 PM, you wrote:
>
><<I have a student with braces. There is a product on the market that is
>soft plastic (similar to football or boxing mouthpieces, but thinner)
>which conforms to your teeth. She's not doing real well with it herself,
>but I suspect a bit of stubbornness comes into play here. It seems like
>it would help (easy for me to say...)>>
>
>Out of curiosity, I purchased this material and discovered that it is
actually
>"Parafilm." It is a stretchable film used by scientists to cover test tubes
>and the like. Parafilm is thicker than plastic wrap but works on the same
>principle. It feels a little odd when you use it to cushion your teeth but
if
>that's what it takes to keep playing clarinet, so be it. When I bought
>Parafilm as a clarinetist's aid, it was outrageously priced. If you could
find
>it in a lab supply catalog or in a pharmacy, I suspect it would be much
less
>expensive.
>
>Cindy

Cindy,
Fisher Scientific listsa 4"x125' roll of Parafilm M for $20.0; VWR
Scientific sells the same thing for $14.89 (of course, large institutions
like us get a discount on this!). For those of you who are not familiar
with parafilm, it isn't really like plastic wrap: it is a stretchy waxy
sheet (about the thickness of regular wax paper) that can be stretched and
molded.

-Scott