Klarinet Archive - Posting 000487.txt from 1998/07

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <lgbuick@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] air leak
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 18:39:15 -0400

Hi Peter... is this your own or a student's air leak?

I had a chronic leak years ago when I went to Chile and studied with Luis
Rossi. His solution was simple: stop as soon as you start leaking air.
Don't even play two notes with the hiss, rest for a minute or two 'til you
can play without leaking. Be strict about it. If I remember correctly, it
only took a couple of weeks to nip it in the bud.

Of course it might be a case of a student trying to play on too hard a reed
or a mouthpiece that's not suitable - you've probably checked that...

Years later when we did our second recording with the Wind Trio I was
having a small air leak which was very noticeable because the mikes were
very close. My temporary solution (which has since become permanent) was to
put a small blob of plasticine on the side of the mouthpiece to seal the
leak - it makes it much easier to close the lips around it. (It's easy to
see that the mouthpiece is not the same shape as your lips...) now I use
sealing wax, which is much harder and lasts practically forever (but is
still easy to remove, leaving no mark on the mouthpiece).

Good luck

> Just checked Klarinet archives, no luck on past air leak discussions; any
> ideas for how to fix one?
>

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LGB Lorne G Buick Finally home!
lgbuick@-----. John's, Newfoundland

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