Klarinet Archive - Posting 000168.txt from 1998/08

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Cold weather
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 23:26:59 -0400

At 08:08 AM 8/4/98 -0700, David Naden wrote:
>Gareth--
>
>That's a common sense question. Playing a wood instrument in freezing
weather
>certainly is NOT good for the instrument. But...let's look at the
physics. The
>warm air from your breath causes the interior bore of the instrument to
expand.
>The cold air causes the exterior of the instrument to shrink. The resulting
>pressure could result in the instrument cracking.
>
And then consider what happens to the condensed moisture from your breath,
inside the bore, soaking into the wood, when you take a break, recalling
that water EXPANDS as it freezes. Sure, you might get away with it just
fine, but it sounds like tempting fate to me! When I was in marching band
at Notre Dame, those of us who owned wood clarinets were ISSUED plastic
ones to march with, so as not to destroy our own. Also, on concert tour in
the spring, clarinetists were allowed to bring their instruments on the bus
with them, rather than put them on the truck with the rest of the
instruments, in order to protect them from extreme temperatures. Perhaps
they knew something?

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------