Klarinet Archive - Posting 000897.txt from 1998/08

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] New Cl. Maintenance
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 22:55:24 -0400

on 8/29/98 12:13 AM, Frank Garcia wrote:

>the guy who sold him his instruments told him that he should
>limit the time he plays on the instruments to a half an hour a day.

Yeah, otherwise his playing might improve, and increase the competition
for clarinet jobs in northern Germany!! ;-)

But seriously, folks - starting gradually on any instrument that is new
or hasn't been played in a long time is good advice. It was passed on to
me in an article by Hans Moennig, the leading repair tech (at least on
the east coast) in his day. Moennig also had an interesting bit of advice
re: storage - keep the instrument in its case, and in a stable
atmospheric environment, like a chest of drawers, or an interior closet
in your house (one with no walls on the exterior of the house, subject to
the climatic conditions outside). I do this with instruments that don't
get regular use (my Eb, Bass, and C clarinets). I have no scientific
proof that it works, but it seems logical.

This should be a good time to break in an instrument - the weather
patterns (even in northern Germany?) shouldn't be too extreme for a month
or two.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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