Klarinet Archive - Posting 000200.txt from 1998/11

From: "L. BORCHERT" <lborcher@-----.Edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Swabbing in one direction - Fact or myth.
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 14:06:00 -0500

I was told that you have to train your swab to be either a "bell first" or
"barrel first" type. The most important time is with a new swab, so you
can break it in correctly to begin with and don't have to re-train in at a
later date. Of course, I heard this from a bassoonist who would make sure
he destroyed his dead reeds in front of his remaining good ones so they
would "learn" what would happen to them if they quit working. :-)
Laroy
Dr. Laroy Borchert
NMSU

On Fri, 6 Nov 1998 CmdrHerel@-----.com wrote:

> The reason I was told to swab in one direction only is this: Repeated
> swabbing actually tugs on the wood grains of your bore, and by going in one
> direction, you "align" the grain in that direction... If you swab alternately
> in different directions, you actually pull a bit on those grains instead...
> leading to wear on your bore over time.
>

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