Klarinet Archive - Posting 000062.txt from 2000/03

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Falling in love
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 2000 12:54:10 -0500

Walter Grabner wrote,
> Working with my "toys" has moved me to a higher dimension than I
> believe I could have reached in other ways. And that's why I'm doing
> it.

Tony Pay wrote,
>>Then they're your wonderful *tools*, aren't they?>>

That metamorphosis of toys into tools is one of the great joys of life, IMHO.
My stained glass business started with a hobby class I took on a whim. Just
this week, my husband officially started moonlighting as a professional book
conservationist, after years of learning bookbinding as a hobby.

Is it my imagination, or is it possible that the reed instruments, more than
most other musical instruments, appeal to gadget freaks? I think that of all
the instruments in the band or orchestra, only the oboe and the bassoon
require more attention to routine upkeep than the clarinet and sax. Many of
the clarinet's parts and accessories come in a wide variety of styles that
tempt us to experiment with them -- reeds, corks, ligatures, pads, all those
keys with all their itty-bitty screws.... It interests me that a number of
us, far from trying to reduce the time we spend fussing around with this
stuff, do a lot of theatrical grumbling about it while going way beyond
what's necessary.

Several list members make their own reeds. Some of us have started
collecting old clarinets and saxes, and learning to repair and restore them
as a hobby. Several list members work on mouthpieces and now Walter has
turned pro with mouthpieces. We don't *need* to do any of these things in
order to procure adequate instruments in good playing condition, if making
music were our only goal. I wonder if the clarinet particularly appeals to
people with the instinct to tinker, while people who don't enjoy tinkering
might more likely gravitate to, say, the trombone?

Lelia
~~~~~~~~~~
"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
--Albert Schweitzer
[Thanks to David B. Niethamer for passing along this and other terrific
sayings about cats!]

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