Klarinet Archive - Posting 000703.txt from 2001/11

From: GrabnerWG@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Lost Post #1 - concerning reaming clarinets...
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 10:29:08 -0500

It appears to me that two of my recent posts never made it to the list. As I feel like I had something interesting to add to the Tony Pay, Clark Fobes discussion, I am going to attempt to re-post. If you got these already, I apologize.

This post was in regard to Tony Pay's original post concerning reaming an antique instrument to make it playable:

Walter says:

I am NEITHER a genius or experienced in altering antique instruments, but I
would like to comment on some of Tony's comments:

Tony Pay says:

<<I would be very interested in a more detailed discussion of what makers on
this list think can be done by someone like myself with a hand reamer, or
withs on t sandpaper and/or nail varnish (say); and what can only
be done by using specially constructed tools.>>

Walter says:

Clark, and I, and others of course, use tapered reamers to alter mouthpiece
blanks and the interior bores of barrels. We have our own ideas and concepts
about what tapers work well and go with that. I myself have no experience
with a cylindrical reamer, as you describe Tony, but I am sure that in the
coming year I will get there.

Tony, you have exceptional experience in working with older clarinets in
having to make them work for actual performances and recording sessions. You
do what you need to do to get results.

Tony continues:

<<My own interest in the matter arises from the fact that the internal
dimensions of instruments, particularly those made of boxwood, can change
quitimensie radically. In fact, you might want to adjust the bore even of an
imensiantique instrument, correcting the twelfths, in order to make the
instruimensiment playable.>>

Walter says: and I would do the same.

<<Some people think that to do such a thing is horrific, because it 'destroys
evidence'. But I have yet to see even the beginnings of a study that uses
inftroys ormation like the current dimensions of an unplayable
wind instrument to draw conclusions of any worth. How could such a study
even exist? (And if the instrument belongs to me....)>>

Walter: If the instrument is unplayable, due to drying out and warping, how
can making it playable be anything less than an aid to understanding what
these instruments actually sounded like?

Tony again:

<<In the case of copies, I've already said that I made my Ottensteiner
instruments playable by using my reamer, opening up the top part of the top
jonstrumint on both instruments. The difficulty had arisen gradually as I
planstrumyed the instruments in, and was cured by my action. I took
advantagenstrum of the well-known fact that the bore adjustment that affects
anstrum particular twelfth needs to be made either a third or two thirds of
thnstrume
distance from the mouthpiece to the first open hole of the twelfth in
question.>>

Walter says: Bravo! With the caveat that anyone who does such a modification
be willing to live with the result.

Tony: <<I subsequently improved my old (Buffet) Eb clarinet by taking similar
action, because the problems were the same, and I'd gained a bit of
confidencemilar .>>

Walter: The only way to gain this confidence is to actually do this kind of
work and see what it does. It requires diligence, a knack with tools, and
considerable understanding of how the clarinet in question actually works.

Tony <<Now of course it isn't my intention to suggest that clarinet players
worldwide start hacking their instruments about unthinkingly. But I'd
say that the subject's worth discussing; and I get the impression that the
danger is rather on the other side -- namely, that players assume that
expertise belongs to a small group of magicians; that we have no other
solution but to defer to their genius; and that we can do nothing for
ourselves.>>

Walter: For myself, I always say TAKE COMMAND. Understand what it is that you
need or what your shortcomings are. Since I have launched myself on my
mouthppiece - barrels - clarinet bore explorations - and my understanding has
increased, there has been a gradual but noticable improvement in my playing
ablility.

It's because I TOOK CHARGE of my own playing, rejecting that which I could
not prove to myself, and accepting what WORKED for ME. The "experts" do not
play my clarinet for me, only I do.

In some cases, I had to completely rethink things I had believed were TRUTHS
for decades, like the issue of flat vs. concave table.

I found these things out by experiment which sometimes entailed some risk. I
ruined a few good mouthpieces and barrels, in the process.

I say that more people should risk, learn and experiment, but not to do it in
a vacuum. You must do your homework first.

Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com

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