Klarinet Archive - Posting 000109.txt from 2002/12

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Silver Keys, was Re: [kl] Benefit of taking time off
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 18:27:56 -0500

Rebecca Brennan wrote,
>How do I take care of these silver keys???

I've been delighted with the results from keeping Silver Protector Strips (3M
brand) in my cases. The strips are pieces of paper, about the size of
bookmarks, treated with something that absorbs the tarnish-causing sulfur
compounds from the air inside the case. Some music stores now carry these
strips, but otherwise you can find them at department stores, antiques shops
or china shops that sell silver tableware, and sometimes even in grocery
stores and drugstores. Just put a strip loose in the case. The strips work
when the clarinet stays inside the closed case when not in use.

One strip, which I change once a year (not sure how long they really last,
but they're cheap enough to change early, just to be on the safe side), takes
care of a case with a silver-plated metal clarinet or a wooden clarinet with
silver-plated keys. I use three strips in my bass sax case -- even though,
at its best, that old silver-plated sax is so scratched and worn that it
looks like what the plumbing contractor throws in the back of the truck
*after* finishing the job. Since I started using the strips about four years
ago, I haven't seen any tarnish. Occasionally I wipe off (not rub) my
clarinet and sax keys with a flannel rag (cut from a worn-out old shirt,
washed so many times it's very soft and free of lint).

Congratulations on the new clarinet! Exciting! My first
professional-quality clarinet improved my playing, partly because it was
better than my student instrument (which suffers from built-in mechanical
problems), but also because I didn't really believe I deserved a fine
clarinet -- so I should practice more, to try to live up to the instrument.
The extra practice didn't turn me into a brilliant clarinet player (haven't
found any devils to sell my soul to, either...), but certainly made me a
*better* player than I'd ever been before. I also found that, as some other
people here have mentioned, a high-quality clarinet is so aesthetically
pleasing that it's easy to spend more time with it.

Lelia

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