Klarinet Archive - Posting 000016.txt from 2004/02

From: "Buckman, Nancy" <nebuckman@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Tosca at NAMM
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 12:13:57 -0500

I'm just returning to list discussion after spending the week with =
Morrie Backun and friends in New York, so I apologize for the lateness =
of this reply. After spending literally hours with Morrie, as the big =
New York names paraded in and out of his hotel room, I can tell you that =
only two players had Buffet clarinets. And what was really interesting =
was that it was easy to pick them out by the way they sounded. (Yes, I =
know Dan, you can't tell the difference, but I could, and did). I can =
also tell you that the different types of wood that Morrie uses for his =
bells and barrels makes clarinets sound different than their original =
bells and barrels make them sound.

When I first arrived (Monday evening) at Morrie's makeshift shop Ricardo =
Morales was there. He had at least six sets of clarinets with him =
(maybe more - there were so many clarinets laying around that I'm not =
quite sure how many there were) and none of them were Buffet. A little =
later Jessica Phillips from the Met came in with two sets of Selmers. =
Then Mark Nuccio arrived with his Buffet clarinets. They all tried =
barrels and bells ad nauseum. It was a real education to listen to them =
and hear how they played each and every note. They would listen to each =
note's beginning and end, from one end of the clarinet to the other. =
According to what they heard and how they wanted each note to sound, =
Morrie would hand them a different bell and/or barrel.

On Tuesday, Mark Nuccio and the Manhattan School of Music hosted a sort =
of master class with Morrie, dealing with clarinet acoustics. The =
student guinea pig was one of Mark's grad students, who plays Buffet =
clarinets. One of the first things that Morrie did to every Buffet =
clarinet to make it play better in tune was to rotate the thumb tube. =
In Buffets made in the last twenty years or so the tube is turned. The =
tube itself has a "U" shape. When the tube is properly positioned both =
sides of the "U" should be clearly and equally visible. Every Buffet =
that he looked at needed this adjustment.

On Wednesday I was scheduled to return home, but the trains weren't =
running due to the storm the night before, so I went back upstairs to =
Morrie's lair and watched as John Manasse and a few others paraded =
through his suite. On Thursday, I was unable to leave again, so I went =
back up to Morrie's site and watched David Shifrin pick barrels and =
bells. I also had some work done to the lower joints of my clarinets.. =
Morrie had this neat machine that measures for leaks and can tell the =
percentage of air that is leaking from each joint. My Bb lower joint =
had an 80% leakage. My A had a 60% leakage. When finished with =
adjustments they were both below a 20% leakage. Considering that I was =
in a traveling repair shop, that 20% was pretty good. I hope to fly out =
to Vancouver after ClarinetFest and have the rest of the leakage taken =
care of.

On Friday, I left for the train station to go home. When I got there, =
my train had been cancelled. I was supposed to be home by 10 AM, but =
didn't get there until after 4 PM. I had to laugh at the people in =
Baltimore and their complaints about the cold. When I left New York on =
Friday morning, it about 8 degrees outside. When I arrived in =
Baltimore, it was 26 degrees. I don't think it got above 15 degrees the =
whole time I was in New York and the wind was blowing at 20 mph or more =
the whole time I was there. It was only the third time since 1982 that =
the school system had closed for snow in New York. My train was 2 hrs. =
late leaving the station in New York and there was no heat the whole way =
home. I was glad to get off the train in relatively warm Baltimore!

Many thanks to Morrie, Joel and especially Chris, for the wonderful =
education and I look forward to the summer visit.

Nancy

Nancy E. Buckman, CPO, AFO, Technical Assistant
School of Health Professions, Wellness and Physical Education
Anne Arundel Community College
Arnold, MD 21012-1895 USA
Phone 410-777-2316 Fax 410-777-2233
E-mail nebuckman@-----.edu

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