Klarinet Archive - Posting 000509.txt from 2004/10

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Air flow
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2004 11:29:48 -0400


Howard Shertzer wrote:
>The series of messages on air flow makes me think this is related to a
>problem that I have with my alto.
>
>When I begin a playing session, my tone is clear and pretty.
>After 10-15 minutes, the tone changes, to muffled, with a
>lot of resistance, especially in the lower clarion register.
[snip]
>Could this be due to condensation in the alto changing the
>way waves vibrate. The bore of the instrument is smooth
>and I oil on a regular basis. If this is the problem, is there
>a solution?

Bill Hausmann wrote,
>>It is POSSIBLE that condensation is causing a pad to
>>swell and not seat well after a while. Figure something
>>near the top of the horn, the top trill key, for example,
>>or the register mechanism pads (even MORE likely).

Bill Hausmann's diagnosis sounds good to me. Something else to check,
since you mention oiling: dirty register key tube. Oiling regularly can
leave oil around the inside edge of the tube. The film may accumulate
crud. If the crud contains household dust, lint from a cotton swab or
anything else that shrinks when cold and dry but swells when warm and damp,
it could cause no trouble when you first start playing, but begin to
compromise the shape of the windway slightly after you've played for a bit.
That tube is so narrow that it takes only a slight film of dirt to cause
problems. A dirty tube can also cause squeaking. If a clean pipe cleaner
pulls oily dirt out of the register key tube, then next time you oil, plug
the tube with a pipe cleaner (the old-fashioned kind that's all soft, with
no little metal bits woven in). When I'm done oiling, I also clean the
tube with a fresh, dry pipe cleaner, just to make sure.

You probably already know about keeping the oil off the pads. An oily pad
can leak air. I usually take off the keys when I oil.

Lelia Loban
America can do better: Kerry and Edwards in 2004!

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