Klarinet Archive - Posting 000388.txt from 2004/11

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinets - Identification markings ect.,
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 12:39:43 -0500

On 10 Nov, "Patricia A. Smith" <arlyss1@-----.net> wrote:

> 1) yes, the serial number can be marked on ALL parts of the clarinet.
> Someone who is more of a tech-head on the list can tell you just how it is
> done. I do know that it should ONLY be done by someone who is a skilled
> repair tech, as if it is done improperly can do irreparable damage to the
> instrument, in more areas than just the one where the serial number is
> being inscribed. (And, there are more ways to do this, than there are ways
> to screw in a lightbulb, believe me. I've always been of a mind that some
> things should never be undertaken alone!)

I think you're being a bit overcautious here. The pointed end of a
rat-tailed file was what I used recently to do something similar on a
mouthpiece -- but any pointed implement would work. The file is a bit easier
to control, though.

Perhaps, Kathy, your daughter would like to undertake to do it herself? She
could practice first on something less valuable. (How about her trying to
put appropriate initials, plus a heart with an arrow through it -- do you do
that in US? -- on a smooth, flat stone?-)

> 2) I take it that your daughter's case does NOT have locks on it, nor
> does it have keys, etc. Heh. The things some companies do to save
> money these days. My Yamaha case, and every case of every brand I've
> ever had, had locks on each tab of the case, and came with at least two
> keys, each of which fit BOTH locks. (That way ,you could leave the
> spare at home, in case the other was lost, and you could still open both
> tabs) However, that said, I pretty much never used them, simply because
> I kept my clarinets under my personal surveillance nearly all the time,
> especially in a school, if they were not locked up in a locker.

Yes. I don't think I've ever locked a case of that sort, for reasons
previously described.

> This all said, sounds like that other kid (can't call her a young lady;
> she isn't, judging from THAT behavior) has no clue how to properly ask
> to borrow something. People like that annoy me, regardless of what
> their age is. The concept is called "BOUNDARIES". However, I won't
> rant, I promise. All too often, there's way too many of them, and not
> enough of kids who have some clue about whose is whose, and how to ask
> to use things APPROPRIATELY.

It may be -- after all, we don't know from what you've said -- that the other
girl was desperate at short notice to have an instrument that worked, and is
now genuinely embarrassed and sorry about what she did, even though she
couldn't express that effectively at the time.

Or, she may really have been unconcerned about the worry she caused. Only
your daughter can really give you information about this, and it may be that
she has to make a bit of an effort to discover the truth of the situation.

Or, she may just want to drop it.

> I personally would suggest to your daughter that she lock her horn up in
> her own personal locker when she's not in band, or carry it around with
> her to classes. If students are permitted to carry backpacks between
> classes ( shockingly enough to some people, there are schools where they
> are not - gee, is that Osama bin Laden in your bookbag, Jonny?) she
> could simply stash the horn-in-case in the backpack & continue on her
> merry way. If her current bp isn't large enough, I think a larger
> backpack would be worth the investment in this situation.

You'd do well to avoid it being stolen, sure. But, how valuable is a plastic
Yamaha, if you're trying to sell it? Is it really likely that, in the normal
course of events, someone will go out of their way to steal it?

> Let us know how she gets on with all of this. You, btw, are a very
> supportive mom. I wish ALL parents of students were like you, and
> investigated the interests and talents of their children as extensively
> as you have done. This sort of thing is a type of "advocacy for our
> children" that is all too often overshadowed by negative stereotypes of
> "stage mothers", which is too bad. Supportive parents can make every
> difference in the world to plenty of children.

Yes, agreed. But, listen carefully to what your daughter says too.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd tony.p@-----.org
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
tel/fax 01865 553339

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