Klarinet Archive - Posting 000086.txt from 2006/09

From: "Christy Erickson" <woodshome7@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet for Beginners?
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 15:59:38 -0400

It is strange you should mention the year 1972 in this note. My daughter
plays bass clarinet in her high school band program and asked to borrow the
instrument this summer to play at music camp. It happens to be an old
Selmer Bundy. I knew it wasn't working well and the band director would not
release the instrument until 3 days before she was scheduled to go to camp.
I had already had some repair work done on the instrument last spring before
my daughter played a solo for a school music festival. I took the
instrument to a local instrument repairman who does very good emergency
repair work and by the time he was done the bill was $88. The school has
used a number of different music stores over the years for repairs and this
particular repairman checked his records on the serial number of that
clarinet, since he recognized some of the work he had done on it. Sure
enough-he had last had that instrument in his shop in 1972! My guess is
that although the school says they have annual maintenance done on the
instruments, I truly believe they simply spray them with disinfectant every
summer and call it a day.

To top this story, I called the band director to let him know I had had the
work done on the instrument. He left me a nasty voicemail message and said
my daughter could not necessarily have that bass clarinet to play for the
upcoming school year and I should not have taken it in to be repaired! I
never asked for reimbursement in any of my phone messages-just let him know
what had been done and requested that the school allow my daughter to play
that instrument for the upcoming school year and that the rental fee be
waived.

Needless to say, the principal of the school and I had a little conversation
about this one and things have been straightened out. Anyway, you are
correct that for some reason, school bass clarinets are highly neglected
instruments and the band directors always wonder why they cannot inspire any
of the kids to play them.
Christy Erickson

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael and Linda Marmer" <mlmarmer@-----.com>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Cc: "Joseph Lechner" <Joseph.Lechner@-----.edu>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:11 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet for Beginners?

> I can relate to the comment made by someone, on how school Bass Clarinets
> are in terrible shape.
>
> As a junior in High School in 1972, I played Bass Clarinet for the
> Montgomery County High School Band in MD. I used a school Bass Clarinet,
> as
> the school had two of them.
>
> They were in terrible shape!
>
> I remember dragging in both of them to Chuck Levin's who at the time, had
> the county contract to fix county instruments. Dragging them on a bus,
> public transportant, was no fun either, to Chuck's.
>
> The tec said they would be better off as lamp post. Well, I had a
> matching
> set, then! Too bad, we did not have Ebay back then, as that is where they
> could of gone, Bass Clarinet Lamp Posts, Rare matching set. Comes in
> Aligator type case.
>
> They worked over both of the bass clarinets and I did okay with one of
> them
> for a trip to Europe we did.
>
> Mike Marmer
>
>
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