Klarinet Archive - Posting 000090.txt from 2006/09

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet for Beginners?
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:19:08 -0400

Let me add a personal note, thought it has been some ten years
since I played any bass clarinet parts.

The bass clarinet, once it has been put into perfect playing
shape, begins to deteriorate from that condition. And this slow,
inexorable transition continues without the ability to stop or
even your knowledge that it is happening. As things change, the
player starts to compensate for the changing physicality by
pressing harder on that key, and covering that hole differently,
etc.

And then, one day, you can no longer compensate because you have
placed your body into a pretzel like state. And that is when you
take it in for further regulation by your serviceperson.

I never allowed this to happen. Instead, I always took my bass
clarinet in for general servicing every two to three months.
Sometimes the mechanic (often Clark when he was doing this sort
of scutt work until he became rich) would work on my instrument
with a wry face as if to say, "What are you in here for. There
is nothing wrong with the instrument." But even in the face of
that, he tighened this, and moved that cup, and poked at a
spring, etc. Two months later, I was back in.

I never had a serious problem with my bass Selmer low C bass for
30 years because of that attitude. I probably spent more money
than I should have, but I never had a problem.

Do you remember the story about the man always saying, as he
entered the house, "May this house be safe from tigers." And
when chided about it, he would say, "You don't see any tigers, do
you?"

My instrument never failed me, did it?? My mouthpiece did, but
not the instrument.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael and Linda Marmer [mailto:mlmarmer@-----.com]
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 4:25 PM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet for Beginners?

Band director sounds wacko like ours in 1972!

I hope that wasn't the one I used in 1972!

LOL

I think these where actually made by Buffet.

Mike Marmer
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christy Erickson" <woodshome7@-----.com>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 3:33 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Bass Clarinet for Beginners?

> 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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>>
>
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