Klarinet Archive - Posting 000138.txt from 2007/09

From: Margaret Thornhill <clarinetstudio@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] response to myrnabs and Fred--blow-out, saliva, and senior recitals
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:57:43 -0400

Dear 18 year old clarinetist,

What these gentlemen mean by blow-out is not going to happen to your
clarinet before your senior recital. It's what people who have played
clarinet for many years worry about happening to the bores of their old
instruments.

Fred wrote: "maybe having saliva with some
mysterious properties which ruin the wood"

Fred,

In recent years Dan Deitch has started cleaning the undercut part of the
toneholes on my clarinet with a stiff brush to get rid of "schmutz",
which is primarily saliva deposits . The difference before and after in
the resistance and clarity of sound is astonishing. I believe he does
this routinely as part of his overhaul.

I would recommend this to anyone who is concerned about "blow out" as
a first thing to try. The chemical composition of your saliva changes
--and can become more viscous--over time, according to my dentist.

Margaret

(And no, you can't really get this stuff out with pipecleaners or Qtips,
though it's always prudent to check the tone holes.)

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