Klarinet Archive - Posting 000081.txt from 2008/07

From: Ed Lowry <edwinlowry@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Questions I've always wanted to ask ...
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:41:03 -0400

I’ve been pondering a number of questions over the
years that I’ve
never resolved in my mind. A few are more whimsical
than serious, but
others can have a real impact on performance and
equipment. So I
thought I’d pose a small group of questions here, and
I look forward to
your serious and not-so-serious answers.

1. Is cork grease any different from chapstick?
2. Why don’t manufacturers put model types on their
clarinets?
a. How do you tell if it’s an R-13 – by the
absence of a
label? What’s up with that?
b. How do you distinguish a bass Selmer 37 from
a 45 or a 67?
3. What’s a reasonable variance for a random note
in a slow
passage from zero cents sharp or flat?
4. What’s a reasonable variance for a random note
in a fast
passage from zero cents sharp or flat?
5. I play for a half hour and put my clarinet down.
Should I swab
it out first, if I’m going to play it an hour later?
How about three
hours later?
6. “They say” that a silk swab will ruin a
mouthpiece over time.
Is this really true? And if it is, should we be
washing our
mouthpieces daily, or otherwise removing moisture?
Cf. question 5.

Ed Lowry
Sacramento

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