Klarinet Archive - Posting 000084.txt from 2008/07

From: Karl Krelove <karlkrelove@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Questions I've always wanted to ask ...
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:18:20 -0400

3-4 What do you mean by "reasonable?" Actual music isn't measured on a
meter, it's listened and attended to by human audiences and becomes a
function of the listener's sensitivity and expectation. A "reasonable"
variance for a principal in a major orchestra is probably different from
what it is for a section player in a community band, and it's also
different in a big, loud Romantic symphony from what it would be in a
very transparent-sounding Mozart chamber piece. As a player, if when you
play *you* think (your ear tells you) you're out of tune, then you are.

5. Why not? It does no harm and may (or may not) prevent water gurgles
next time you pick it up and try to play a clarion B-flat or G-sharp.
But what's the consequence if you don't? Maybe (or maybe not) a gurgle
next time you pick it up and try to play.

6. Well, obviously, no one really knows if the mouthpiece will wear away
inside with regular swabbing, or we wouldn't continue to ask the
question, But gradual damage that can be more easily measured and
documented can be done to the mouthpiece in other ways - for instance
wear to the rails and table - that it seems likely a mouthpiece under
heavy use is as likely to deteriorate and become difficult to play over
time whether you run a swab through it or not. Besides, in 15 or 20
years when any possible swab damage has destroyed the mouthpiece,
someone will have developed even better mouthpiece-making techniques and
you'll be looking for a reason to try a new one anyway.

Karl

Ed Lowry wrote:
> 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.
> ...
> 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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