Klarinet Archive - Posting 000098.txt from 2008/07

From: "danyel" <rab@-----.de>
Subj: Re: [kl] Questions I've always wanted to ask ...
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:03:25 -0400

6.
I have seen mouthpieces 40 years old with completely distorted chambers
because of continuous swabbing.
As nobody seems to have invented any mouthpieces better than those made in
the late 20s yet (at least by certain aesthetics) and old Kaspars or
Chedvilles fetch fantastic prices, I would NOT swab such a mouthpiece.
Cleaning can be harmful too: Hot or cold water and various agents cause
devulcanisation, i.e. ruin the mouthpiece.

best,
danyel
www.echoton.de/clar.html

----- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:18 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Questions I've always wanted to ask ...

> 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
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

------------------------------------------------------------------