Klarinet Archive - Posting 000287.txt from 2010/08

From: "maarschalk@-----.an>
Subj: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 22:06:50 -0400


Hi folks!

Just a contribution of the discussion of moisture in the clarinet bore:

In colder climates (Holland) try warming the joints of your clarinet for a couple of minutes before
playig just by sending your warmest breath through without actually blowing with force (steaming??)
This is the warmest form of breathing. Of course you must stop the end of the joint when doing so.

For especially the upper joint it might help reducing water drawing for certain tone holes.

The bass clarinet is notorious for bad tuning at the beginning of a concert as it takes a long
time for the lower joint to get the right temperature. This method has helped me in my professional
life to survive!

Fortunately I live in the Caribbean now where the moisture problem only occurs when playing in
airconditioned halls.

Al fresco: no problems at all !!!

To help the C#/G# key: try putting a cigarette paper between the pad and the hole before you rest
it in the case.

I hope I have contributed to the discussion in a positive way!

Kind regards

www.artmarshal.org

------- Original Message -------
>From : Richard D Bush[mailto:rbushidioglot@-----.net]
Sent : 8/21/2010 10:57:07 AM
To : klarinet@-----.com
Cc :
Subject : RE: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece

I find that the way one's tongue touches the reed has a lot to do with
whether spit gets blown into the instrument. If a person lets their
tongue go flat, and if they thrust it forward as a tongue stroke,
there is a high likelyhood that moisture on the top of the tongue will
blow forward and enter the mouthpiece.

Such an injection of moisture keeps the sound from being pure and free
of water pops and distortion. The excess moisture also causes this
moisture to run into tone holes. This prevents true pitches from
coming out of the clarinet, and in time will cause the pads to go hard
and need replacing.

The tongue stroke needs to be a vertical movement made only by the tip
of the tongue. The tip of the tongue should touch the reed right
behind the front edge of the reed. If the shape of the tongue tip is
kept pointed, moisture cannot be blown from the tongue and into the
mouthpiece.

A second advantage is that by moving only the tip of the tongue in a
vertical movement, much faster tonguing can be achieved.

If the whole tongue is being thrust forwards and then backwards in the
mouth when tonguing, the speed of the air will be in a state of flux.
Also, the shape of the wind-way will change the tone color. Thirdly,
these changes also change the direction of the air before it reaches
the mouthpiece. All of these changing conditions will affect the
speaking, pitch and tone color. All of the above need to be
consistent and under the control of the player.

Richard Bush

On Aug 21, 2010, at 8:27 AM, Peter Gentry wrote:

Another issue that can affect this is the condition of the pad. If the
skin
is no longer water tight the body of the pad can become soaked ending up
with a horrible watery mess. However a good warm up and then swabbing
with a
dry absorbent swab is the best you can do. Keep a pack of cigarette
papers
ready for emergency pad/sound hole drying.

-----Original Message-----

I was having the worst time with my G# key today. Inspired by the
mention of Brahms second sonata, I picked up the sonata and the
clarinet again after a several month hiatus in playing. Condensation
is terrible for me. I have to blow it out. Of course blowing sends
the liquid right back into the instrument, but does serve a temporary
fix. Are there other ways keep the G# key (LH pinky) clear?

I think I might salivate more when I feel intimidated or aren't
getting enough exercise; same goes with eyes and nose. They water and
run more if I've been in bed too long reading or working on the laptop
etc.

I can't say for sure, but I suspect that it is a matter of energy
distribution in the body. When you are laying down, energy doesn't go
towards keeping muscles tensed to maintain posture, so some of that
unused sugar etc. in the blood goes toward secretions to wash microbes
that may be building up (rolling stone gathers no moss; a moving
person sloughs of microbes as they multiply, that way they don't build
up).

Maybe some lurking physician has other ideas about salivation issues.

-Jennifer

On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 12:45 PM, Peter Gentry
<peter.gentry@-----.uk> wrote:
> I share your observation with more down the bore and spray from the
> Csharp
> (LH pinky) key. I believe the problem is mainly in the production of
saliva
> rather than reed or mouthpiece. Just become adroit at removing and
> wiping
> the reed or using cigarette papers - at least you don't have to swab
> frequently.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rachel Roessel [ mailto:gsurosey@-----.com]
> Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 8:36 PM
> To: klarinet@-----.com
> Subject: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
>
> Hi
>
> I've noticed that during when I play (especially later on into a
rehearsal),
> I
> have spit that leaks on the outside of my mouthpiece where the reed
> connects. I
> know this happens on my Bb/A (Vandoren 5RV 13 mpc w/ Optimum
> ligature); I
> haven't taken the time to pay attention to see if this happens on the
others
>
> (eefer/bass/alto sax).
>
>
> Could this be a reed problem, a mouthpiece problem, or both? I'm
> looking
to
> buy
> a new mouthpiece (Vandoren M15 I'm thinking) to see if I can get a
> better
> setup
> with the thick reeds I play on (56 Rue LePic #4). But, since they're
pricey,
> I
> need a good excuse to buy a new one.
>
> One of these days when I get some time, I'l take a moment to introduce
> myself
> (limited time on library Internet, ugh).
>
> Thanks! :)
>
> Rachel
>
>
>
>
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