Klarinet Archive - Posting 000288.txt from 2010/08

From: Jennifer Jones <helen.jennifer@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:48:08 -0400

Dear Mr. Marshal,

On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 7:06 PM, maarschalk@-----.an
<maarschalk@-----.an> wrote:
> 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 blowi=
ng with force (steaming??)
> This is the warmest form of breathing. Of course you must stop the end of=
the joint when doing so.

Is this indoors or outdoors? What temperatures are you speaking of?
How do you stop the end of the joint? Were you standing or sitting?

This is interesting. When we would practice outdoors for marching
band in the early mornings (40-60 F; 4.5-15.5 C)), we were told to
blow through our instruments to warm them. But the the clarinet was
whole then and we were standing (this was marching band).

> For especially the upper joint it might help reducing water drawing for c=
ertain tone holes.

I see how warming the instrument before playing would reduce
condensation (water coming out of the air as the air cools).

[snip]
> Fortunately I live in the Caribbean now where the moisture problem only o=
ccurs 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.

Nice idea. Where does one get cigarette papers and what do they look like?

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

I too hope that I have contributed to this discussion in a positive way! =
:-)

Sincerely,

Jennifer Jones

> ------- Original Message -------
> >From =A0 =A0: Richard D Bush[mailto:rbushidioglot@-----.net]
> Sent =A0 =A0: 8/21/2010 10:57:07 AM
> To =A0 =A0 =A0: klarinet@-----.com
> Cc =A0 =A0 =A0:
> Subject : RE: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
>
> =A0I 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. =A0All 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. =A0Inspired by the
> mention of Brahms second sonata, I picked up the sonata and the
> clarinet again after a several month hiatus in playing. =A0Condensation
> is terrible for me. =A0I have to blow it out. =A0Of course blowing sends
> the liquid right back into the instrument, but does serve a temporary
> fix. =A0 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. =A0They 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. =A0When 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

C =3D 5/9 (F - 32)
C =3D 5/9 (40 - 32); C =3D 5/9 (50 - 32) ; C =3D 5/9 (60 - 32)
C =3D 5/9 (8); C =3D 5/9 (18) ; C =3D 5/9 (28)
C =3D 40/9; C =3D 5(2) ; C =3D 5(3+(1/9))
C =3D 4 + 4/9; C =3D 10 ; C =3D 15 + 5/9
4.4444 - 10 - 15.55555 C
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