Klarinet Archive - Posting 000443.txt from 2010/08

From: Jennifer Jones <helen.jennifer@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:03:31 -0400

Dear Mr. Maarschalkerwaart,

On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 4:33 AM, maarschalk@-----.an
<maarschalk@-----.an> wrote:
>
> Good morning Miss Jennifer,
>
> Warming up your clarinet
> I am referring to indoor playing in climates in the temporate zone: Great=
Britain, Holland

Hmmm. Puts in mind Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates.

> Temperatures may vary from below 0 up to 25 degrees Centigrades. =A0When =
the concert hall is
> centrally heated it depends where you are sitting: if it is close to the =
doors that open to let the
> audience in there will be a flow of colder air that might be damaging esp=
ecially to the bass
> clarinet.
>
> Most of the time one assembles the instrument in the bandroom and warms u=
p in there. Then it is
> wise to wrap a cloth around the upper joint of the clarinet when going th=
rough a corridor to the
> stage. Much better is to warm up in the band room and to put the clarinet=
back in the case and carry it to
> the stage =A0In symphony orchestras clarinet players use an extra chair t=
o rest their cases on with
> the A and Bb clarinets. In chamber music concerts this is not done; you h=
ave to appear on stage
> with your instrument in your hand. =A0In pit and theatre orchestas you ca=
n bring your stuff right
> into the pit when there is room enough.
>
> Playing outdoors I never warmed the instrument up before playing.

Gosh that is counterintuitive to me. Unless the instrument starts out
at an indoor temperature. I would expect it to be cold, and with the
saturated breath, would draw lots of water out of the air. We would
blow through the instruments periodically to "keep them warm"... Of
course, marching band requires different finessing than indoor
orchestral, band or chamber playing. I figure that keeping air moving
through the instrument maintains the temperature gradient.

> I started my career in the (professional) Amsterdam Police Band where I u=
sed an old Diettrich
> clarinet with silver keys that never seemed to give any problems with exc=
ess of water. That
> instrument really is weather beaten. You can see it on my picture on my w=
ebsite www.artmarshal.org
> It has been from Holland to Canada, Denmark, UK, France Germany and all a=
round the Caribbean. It
> never let me down.

That is amazing. I would expect the metal to be even more
temperamental; it should cool to outdoor temperatures quickly
especially if playing in sub 0C conditions. Is there some feature of
construction that keeps water away from the pads? The pictures I've
seen put in mind a saxophone with tubular extensions (chimneys?)
extending out to the pads. Of course if the instrument stays upright,
for example, on a stand when it is not being played, the water can run
right out. If it gets set down so that the C#/g# tonehole is down,
then water can easily get into the tonehole and to the pad.

> I was the bass clarinettist and the Police band rule was that outdoors wi=
th temperatures below 16
> degrees centigrade no bass clarinet was used and I had to play the sopran=
o clarinet.

I am pretty sure that our band marched a bass clarinet. It was out
below 16C. It was probably a plastic bass. I wouldn't be surprised
if there were tuning issues.

> When I changed over to symphony I noticed that when we had concerts even =
in the Concertgebouw you
> really have to pay attention to the differences in temperature; especiall=
y with the bass clarinet.
>
> It has happened once that the upper joint of a bass clarinet (not mine)cr=
acked when the concert was
> over and the doors opened to let out the audience.

I had a clarinet crack. It sat in a case for a long time and did not
get oiled. That is the explanation I received for why it cracked. It
was a soprano.

I like your ensemble pictures.

-Jennifer

> Closing off the end of the joint;
> Put your fingers on the tone holes and close off the end with your other =
hand. Then send your
> breath into the pipe without gentle gusts.
>
> Cigarette paper:
> Any tobacconist can help you. It is used by people who roll their own cig=
arettes. I do not know if
> this is done in the US. Consult oboe players where to get it.
>
> Spray to make the moisture spread evenly in the bore:
> DO NOT START WITH THAT; you will have to use it always and it affects the=
pads!
>
> That'll be all folks. Have a nice sunday
> =A0Art Marshall
>
> ------- Original Message -------
> From =A0 =A0: Jennifer Jones[mailto:helen.jennifer@-----.com]
> Sent =A0 =A0: 8/21/2010 11:48:08 PM
> To =A0 =A0 =A0: klarinet@-----.com
> Cc =A0 =A0 =A0:
> Subject : RE: Re: [kl] Spit leakage on mouthpiece
>
> =A0Dear 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 actual=
ly blowing 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? =A0What temperatures are you speaking of?
> How do you stop the end of the joint? =A0Were you standing or sitting?
>
> This is interesting. =A0When 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. =A0But 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 =
certain 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 =
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.
>
> Nice idea. =A0Where does one get cigarette papers and what do they look l=
ike?
>
>> 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! =
=A0 =A0:-)
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jennifer Jones
>
> 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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