Klarinet Archive - Posting 000115.txt from 2011/02

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Help?!
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:34:19 -0500

I had a very strange experience this afternoon. Most of my chalumeau notes
were suddenly very unreliable and unresponsive. I've been performing on this
particular instrument for the past week with no such problem. I checked it
to see how well it would hold a vacuum and the bottom joint was fine. The
top joint, however, seemed to have a major leak. Checking the pads with a
feeler and, finally even by taking them off and inspecting each pad turned
up no apparent explanation. Then, to make sure I hadn't lost my sanity, I
started testing another B-flat instrument and my A clarinet. To my
amazement, both were acting the same way! All of a sudden, all three of my
clarinets seemed to have developed major leaks in the upper section.

It took a couple of panicky minutes longer for me to realize that the
problem wasn't any of the instruments. It was my left thumb. I had developed
a rather painful dry skin crack in the skin, as it happens, in a spot that
sits on the rim of the thumb hole. It isn't all that deep, but enough that
air is escaping through it. Shifting my thumb slightly so that a solid
surface covered the hole solves the problem, although it's now out of a
normal position, which forces my whole hand position to shift.

Has anyone who has experienced this kind of really inconveniently placed
chapped skin wound during the winter found a way to accelerate the healing
process? I can't really imagine playing with my thumb shifted as I must to
avoid the problem, but I don't want to miss the practice time - I have a
show to play next week and another the week after, so I can't just put the
horn down for a week and let my thumb take its own time.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Karl

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