 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Iacuras
Date: 2007-04-26 00:09
I have my senior recital tomorrow, and my clarinet isn't quite working right. When playing B/E, the C/F pad doesn't seal, causing it to not speak right away, which is devastating in the piece that I'm playing (Weber 2). Any idea how to fix this? I would go to a tech, but my tech is out of town, and the only local music store that has a tech recently closed. I'm confident that I can fix it if I know what to do, as I have done other minor repairs before. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Steve
"If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
"If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly."
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Author: musiciandave
Date: 2007-04-26 00:34
Steve, odds are that it is the "crows foot" which is located directly under the low F#/E RH keys. When you play an E (or try to!) that key is probably not closing properly. Test it by pressing on the B key (left hand key) and feel if the C pad is closing with just that key pressed.
The fix is to compress the crows foot slightly - SLIGHTLY by pressing on it while pressing on the low rh F key (not the F#).
It is a very slight adjustment. I'm not a repair tech, and if there are and they reply than great, but that is worth trying.
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Author: bahamutofskycon
Date: 2007-04-26 00:38
Its possible that the cork on one of the bridge mechanisms that closes the C/F key has worn down or come off. Hold down the B/E key and then depress the C/F key and you should be able to see where the wiggle room is.
When this has happened to me I put a little piece of cloth tape (it sticks and has a little bit of thickness to it) in the trouble joint. The thickness of the cloth tape can fill in the gap and allow the necessary keys to close properly. Duct tape is also a little thick so that may work also.
Of course, I could be way off base here - hard to know without looking at it.
Hope that helps,
Steve Ballas
EDIT - Oops, looks like musiciandave beat me to it. Similar idea though. I'm more comfortable with inserting a small piece of tape than I am bending keys - I've seen a student break off a key before.
Post Edited (2007-04-26 00:40)
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-04-26 01:39
head the pad cup with a flame at an angle, then use a poker stick like a (compass pointer) and adjust the pad by poking the side of it and trying to raise it down and so forth. that usually does the minor leaks.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: kuteclar
Date: 2007-04-26 02:41
Those sound like good tweaks - when my B/E doesn't speak right away, I usually cut tiny pieces of masking tape and place them on the "crows foot" on the right piece (B/E). I guess I've had problems with that cork being too compressed and therefore the keys don't close properly. Try it - you can always just pull the tape off right away!
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2007-04-27 01:24
I've had this happen where the hole pad directly next to the right pinky wasn't sealing (is that what other people are talking about?). I thought it was a pad problem but what actually happened was that the metal part was bent up a little so that when I pressed the pinky key to play B (or the left and right handed B) I got a squeak or nothing at all. I had a tech look at it (Valenti) and he first scolded me because I told him my theory (which he responded with "What the hell do you know?") and then proceeded to fix it free of charge.
Anyway, it's a quick fix and I've had to do it a couple of times to various instruments to make that long B sound right. Good luck.
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Author: Clarinetcola
Date: 2007-04-27 06:54
kute's masking tape idea's good. what i normally do is to keep a little piece of bluetac in my case. Blue-tac and paper comes really handy for urgent issues.
Nathan
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2007-04-27 08:43
I had this exact problem last month. It turned out that the "crow's foot" on my R13 had gotten bent down a little bit, either while assembling or disassembling the instrument or while hitting that key a bit overzealously while playing. My tech fixed it and put a little piece of cork under it (on the body of the clarinet) to act as a "motion limiter" on the crow's foot, which would keep it from being able to be pressed down any further than was necessary.
The masking tape idea sounds like a good one if you need a quick, reliable fix for tomorrow.
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2007-04-28 05:54
As an aside, this problem usually occurs because of the way people hold the joints when assembling and disassembling the instrument. It usually happens gradually, too.
Holding the lower joint with your right hand with your fingers over the mechanism and twisting it, or doing the same when removing or putting on the bell, eventually throws the lower RH pad sealing off.
In the future, when you're taking the middle joints apart, apply the pressure to the thumb rest, not the keys. Use your other fingers just to hold the clarinet. When you put the bell on, just put the tenon in the socket and push down at the top of the joint. When you remove it, hold the inch of bare wood below the keys and nearest the bell, then twist the bell off.
Also, I can't tell you how many of my students throw their mechanisms off because they don't use enough cork grease, making players use more force than necessary to assemble and disassemble the clarinet. Proper greasing of corks will save more shop charges than almost any other thing I can think of.
B.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-04-28 11:54
I've always assembled my clarinets in the same manner, and in a manner which has never put them out of regulation.
Hold the top joint with your left hand palm uppermost, and your fingers closing round the joint, holding the rings DOWN.
Hold the bottom joint in your right hand palm downwards with your thumb pointing up the joint and holding the two lowest (and largest) pad cups CLOSED.
Twist each joint slightly (in BOTH directions) and push the joints together so the bridge key lines up.
So long as the pads are held closed, no keywork is going to get mashed or bent.
Only apply the amount of cork grease you need to get an easy fit with no sense of stressing the joints - not too much or too little grease. If you have put on too much (you'll know as it will ooze out between the socket rings and the tenon shoulder) wipe it off with a piece of kitchen paper - and NOT your pullthrough that's intended for the sole purpose of drying the bore with.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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