 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-01-04 17:51
something has been bothering me and i just want to know...
i play in a wind symphony and the auditorium is old and the design is great for sound but bad at the same time because the place to wait to get on stage is outside.
we have to wait there for part of intermission until the stage person lets us on. (i still dont know what the big deal is just taking our seats on stage and waiting quietly) but anyway, while we are waiting our instruments ( and we) and up freezing, and then we are let in on stage and put warm air thru our cold instruments. is this waiting period 15-20 minutes a big deal? is it the same risk as playing outside?
should i complain? our director is a trumpet player and while the cold will certainly change the pitch of a trumpet its not going to crack it. maybe he doesnt understand?
im very worried about my still new wooden selmer sig. cracking becuz of this.
advice?
JL
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-01-04 18:03
If you'll put your clarinet inside your clothes next to your skin while you wait--and wrap up in your jacket--that will help. When you get inside, gradually warm your instrument by blowing air through it with the holes closed so the air goes all the way down and out the bell.
Carefully warming up your instrument before playing is a safe way to play in old auditoriums. Musicians often walk from their cars to the rehearsal hall with their instrument (in case) under their coat.
Get a big coat and don't get in a hurry to warm up. Let the instrument have some time to reach room temperature.
I've played clarinet for over 40 years and have never had a single wooden clarinet to crack. I've always followed this rule. Perhaps I've just been blessed with unusually good wood in the instruments, or perhaps the instructions my professor gave me (that I've just passed on to you) were good ones.
Also, if you're playing outdoors, use a plastic or greenline clarinet.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: janlynn
Date: 2002-01-04 18:38
ok, but we are in our black & whites and we have to put our coats and cases upstairs. theres no place to keep or leave a coat outside.
seriously, would a scarf for my clarinet work?? lol
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2002-01-04 19:57
A scarf couldn't hurt.
Also, IMHO it is a BAD idea to blow warm air through a cold instrument to warm it up. Your breath will be significantly warmer than the instrument and will come as a shock. The inside may try to expand too fast for the outside. I was taught first to warm up the outside of the instrument with my hands. (Hard to describe the procedure. Sort of grip the instrument, then move the hands to another location, then grip the instrument, then move the hands, etc. until you don't feel like you are holding an ice cube.)
Best regards,
jnk
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: drew
Date: 2002-01-04 20:21
The most critical part of the instrument is the barrel and top half of the upper joint. I have an instructor who once advised, when faced with such temperature extremes, to hold the instrument under one arm to keep these areas warm. It does work, but as mentioned arlier, if there is a hidden weakness in the wood, a crack may develop anyway.
My own personal experience: I played a wood clarinet for marching throughout hish school and college (Philadelphia suburb and Virginia Tech, located in the Alleghany mountains). Not bitter cold areas, but certainly capable of being at or below freezing. That instrument never cracked, I still play it. It is a Paul Renee-Paris, a stencil/student instrument that didn't cost very much. The used but as-new Selmer Centered Tone I received as a Christmas gift my sophmore year in high school NEVER was exposed to the elements (and never cracked).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Kristen D.
Date: 2002-01-04 20:48
I was in the same situation---waiting outside in between performing groups....
If you can sew (you don't even have to have a machine), here's what I did.
I know this sounds a little "Betty Sue homemaker-ish", but it really works.
I made a clarinet sock out of felt... yes, a clarinet sock. Let me know
if you want me to describe how to make it.
Kristen D.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: FT
Date: 2002-01-05 01:19
hahahaha, that's so odd!! You made your clarinet a sock!!!!(Good idea though)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Wes
Date: 2002-01-05 07:26
Why not put it back in the case and keep the case next to your body. Will somebody reimburse you if it cracks due to being in the cold? Not likely. Good Luck!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2002-01-05 13:34
At Clarinetfest 2001 this year Alteri had a "clarinet cozy" for sale. It is an insulated tube of their outer nylon cloth with an insulated lining. I bought one (of course I am a hopeless gadgetteer) for pit use (it can get really chilly down there - not freezing but in the 50 degree F range). I will warm up and get reed adjustment done and then slip the cozy over the whole clarinet on it's peg and have had good success, along with reed conditioning to maintain moisture, at picking up the second horn and playing. IMPO I would not take a wooden clarinet out into freezing temperatures to play - some horns will be fine others will crack (unfortunately this is a terminal experiment)!
The Doctor
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-01-05 15:01
Gradually let the instrument acclimate to the indoor temp before blowing the warm air into it. I didn't make myself clear. You can keep a small wrap for your instrument that you could fold up and sit on if necessary. I can usually find some place to "stash" stuff like that without being obvious.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Julia
Date: 2002-01-05 16:31
Hi, I need a clarinet, I'm in high school, and have to do marching band in order to do concert band. We go to some pretty cold contests, and march outside in any weather for practices. Should I buy a wooden or a plastic clarinet?? Wooden would be better for concert band, while plastic would be better for marching. What should I do?!?!?!
Thanks.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2002-01-05 21:42
If you can afford it, get a greenline. Then you have the best of both worlds. Do a search on Sneezy and read all about them. They've been discussed a lot.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-01-09 15:59
I am in favor of being bi-clarinettial. Get yourself an extra "combat" instrument and simply don't subject your wood instrument to environments that could be fatal. Good grief, what happens if it rains, or snows, or does some of those other nasty things that can happen in the big outside world?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
