 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Brittany
Date: 2003-02-07 18:30
Hey! I'm having a little bit of trouble with my clarinet. I am currently only in highschool, but I play almost 3 hours every day. I have a Buffet R-13, which I absolutely love. The top joint has cork pads instead of the traditional pads. I have had this clarinet for almost two years now and it has been playing fine. It still plays find, but spit keeps building up behind my a key on the top joint. I keep using perm paper and such to sop up the spit and all, but it keeps building up some more. Then, I blow it out of there, but it still continues to build up. It makes that really annoying kind of fuzzy sound. I'm not sure what to do about this. Does anyone else have this problem? And, if so, is there anything else that I can try to fix this? Thank you for your help in advance! I appreciate it!
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Author: Jerry
Date: 2003-02-07 21:44
I did a quick search of this site and found the following:
Author: Terry Horlick (---.o1.jps.net)
Date: 08-05-01 11:27
"When that happens to me I just open the key and blow directly under the pad, it only takes a second and clears up the problem. In fact I can't remember how long it has been since that a fouled A or Ab has happened to me in a performance because I have made it a habit to ocassionally puff air under the pads which are prone to this durring long rests and before the start of a piece.
After 35 years I did replace all the pads, but the A and Ab were not the ones going bad. Anyway the tech put cork pads there to protect them against water damage."
There are many other posts under "water in the keys" or the like. These give suggestions about oiling the bore, oiling the tone holes, using cigarette paper, coffee filter paper (you use curling paper). But this one seems to be the simplest, and just requires a regimen that takes a couple of seconds every 10 minutes or so.
At least you know the exact tone hole that's affected. That's a good start. And I find that if I call it "moisture" instead of "spit", it doesn't seem as bad
Jerry
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-02-07 23:12
Condensation will form more readily in the Winter months, when the internal air volume is more humid than the outside air.
Same principle used in air conditioning makes this an unavoidable problem. I use coffee filter paper cut into strips to dry out the keys. My horn has this at the left hand thumb hole and the adjacent trill keys.
It happens with clarinets.
If you employ the 'puff' method to clear the water bubble, do point yourself away from other players.
I swab more often in Winter, and that seems to help.
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Author: Jim E.
Date: 2003-02-08 04:19
The diference between clarinets and trumpets/ trombones...
We get "moisture" or "water" under our pads,
They have SPIT valves!
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Author: ron b
Date: 2003-02-08 06:28
... however, if you wish to be correct, they're called "water keys"
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2003-02-08 13:42
Just a thought.
When the top joint pads were replaced with cork, the technician may have used a cork that was thicker than the old pads thus reducing the normal opening.
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