 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: MGT91123
Date: 2013-05-12 23:19
Hi,
So I have concerts coming up this week, Tuesday, Saturday and next week on Wednesday. And my Buffet, which I've had for a little over a month, seems to have a stuck key. I've tried the dollar bill trick with no result. The second register B seems louder and the C seems to sound off. Same goes for the low register E/F.
Also, my teacher recently told me not to clean my mouthpiece, but, as much as I don't want to go around her advice, I need to know if it is okay to clean a mouthpiece with a swab and not alter sound?
Any help would be apperciated.
MG
Buffet E-11
Buffet Moening Barrel, 65 mm, Backun Protege 65mm
Vadoren BD5 Mouthpiece
Vandoren M/O series gold Lig.
Gonzala's FOF Reeds 2.5
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2013-05-12 23:47
Why not clean the mouthpiece? I think one should regularly to keep it from getting debris, calcium deposits, and otherwise nasty stuff out of it. I suggest using equal parts white vinegar and water, just enough to cover the mouthpiece and let it sit for a few minutes. This will loosen any calcium you may have built up. Gentle use of a mouthpiece brush with cool, clean water should finish the job. Wipe dry carefully with a microfiber cloth.
The key sticking could be due to other things than the pad. The key could be binding on the steel. Pivot screws could be too tight. The F key pad that rides over the thumb ring has a cork on it that sometimes gets worn and causes that key to stick a bit. I'm not quite sure why you're having voicing problems and would hate to try to diagnose without seeing the clarinet.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-13 01:15
There's another thread going on right now about whether or not the string pull on a swab can cause damage to a mouthpiece if you clean it with a swab.
There are many, many people who repeat this advice about not swabbing a mouthpiece. I have never read an anecdote here or anywhere else about a mouthpiece that was actually damaged by running a swab through it. That doesn't mean there haven't been such anecdotes, just that I don't remember any.
You can always damage a mouthpiece by *forcefully* rubbing the cloth, the string or anything else against the rails and scratching them. The back of your reed seems equally or more likely to cause damage by beating against the rails in normal use or by the small sliding movements when you adjust its position after the ligature is in place. If you are watching for a swab under normal, careful use to wear away the inside of the mouthpiece's bore or chamber, you may as well also watch out for water and chemical erosion as saliva and condensation run through it.
Don't pull the swab (or the string) across the rails and drop the weight carefully through (so you don't chip the tip rail), and I can't see any reason why any damage would result. But, I suppose it would be best if you're going to do it, not to do it when your teacher can see it. There's no use deliberately baiting her if she's told you not to swab your mouthpiece.
Karl
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-05-13 02:21
MG -
Which key is sticking? On a brand new clarinet, the wood changes slightly as it gets hydrated. If it's a pad sticking on a hole, a splinter might have come up from the rim. A repair tech can do many things -- for example, clean the pad, replace it, strengthen the spring or re-dress the rim.
David -
Wet silk is abrasive. That's why even zillionaires don't use silk baby diapers.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-05-13 02:35
But wasn't it Wagner who insisted on silk underwear? I guess he never sweated.
Karl
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2013-05-13 12:31
I'm an amateur, but I've seen plenty of unwashed mouthpieces, from my grammar school band back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, to flea market clarinets now. If you don't rinse out your mouthpiece after practice or at least gently swab it, it's going to grow a lining of revolting crud you don't even want to know about. Eventually the crud will affect the performance of the mouthpiece and it might make you sick, too.
I rinse my mouthpiece under the tap, then blot it outside with a towel and inside with one of those notorious "mouthpiece savers" (aka mouthpiece wreckers), which I do not leave in afterwards -- I let the mouthpiece finish drying exposed to air. Never had a nasty buildup in any of my mouthpieces, never had any damage I know of -- and I've been doing things this way since I was 9. I'm now 64. Yeah, I'm sure it's true that drying the inside of a mouthpiece can damage it, but dryiing it doesn't have to damage it if you're gentle.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: eaglgenes101
Date: 2013-05-15 05:56
How much force does it take to manually reopen the key? What sound does it make when it opens?
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