 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinet_newbie
Date: 2020-03-19 14:22
Attachment: clarinet_picture.jpg (1552k)
Attachment: clarinet key.PNG (16k)
Hi all,
You're going to have to pardon what is most likely going to be a very basic question but after 20 years after having touched a clarinet i've decided to finally restart playing it! and I have a question on my newly received clarinet - i've noticed that the top right key seems loose and is always "down".
I've attached a few pictures highlighting the issue - do you think this is defective and if so how would you go around fixing it?
Thanks again for your time and patience!
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2020-03-19 14:52
Main options are the spring is out of its cradle or the hinge of the key (or its left hand lever) is binding.
This is the F/C key (i.e. you press it to play F or C in the lower or upper range respectively).
First, raise the key by hand and see if it moves back down, or does it get stuck in whatever position you leave it in (e.g. in the middle of its travel)?
If it moves freely, hold it down (the way it is now) and check if the left hand lever for the F/C key is binding (does it move down and spring back after you release it)?
If everything moves without binding most likely the spring popped out of the cradle (you can see the spring and cradle of the E/B key in your photos). The spring for F/C is behind it, look from the other side in the area of the F/C left hand lever to right hand key linkage.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2020-03-19 15:55
That spring can sometimes be a pain to engage if it's become unhitched from the spring cradle if the cradle is particularly long and the free end of the spring is now somewhere between the long rods of the E/B and F#/C# keys as space is very tight in that area of the keywork.
You will need a spring hook for this or in an emergency, a small crochet hook will work to pull it back so it clicks back into place. Do that without pulling it way beyond the spring cradle as you'll lose the tension.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarinet_newbie
Date: 2020-03-20 13:25
Hi all thanks for your kind replies.
When I move the key down it just stays down - it seems to be completely loose but is correctly engaged. What seems to be a quick fix that seems to hold it in place is that I just put a small thick piece of paper under the F/C key that keeps it "up" and allows it to be engaged individually
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-03-20 14:25
So by "correctly engaged," I think you refer to the fact that the key is firmly attached to its rod (axle) and turns freely. If you look carefully at the other side of the key (from where you put the paper) you'll see that beneath the key tube there is a blue steel "pin" or rather a needle spring. If you reach just behind it (easier to do closer to the post it's attached to) with a 1.4 millimeter crochet hook, you can pull the blue steel spring just enough to get it around the "notch" under that key tube made to hold it.
Easier said than done without images but we ALL have LOTS more time these days.
[the size of crochet hook is important too. Too big and it won't fit. Too small and it won't grab the spring]
................Paul Aviles
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2020-03-21 11:36
>> When I move the key down it just stays down <<
Still a little unclear...
In that case, does it also stay up? If you move it down it means it is not down before...?
Does it stay in whatever position you leave in it (up / down / middle of its travel)? Is it affected by gravity (i.e. moves "down" depending on how you hold it)?
This key "staying down" is definitely not a problem that should require paper (or any material) anywhere to solve. If it's not going back up for any of the reasons mentioned in previous posts, putting paper to keep it up will also prevent it from closing.
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