 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2003-01-09 22:34
After spending countless hours and numerous dollars on different reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures, I wonder what effect the simple act of routinely brushing ones teeth before playing the clarinet has on tone and equipment wear and tear. It seems to me that playing after eating a cheeseburger, for example, will deposit fats, etc on the reed and the mouthpiece. Any comments?
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Author: Benni
Date: 2003-01-09 23:21
I'm not sure about what it does to the mouthpiece, but the owner of the repair shop I go to said that it has an effect on the pads. The first time I brought my clarinet to him, he knew I chewed a lot of gum because he said there were sugar deposits on the pads. I now try to brush my teeth whenever I can before playing . . . If food residues can travel all the way to the pads, I can imagine they aren't very good for your mouthpiece and reed!
Disclaimer: Someone else owned that clarinet before me, and I think she liked soda/fruit punch, so the sugar-coated pads may not have been entirely due to my gum chewing.
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Author: Jean
Date: 2003-01-09 23:49
A percussionist once offered me a piece of birthday cake moments before a rehearsal was to begin. I said, "No thanks, I will be playing soon." Sadly he had no idea why I turned him down. Oh to play an instrument that requires no wind so you can chew gum, wear lipstick, and sip a soda.....
I keep a touthbrush in my office at school and try to brush before every rehearsal. I truly believe it helps.
Jean
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2003-01-10 01:02
We recently got a new conductor in our local Jr. College orchestra... he is a cellist. He immediately set up a schedule for each section to bring in snacks for the break in the middle of rehersal. He persists in including the woodwinds in the schedule. I object as we don't partake so we don't blow crud down our instruments, and then we are looked on as slackers if we don't take our turn.
Last time the woodwind section came up I brought in grapes and other fruit and put a big bowl of toothbrushes and paste out there. Not a word was said... but all the toothbrushes dissapeared. Still we show up on the roster!
TH
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Author: Kat
Date: 2003-01-10 01:53
Jean,
Not only are we eliminated from food/makeup/etc., we can't SMILE while we're playing!!! That makes me crazy sometimes...
Not to mention not being able to talk and play at the same time...sometimes it'd be great to tell the band to "start the tune over again at section B" or something...
GRRRR...
Katrina
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Author: William
Date: 2003-01-10 02:12
I may be a bit "overboard" on this, but I carry a toothbrush and tube of paste in every instrument case that I own. After breaks with snacks, or before the gig dinners (compliments of the bride, etc), I make certain to disappear into the LBR and brush before returning to work. I NEVER play my clarinets or saxophones after eatting anything, ever!!! Good dental and instrument hygene, IMO.
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Author: Sarah
Date: 2003-01-10 03:15
And the effects of the toothpaste oh reeds, mouthpieces etc.. is what exactally ?
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-01-10 05:12
I regard myself as rather capable of swallowing the food in my mouth and rinsing with saliva before I play a few minutes later.
And as Sarah writes, if you DO blow quanitities of mouth stuff into the instrument, what does the abrasive in the toothpaste do to your reed when you inevitably blow it through?
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Author: bob49t
Date: 2003-01-10 06:53
After dislodging particles of food from betweeen teeth and around gums with a tooth brush, rinse copiously with plain water to flush away the detritus.
I suggest not using proprietary mouthrinses before playing as you might apply a frothy deposit to the reed (esp with Hydrogen Peroxide rinses) This could effectively reduce the very fine tolerance between reed and m/p. Biggest danger though, is locking the reed up with tiny particles of food not rinsed away.
Nothing worse than getting a boulder stuck just before the emotional solo in Rach 2 S. slow movement. Suicide is the only way out of that one before the conductor gets you !
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Author: Bob
Date: 2003-01-10 13:45
Any small food particle may cause havoc in a clarinet..always brush or at least rinse
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Author: Vivian
Date: 2003-01-10 22:59
(This thread is getting disgusting.)
I know my band teacher always advised us to not eat any sugary foods before playing because it would cause damage to the instrument. I always make sure I brush my teeth sometime before I play so the last thing that was in my mouth was a toothbrush, even if it was a while ago.
But I think its sugar, as opposed to sugarless foods, that is the biggest culpret.
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Author: Jim E.
Date: 2003-01-11 05:29
Ingredients from a "leading brand" of toothpaste:
Active; sodium fluoride, Triclosan
Inactive; water, hydrated silica, glycerin, sorbitol, PVM/MA copolymer, sodium laural sulfate, cellulose gum, flavor, sodium hydroxide, propylene glycol, carrageenan, sodium saccharin, mica, titanium dioxide, fd&c blue # 1, d&c yellow #10
How much of that do you want in your instrument? Rinse well!
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2003-01-11 14:42
Sodium hydroxide is an INACTIVE ingredient? That's something I definitely don't want on a reed: it'd turn to soap.
I keep a bottle of botanical mouthwash on hand myself.
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