 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jerry
Date: 2003-02-19 18:27
I'm taking a 5 day trip to a conference in Denver from north Florida and I want to take my new "baby" with me on my trip (my new wooden clarinet that doesn't have any cracks in it yet!)
Question 1: Aside from the potential theft/loss/left behind issues (that sounds like enough reason right there), are there any significant reasons to take the instrument on-board with me, as opposed to keeping it in a suitcase in the baggage compartment of the plane?
Question 2: Denver is much dryer than north Florida. Should I get a humidifier for the case? Which ones are recommended? Should I apply some bore oil before I go...just as a bit of extra insurance? (The instrument will be 3 months old when I go.)
Question 3: Reed strength: I understand that playing one mile high requires a 1/2 to 1 strength SOFTER reed. This is true, yes?
Thanks for your help, again.
Jerry
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-02-19 18:56
Take it on board so it won't be subject to careless baggage handlers. Also the climate control is better in the cabin than it is in the hold. Some baggage compartments are unpressurized -- not a pleasant environment for a fine wooden instrument 7 miles up.
Carry it on with you and keep Dampits in the case.o
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Author: Aaron Diestel
Date: 2003-02-19 19:10
Jerry,
I attend graduate school for clarient performance in Greely Colorado, about and hour north of Denver. Until a year agao I lived in Kansas City, so a much wetter climate, like Florida.
Anyway, I don't know how long you are going to be in Denver, but here are some tips. Since it is a new instrument I'd try to keep some sort of humidification in the case. The best for this altitude is orange peels, as wierd as it may seem they work wonderfully, much better than Dampits.
As far as reeds go, I owuld use a half strength difference. I used to use about a 3.5 reed, however now I use a 4 now that I've moved here. I have changed my playing though. So bring some reeds around a half strength softer, or just bring a box of what you use and there should be something in the box that works well.
Your reedss will dry out and warp in a matter of munites, so keep the reeds in a humiudified container, ex, in a plastic baggie with a sponge inside. That'll keep them with a little moisture.
If any more wuestions, just give me a e-mail, when are you comming, at the end of March the MOzart concerto 622 is bieng played in Ft. Collins by My teacher, the principal of the Colorado Symphony, Bil Jackson.
Good luck
Aaron
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-02-19 20:18
Be sure to put your reed knife and screwdrivers in your checked luggage.
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Author: Mitch K.
Date: 2003-02-19 20:40
I also did grad school in Northern Colorado, and can say that it is a good idea to carry with you reeds that are 1/2 strength lighter than you normally play. However, after a short amount of time, you begin to adjust: by the time I was finished with graduate study at UNC I was again using V12 4's on my 5RVL13. An alternative to buying more reeds it to do some work on your current reeds when you get to Colorado.
Regarding reed humidity: Aaron gives good advice regarding the plastic bag with the sponge. But do be careful; your reeds will easily mold if you don't open the bag a few times a day!
Aaron, is Bil still going to play the Mozart on basset clarinet?
hasta,
Mitch King
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-02-19 21:45
If you have a backup instrument, or if your clarinet in A gets rare use... take one of those.
I would NOT take your new wooden instrument.
I just went to 'Mouse land' for ten days with my back up wooden clarinet and the barrel cracked rather dramatically on return to dryer climes...
If this is not a performance venue, then what you're after is keeping your chops up, hmmm?
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Author: Jerry
Date: 2003-02-19 23:34
Botch: Si. Oui. Keeping the chops up... and it will hopefully be a good opportunity to practice in the evenings...as long as I don't disturb the hotel guests too badly;) It is my only instrument...if the barrel was the only thing to go, I would consider myself moderately blessed. If my plane lands safely in both directions, I will be ecstatic!
Aaron: What is the date, time, and location of the Bil (with one 'l') Jackson performance? If its' in the evening, I should be able to go.
Thanks for the tips!
Jerry
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-02-20 13:02
Years ago, I picked up Anthony Gigliotti at the old Stapleton airport for a masterclass up in ski country, and he had to take his clarinet out on the way up (long story) in the vicinity of Eagle just to see how it would play relative to Philly. It more or less didn't. After a day of tweaks and adjustments, he was ready to rock, but even he was shocked at how different it is.
Dude, be oh so careful taking a new instrument to Colorado. It is a sure-fire way to find out if there are any weaknesses in your horn, but the crying isn't worth it. Advice above is good -- orange peel, passenger cabin (no bent keywork is another reason) if you have to take it. The only problem with peel, dampits, etc., is that they only help you while the instrument is in the case. It can crack while you are playing it. Take it from someone who has cracked an R13 in Boulder -- leave it home if it is only 3 months in your care. The shock of going from FL to CO and back, especially if you are playing it along the way, is a recipe for trouble. Unless you have a gig or an important lesson/masterclass/audition, take your backup.
As for the reeds, something else you might try is taking out some of your favorite reeds that are played out. I've found on a number of trips that "dead" reeds at sea level still have some juice left at altitude. This will also save you the hassle of environmentally stabilizing new reeds at desert humidity.
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Author: Henry
Date: 2003-02-20 14:52
I just wonder what's the highest place on earth a wooden clarinet has been to and made it back uncracked. From what I gather from the above, Katmandu would be pretty hopeless! Probably only Vito's there.
Henry
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-02-20 15:08
Been to or played? Played Buffet R13 at 10,430 feet for me -- Leadville, CO. No cracks in the horn, but felt like cracks in the skull from playing with only the ocassional oxygen atom getting to my blood stream.
New thread? "Most inhospitable environment in which a clarinet has been played successfully"
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Author: Hans
Date: 2003-02-20 18:23
There is much good advice in this thread. I would like to offer some minor additional points:
As Mark Sloss said, "it is a sure-fire way to find out if there are any weaknesses in your horn...". If it is still under the manufacturer's crack warranty, this may be a good opportunity to make sure that there are no serious weaknesses. If it survives the trip without cracking, you might be less concerned on subsequent trips.
As was pointed out by Ralph G, the climate control is better in the cabin than it is in the baggage compartments; however, cabin air is extremely dry and could still cause some shock to the instrument. The baggage compartment is a non-starter for 2 reasons: one - if it is not pressurized it will be extremely cold at 35000 ft. Two - having earned money for university as a baggage handler, I know how roughly baggage gets handled.
Good luck,
Hans
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Author: mark m
Date: 2003-02-20 19:30
FYI - baggage compartments are pressurized the same as cabin. I'd still carry it on though.
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Author: Peter
Date: 2003-02-20 19:51
Jerry,
I just read your post about the possibility of disturbing the other guests. Boy! I hope you don't get a room like one I had recently in Central Florida! I thought the other guests in the hotel had gone nuts, the way they were making all kinds of strange, loud noises that, I can't help but feel, must have been heard all over the hotel!
Don't you know, that come about 1:30 a.m., the people in the room on the left side of me started making some loud banging noises on the wall (which, to tell you the real embarrassed truth, I took to be the head-board hitting the wall...)
But just after they started, someone in the room on the right side of me started having what I imagined must have been one heck of a hellatious fight. You could hear them screaming at the top of their lungs, "I don't have to put up with this @*$^%) @^&*$#! This hotel management is going to hear me! Who the hell do these people think they are, making all this @*&%$) noise! Etc. Wow!
I thought it was funny as all get out! The people on the left are beating down the walls, the people on the right are yelling and screaming about it! And here I am, stuck in the middle, in the wee hours of the morning, and trying to mind my own business!!!
At first I was going to call down to the desk to complain about "my neighbors," but you know, the best thing to do in those cases is to try and ignore them completely or your life can become a real misery. They all quiet down eventually, anyway.
All I ended up doing was to continue playing my soprano saxophone even louder than before so as to drown out all their rude, uncalled for noises!
Good luck and have a good time on your trip!
Peter
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-02-20 20:26
Mark! " "Most inhospitable environment in which a clarinet has been played successfully" Does LA count?
Hey, don't flame me, I WAS a Californian. Y'ah been to LA lately?
Bob A
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Author: clare
Date: 2003-02-20 21:11
Jerry -
Others have far more interesting points to make about other aspects of travel but, as for the question of whether to take the instrument on board with you, I'd say YES DEFINITELY.
For one reason, I hear that US airlines have started to require hold baggage to be left UNLOCKED post 9/11. I wouldn't fancy letting my clarinets go through unlocked, though happily UK carriers haven't introduced such a restriction so I'm not faced with it.
The other reason is that if it's with you in the cabin then you're with it every time it goes through scanners. Since not all airport baggage scanning staff are good at recognising musical instruments - it just looks like a lot of funny metal stuff to them, some of which has sharp bits sticking out of it - it's the sort of thing that's likely to get checked quite often. I'd always prefer to be there, open the case myself and explain what the thing is than have someone else do it without me being there to make sure they don't inadvertently drop the bits.
All my air travel is UK based, but I fly twice a week between London & Belfast (so a fair bit of anti-terrorism screening) and I get stopped quite a lot. I feel much better knowing that my clarinet is with me and I'm there to acount for it than worrying that it is causing unnecessary concern for security staff who I'd rather were looking for guns & semtex.
Anyway, hope you have a good trip.
Clare
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