 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-08-20 19:44
I've been interested by the dry mouth thread...I personally suffer from the opposite problem, constantly having to suck saliva from the back of my reed...and often encountering those sussy, wattery sounds in quieter passages.
The only things I have found to help are cigarette papers in the mouth (doubling as a cushion from my teeth) and 'waterproofing' the back of the reed...a technique suggested by my professor...of sealing the back of the reed with your own saliva.
Anyone else have anything to suggest?
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-08-20 20:37
Outstanding pearls of widom as ever.
Roflmao.
Trying to figure ou if that's an offer msloss!!
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-08-20 21:03
Psychotic,
hehehe, am I the only one with this problem then??
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Author: psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as
Date: 2004-08-20 21:11
Indeed you are not... My fellow clarinet player who sits next to me has the same problem... His is probably much much worse than yours though... I mean 3/4 of his sound is spit... But, I don't think he uses a spit swab, so that causes problems... He lost his I think... But I had the problem when I started out, too much spit... But I took a sax players advice, and started trying to keep it in the sides of my mouth while I'm playing... It helped me quite a bit... Maybe it'll help you...
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-08-20 21:11
For what it's worth, most of what ends up in the horn is actual condensation from your hot, humid breath. The large difference in temperature between the air (coming from your very warm and moist lungs) and the walls of the horn (which, even when "warmed up" are still comparatively cool next to your internal body temperature) allows the moisture content to rapidly precipitate out on the walls of the horn.
If you don't believe me, try this little experiment:
o First, thoroughly wipe out the socket at the bottom of the barrel, and likewise clean the tenon cork and tenon end at the top of the first joint.
o Next, play your horn for a half hour or so. You should play vigorously and continuously, the better to develop a good amount of "spit in your horn" for the purposes of this test.
o Then disassemble and "decant" the moisture from the tuning gap between the bottom of the barrel and the first joint. Dribble it out on a glass (transparent) plate.
o Then, do the same with some of your spit drifting around in your mouth. Keep the two pools separate, of course...
o Next, take a look at the two pools of "moisture" with something in the neighborhood of a x 10 power hand lens. (I used a clever little device called an optical comparator; it has little lines and circles on an internal clear disk so that you can determine the diameter and length of the stuff that you always have floating around in your mouth, should you be so inclined.) Notice the difference in content of the "moisture", cringing as you do so.
o Penultimately, recoil in disgust with the thought that the moisture in your horn (which most would never think to drain back into their mouth) is far cleaner than the disgusting mess that you are already carrying around in said mouth.
o Finally, go brush your teeth, you disgusting creature, you...
I'm not saying that zero saliva/spit enters the horn. However, the amount is minimal compared to the amount of condensation that develops.
Along these lines, when I was in the throes of "zero spit" with my diabetes problem, I mostly played baritone sax (less problem keeping the lips sealed against the mouthpiece). While my mouth was virtually bone dry until I started taking the medication, the amount of condensation that I drained off in an hour's performance was virtually the same as when I had "normal" saliva conditions. That one had me really puzzled...
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-08-20 21:18
Terry,
Thanks for that...I'm fortunate to have very few problems with bubbles and the like in the clarinet itself...
I'm constantly telling students that what ends up in the clarinet is not spit, but condensation, so it's good to find someone who agrees!
It is moisture building on the back of the reed, which I believe is spit, not condensation.
I have to say, the more I play over the years, the better it is getting.
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-08-20 22:08
Daniel,
About 10 years ago, I was at a professional performance (alto sax, string bass, piano, and Terry Clark) where the sax player had a saliva buildup problem. He quickly cleared it by blowing into the side of his mouthpiece. I have done this ever since and it has been effective for me too, especially when there is no time to do anything else. It seems to move the accumulation out of the way enough so that you can keep playing.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: RAMman
Date: 2004-08-20 22:20
Hans,
Blimey, that sounds like what Andrew Mariner once said to me...
'You need a special reed to play Brahms symphonies, you need an unbalanced reed that's soft on one side and hard on the other. Then you can move the moutpiece and use the appropriate side for the different sounds required!!'
Mr Mariner, I salute you!
Thanks you for the tip...I assume you only play sideways when you have a buildup, not all the time??
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-08-21 00:25
Daniel,
I didn't explain it well, so let me try to clarify... when there is a buildup, a quick blast of air from the side (between mouthpiece and reed) seems to move the sludge out of the way enough so that I can continue to play regularly; i.e., I have never tried to play sideways.
I have taught students at the school where I've been volunteering to do it as well and it seems to work for them too.
The unbalanced reed concept is interesting. So there is a use for defective reeds after all, as long as you play Brahms. Some reed manufacturers may want to market their special Brahms reeds as such.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: Contra
Date: 2004-08-21 00:47
I've never had this occur and I am interested. It almost blows my mind. Almost.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-08-21 12:48
You might keep a lemon peel handy ..or even a cut lemon wedge.
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