 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: RichA
Date: 2004-09-15 17:41
I have only been playing for a year and I generally practice for an hour at a time. I seem to generate a lot of moisture in my instrument. After about 1/2 hour my reed seems heavy and after I am finished and I swab the instrument, there is a good amount of moisture build-up. I can sometimes feel the wetness on some of the holes. Is this normal? What should I be doing to correct this? This amateur really appreciates your time and this forum.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2004-09-15 18:41
Once it's warmed up, about 15 minutes or so into your playing, you should swab out your clarinet. Then do it again whenever you take your small breaks. Yes, the moisture accumulates and you have to take care of it.
Watch pro players during concerts - even the brass players are opening spit valves or are turning the horn around, along with the clarinet players who swab during long rests. It's gotta be done.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2004-09-15 18:54
When I'm playing bass clarinet I tilt the instrument horizontally and dump saliva out of the mouthpiece at least once every 10 minutes --- it's normal.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-09-15 21:28
Dave, how do you separate the saliva from the condensation?
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-09-15 22:08
The question was about 'moisture' and 'wetness'. I took that to mean condensation - that enters the air within the lungs etc, can cannot be avoided. Another answer is to play in a warmer environment, so that there is less condensation.
However, if the moisture is due to spitting saliva into the instrument, then the solution is to stop spitting it into the instrument. Saliva is very different from condensation! Collect it under the tongue, behind the lower teeth, and swallow it whenever possible.
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Author: morgan
Date: 2004-09-16 03:21
Yes, that is true. I saw Gary Whitman perform Monday night. He is a professor at my alma mater, TCU. Every 15 minutes, he'd swab his clarinet. This was my first time watching a professional soloist, so I was a little shocked when he first pulled out his swab. No one else looked surprised, though, so I didn't outwardly react.
Morgan
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Author: pewd
Date: 2004-09-16 04:54
ah ha, another horned frog on the board
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: William
Date: 2004-09-16 14:31
RichA wrote, "After about 1/2 hour my reed seems heavy"
Try rubbing the vamp of your reed with your forefinger after the initial moistening and before playing. This will seal some of the open xylum and help prevent the reed from absorbing too much moisture during your performance. The reed will last longer and perform better. However, to avoid the "mutiny of the cane" altogether, you might try using a Legere reed. After a lifetime of coping with a variety of adjustment and endurance issues, I am having good success using a #3.25 Legere on my Kaspar #14 mouthpiece. Good sound, consistant performance and always ready to play. Given, it's not the same as cane, but the pluses are (so far) outweighing the negatives by a wide margin.
As for moisture building up in the bore of your instrument during performance or practice, get used to it. It's an occupational hazard that we clarinetists all must deal with. Frequent swabbing between numbers or during breadks and the use of cigarette paper for excess moisture that may collect under a pad or in a tone hole are the accepted methods for preventing the "gurgles" that may occure if the moisture buildup becomes too ecessive. I like the hankerchief type swabs as opposed to the chamois skin smaller types. My personal taste is for the muliti colored ones vs the all black--no reason except that I always enjoy putting on a show, even when swabbing. Good luck.
Post Edited (2004-09-16 14:53)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2004-09-16 18:53
Just make sure to pull out the water off of the reed as often as you can. That is accomplished by sucking in with a quick motion on the mouthpiece. If you are getting a lot of water that way then you aren't doing it nearly often enough.
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Author: Meri
Date: 2004-09-20 23:03
I like to say that if your barreljoint is not soaked from about an hour of playing, you are not putting enough air through the instrument. Most students put far too little air through the instrument anyway.
Meri
"There is a difference between being flat and sounding in tune, and being in tune but sounding flat. The first I can live with; the second I cannot."
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-09-21 09:08
If the barrel were the same temperature as the air in your mouth, then there would be very little if any condensation.
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