 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Slippy Bal-dog
Date: 2005-07-05 15:42
A week ago, I think i bent a key. I couldn't get a sound when playing B. I could tell that the hole wasn't sealing. I took it to a shop and the tech fixed and adjusted some keys.
It played fine for a few days and then it started to get airy again. I can only think that I'm bending the keys when I take it apart. My bell joint is a little tight. I had it shaved down (cork). Is this a common thing among beginners? Is there a right place to grab the lower section when assembling?
thanks
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Author: Clarinetgirl06
Date: 2005-07-05 17:13
One of my local techs showed me how to take apart my clarinet to prevent bending. On the bottom joint you put your right hand around the back of the clarinet and then have your palm/lower hand go over the left bottom pads and your fingers go over the right bottom pads so all the pads are compressed down. This way you won't be touching the rod which can get easily bent. Hope that made sense!
He also showed me the top joint-but it's too hard to explain (It's not hard to actually do, it's just hard to explain)! Sorry-and since your question was about the bottom joint...
Good luck!
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Author: Slippy Bal-dog
Date: 2005-07-05 19:12
I didn't have cork grease the first time...and left it together for several days. So it was stuck. I have used cork grease since.
thanks for the tip!
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Author: cujo
Date: 2005-07-05 19:19
Taking apart using 3 fingers between the low F and low B key for a good grip
and right above and around the trills, very slightly touching(no pressure) sides of keys is no problem.
If fit is tight use you could put your palm more positioned over the register key, pad side(touching but no pressure) for a real good grip without causing any key bending.
Lightly grabbing key clusters to remove may work but always causes even the slightest unnoticeable bending.
This method doesnt require any touching of the keys at all. Unless your hands are big.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-07-05 22:48
I have seen all sorts of fancy ways of holding clarinets for assembly and disassembly, in order to avoid pressure on keys.
my guess is that many people, and especially children, have very weak fingers/hands compared with the advocates of these methods. Especially if the middle tenon is a bit stiff (even with cork grease) as is the norm for new student instruments, many players will find them close to impossible. With these methods it is also far more difficult to maintain accurate alignment of the two sections during assembly.
I know that this will invite derision, but personally, I think it is better to grasp the lower section firmly RIGHT around the lower end, including the E/B key cup, and the upper section firmly RIGHT around the top end, including the two or three top key cups.
In doing this it is easy to position the hands so that nearly all the pressure actually goes on the timber, and and there is no sideways pressure on the keys concerned - only light key-CLOSING pressure.
This has never presented any problem in my experience. As a technician I would most certainly notice if it did. On the other hand, I think it more likely that damage occurs while a kid is trying to do finger gymnastics and apply forces his fingers are not capable of. For many (most?) people, the entire had is needed to apply enough pressure securely.
My first reaction to Sloppy Bal-dog's initial post was that the technician had not dealt with the underlying problem...
There are many things that can cause problems with the closing of the E/B & F/C pads, including a loose post, loose pivot screw, otherwise sloppy pivot, 'squishy' linkage material, high friction in linkage material, friction or slight jamming between levers and their respective keys, metal (such as the crowsfoot leg, or one of the levers) binding against another metal part, non-level tone hole, substandard pad, pad that is too thick, and poor pad installation.
Anything that is even only 1/1000" 'out', can mess up the reliability in this area.
It is entirely possible that the technician carried out a 'band-aid' technique such as clamping the keys shut overnight, as part of the treatment, without identifying the real problem(s) and dealing with them.
I invite a simple test, which will fail unless the above mentioned items are all satisfactory. (But note that there are problems that this test would not detect.)
Use a strip of thin cellophane (eg from the outer wrapping of a cigarette packet), or cassette tape, cut to a wedge shape 'feeler', say 30 mm long, 2 mm wide at one end, and 6-12 mm wide at the other.
a. Hold the wide end, and place the narrow end under the E/B pad, on the 'side' of the pad closest to the HINGE ROD. Press down the E/B lever (the part operated by the left hand) VERY lightly, so that the pad only just closes on the feeler. Now drag the feeler out from under the pad, noting the slight resistance.
b. Repeat the process at the opposite side of the pad, furthest from the hinge rod, again making sure that only the lightest of closing pressure is exerted on the lever.
The drag should be the same in both locations. Likewise, if the test is carried out on the F/C key. (Ideally the test should still be done by pressing on the E/B lever, but if the linkage is out of adjustment, this may not be possible.)
It would need a lot more than finger pressure - say a hammer blow in the right place - to mess up these adjustments. The key cup arm would have to be bent, or the long rod of the E/B key would have to be bent to such an extent to be conspicuous visually.
If bending were responsible for the clarinet's condition, then almost certainly, the symptom would be a difference in drag from one pad to the OTHER, (or even from the mouthpiece 'side' of the pad to the bell side of the same pad) rather than from the hinge side to the non-hinge side of the same pad.
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