 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-07-28 14:21
The recent discussion about the strange noise when playing the throat G# reminded me:
It's baffling how gunk can accumulate in the tone holes especially in the upper joint even when using a silk swab instead of cotton. My clarinet was just overhauled and stuff was found in the tone holes - now it doesn't play nearly as sharp as it did - what a revelation when I think of it! Duh. But getting to the point, we can sometimes do this cleaning ourselves. I've used a pipe cleaner bent at the tip to clean those spots, also was shown how to take off the A / G# keys myself and use a Q-tip. Someone here on the BB mentioned a mascara brush, and that would certainly be ideal! When I explained this to my Mary Kay consultant she gave me a few disposable mascara brushes from her supplies, one for me and a couple to give away.
So besides the obvious - not allowing the surfaces to be scratched, what are other suggestions for keeping these tone holes clean, and what cautions should we be aware of?
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-07-28 14:38
I have an articulated G#, so its tone hole goes through the center tenon. That exposes the hole to cork grease, and it fills up rapidly.
Anyone know what gets into the other tone holes? Swab lint --even from a silk swab? Hand grease?
I'd like to avoid the build-up, too.
Bob Phillips
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Author: pewd
Date: 2005-07-28 16:02
dunno what that gunk is made up of. i'd guess mostly cork grease, dirt and grime from your hands, dead skin cells, food scraps, and key and bore oil. thats a good research project for someone - examine that stuff under a microscope or something.
short answer - brush your teeth and wash your hands before playing and dust off the keys once a week.
longer winded version follows:
fwiw, i remove all the keys every 6 months or so and clean out all the tone holes with a small brush. don't try that unless you've been shown how. i also use that opportunity to examine the pads, replace any loose or torn key corks, etc.
i tell my students to wash their hands before playing.
i tell the girls to avoid putting on makeup anywhere near their horns. i see a lot of them doing that in band class - with their horns in their laps - no wonder they get gunked up. keep those compacts with foundation powder away from the horns.
i keep a clean cotton cloth around (an old cotton diaper actually - thick cotton) - to wipe the cork grease off my hands after applying grease. putting grease on at the end of a practice session is a good habit - then your hands will be clean when you assemble the horn the next time, and assembly time will be quicker.
excessive key or bore oil can trap dust and dirt also. if you oil your keys periodically, use a needle tip type bench oiler to keep the amount of oil used to a minimum. remove excess or spilled oil with a q-tip. then wash the oil off your hands before playing. ww&bw sells them (feree's bench oiler).
and you can use a hobby sized paintbrush to dust off around the posts and keys, under the rings, etc once a week or so.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Bradley
Date: 2005-07-28 18:35
I use a small watercolour paintbrush that I learned works from a flute player in the flute studio at school. That gets rid of the dust around the posts, and for inside the tone holes I use a Q-tip, sometimes I put a layer or two of cloth or tissue around it depending on the size of the tone hole, but the larger ones near the bottom don't tend to get as gunky I've noticed. I also do take off my rings and and clean around the tone holes too with tissue, because the gunk gets outside the tone hole too, and when I used to repair/maintain instruments for my home high school after school I noticed a clarinet's rings getting stuck because of that- not cool. I think a lot of it is to do with cork grease for me. I apply my Dr.'s Products cork greases with my finger to even it out, and I don't always remember to clean off my hands before playing.
Bradley
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2005-07-30 00:48
I keep a rag in my junk kit for wiping cork grease off my fingers. Every now and then, I throw the rag in with the laundry. I still have to clean out the tone holes, though. Shadow Cat says those are screech-stick boogers.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-07-30 08:35
I use a range of gun brushes, made in different diameters for different gun calibres.
There is also a long 'bottle' brush sold for cleaning the grill thing that is in plug holes for baths, basins, etc, beneath the plug. I cut it into shorter lengths, adding some form of protection over the sharp ends of the twisted wires, eg epoxy glue.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-07-30 14:04
The little dental Proxy brushes work for me....and there's even tapered ones for A clarinet register tubes. But...brushes don't remove the stuff that sticks and which then attracts lint and dust. I use Formby's lemon oil on an ear bud for that purpose. Washing your hands before using the cork grease may be a better tactic for keeping your keywork uncorroded.
Bob Draznik
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Author: jim lande
Date: 2005-07-31 04:37
Whenever I take apart a clarinet, I stick Q-tips in my dremmel tool, dampen the cotton, add a little silver polish (I'm working with metal clarinets) and then clean the chimneys. A tip usually lasts for just four holes -- and then I wipe with a second Q-tip.
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