 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinet87
Date: 2005-08-11 01:35
Here's a topic that I'm pretty sure has not been discussed before on the BBoard.
I always brush my teeth before playing my clarinet. I was just wondering, is this really necessary? Would it really hurt if I didn't brush my teeth after eating a meal and then I played my clarinet? Even when I go to rehearsals I bring a toothbrush and toothpaste. I just can't understand wind players who eat and then play their instrument. Doesn't it bother them when food bits get stuck down in their instruments?
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Author: bflatclarinetist
Date: 2005-08-11 01:51
I used to brush my teeth before I practiced but I've gotten lazy now and don't feel like it, and just want to practice right away. Maybe you should try drinking a glass of water before you do so. And I haven't discovered any differences from when I did and didn't. Unless you're still playing your clarinet with left overs in your mouth.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2005-08-11 02:01
I find that carrots clean out my mouth significantly... a handful of baby carrots, cup of water, and 10 minutes before playing seem to all but eliminate the last bits of Pizza or Chinese. Of course, more time is better, but this does pretty well when time is short.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-11 02:21
Ideally do brush your teeth and use toothpaste.
You don't have to do a very good job, but you really, really should brush before playing. You will keep all kinds of crap from getting into your horn and guming up the works.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-08-11 02:23
Yup, Mark, its hard to find a subject we haven't explored !! I have no complaint about brushing, do it 1-2-3 times a day, AND follow it up with the Sunbeam "Water-Pick" [other names??] to further clear out "debris" brushing doesn't always get. The high velocity water "squirt" does the trick !! If eating out before playing, I {unobtrusively} "slosh" a mouthfull of water to clear out what food particles I can. I try to avoid peanuts and almonds etc. also. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: msloss
Date: 2005-08-11 02:35
Well, if you like food boogers and partially digested sugars in every nook and cranny of the bore of your instrument, don't brush. Never know when you might need a snack between movements.
From a very plain and practical standpoint, though, nothing will make a reed squawk quite like a small foreign object stuck to the back of it.
There's plenty of room in your case for a toothbrush and toothpaste, and nobody is so busy they can't spend 30 seconds at a sink before playing.
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-08-11 02:50
One of my students had the habit of eating a snack just before practicing.
Very quickly material collected around the pads [starch is what her mother called it] and she had to have the clarinet cleaned by a tech.
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-08-11 04:18
would the toothpaste not affect the reed? I brush with tooth paste b4 i play, but i also drink a bottle of water afterwards, swishing each sip in my mouth for a few seconds, I play when i can't taste the toothpaste anymore.
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2005-08-11 04:28
My dentist (who is also Stoltzman's dentist incidentally) tells us to brush before we play with toothpaste. He says to do this because of the amount of air that's being expelled from our mouth. This amount of air will just about dry anything that's in your mouth to the back of one's teeth which can cause heavy staining and lead to decay. It's also a better idea to floss before you play, particularly after eating, because if food in between the gumline and teeth were to dry, it causes significant tartar buildup in an un-noticeable area, which leads to decay even quicker.
I brush and floss for what it's worth,
Michael
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Author: psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as
Date: 2005-08-11 05:15
"would the toothpaste not affect the reed? I brush with tooth paste b4 i play, but i also drink a bottle of water afterwards, swishing each sip in my mouth for a few seconds, I play when i can't taste the toothpaste anymore."
Haha. Hm, I have a friend who had a moldy old bass clarinet reed. He actually used toothpaste to clean it ^_^. It worked for him, why shouldn't it work for you. I usually just drink some water before playing, but half the time I don't even remember to do that. Just avoid softdrinks.
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Author: jmsa
Date: 2005-08-11 14:38
I usually eat some small amount of a protein enriched food before I play, so naturally I brush. I believe that I play better when I am fueled up properly.
jmsa
Post Edited (2005-08-11 14:39)
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