 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DrH2O
Date: 2008-12-10 21:34
My daughter's high school band is going to play in the inaugural parade in January - she's very excited! Luckily we still have a plastic Buffet that she can use, but what else should she know, do, or not do playing in what may down right cold conditions? What are the best tricks for keeping hands warm enough to play? How do you manage what must be copious condensation in the horn? What other problems is she likely to run into (besides interminable waiting of course)?
Thanks,
Anne
Clarinet addict
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-12-10 22:08
If the director permits it (and I can't imagine why not) wear thin gloves with the finger tips cut off.
As one of my students discovered, mittens do not work ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-12-10 23:32
As I recall, those gloves were standard issue in my high school band for playing in cold weather (and this was in South Texas, too). If those aren't in the band's budget, purchasing them would be a worthwhile project for the booster club (if your band has one).
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Author: davidsampson
Date: 2008-12-11 00:27
Take the advice about the gloves. Also, look for HotHands, or some other disposable hand warmer. You will need two. Activate them, put one in each glove and then place a rubber band around each wrist to keep the HotHands in place. Works like a charm, but might get a little hot.
EDIT: http://www.rei.com/product/778047 this will do, but you can get them at almost any department store, or outdoors store.
Post Edited (2008-12-11 00:28)
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2008-12-11 01:10
Many moons ago we marched for the New England Patriots half time. All the keys froze and the drums and bells were about the only ones that could play. Hopefully this inauguration will be a little warmer. You might even try a plastic reed on the horn. I'm betting it would be a little more temperature tolerant than the cane reeds.
Anyway, besides the gloves (and be sure to check them out ahead of time to make sure there's enough of a hole in the tip so you can play the notes), but long underwear (tops and bottoms, LL Bean is a good mail order source), thermal socks and earmuffs (if your director allows them) will be good additions. Try to be the last one off the bus too!
Enjoy the inauguration.
eefer guy
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Author: LarryBocaner ★2017
Date: 2008-12-11 01:54
One never knows what weather to expect in DC in mid-January. For Reagan's second inauguration the weather was so bad that the parade was moved indoors. (The first one was in record 55F degree " heat".) Keep your fingers crossed.
The Brits have the right idea, celebrating the monarch's birthday in June, no matter where it actually falls on the calendar!
Post Edited (2008-12-11 22:09)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-12-11 12:37
You might want to add rubber gloves under the finger-less gloves do protect against the direct air on the fingertips. Not a big change, but sometimes every little thing can help.
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Author: Bassie
Date: 2008-12-11 13:40
Personally I find that fingerless gloves just make my fingertips colder!
The main thing I notice this time of year is the tendency of the brass to play flat relative to the clarinet (unless we all compensate our tuning, of course). Presumably they never warm up properly when the air is cold. One night I remember the weather got colder and colder, and by the end of the evening I found myself pulled out so far the cork was showing.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2008-12-11 13:57
Reeds: Cane reeds tend to curl up and respond poorly in cold weather -- I'd recommend you obtain a couple of Legere synthetic reeds (which are good for outdoor use in general, whatever the weather).
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Author: clarinetdaddy
Date: 2008-12-11 14:33
Use a Legere reed. Then you don't have to worry about a reed to play!
Have a terrific time!
clarinetdaddy
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing".
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Author: FDF
Date: 2008-12-11 22:58
Congratulations to your daughter and her band for being selected for such a great honor.
Played for a lot of cold football games when I was in college. The three things that stand out for me all these years later are: metal clarinets, gloves with finger tips removed, and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was provided by a mother of one of the members of the band. Don' t remember her name, but I do remember her kindness.
Above all else, enjoy this wonderful moment.
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-12-12 12:11
Hello,
For the last two Army/Navy football games, I've used latex surgical gloves under my Navy white gloves with the tips cut out. I wouldn't call my fingers warm, but they do help, and they allow one to play the clarinet with them on.
Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com
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Author: DrH2O
Date: 2008-12-12 15:50
Thanks for all the advice. My daughter is still jumping out of her skin with excitement. I have a couple of legere reeds that I'll dig out for her. The band doesn't issue any gloves and I gather that clarinetists are one of the lucky few who have to have the fingertips exposed - so we'll hunt something down and cut the tips off. We use hand warmers for skiing with a glove liner to keep the packet from being too hot on the skin - so maybe a two-layer approach will work for marching as long as they're both thin. Surgical gloves would keep the wind out, but doesn't moisture accumulate inside and make your hands cold? I guess maybe you're too cold to sweat at that point! I suspect that the standing around time is likely to be the coldest part. Once they start marching it shouldn't be too bad or at least they'll be too excited to notice.
Tuning should be interesting. Hadn't thought about how the cold affects different instruments. I seem to remember reading somewhere that the clarinet plays a couple of cents flat for every degree below 72oF. So if it's 40 degrees outside will they really be about 60 cents flat? How different is it for the different wind instruments?
Anne
Clarinet addict
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Author: cxgreen48
Date: 2008-12-12 19:53
Just keep air going through the instrument (without actually making very audible sounds) and it'll help keep the instrument relatively in tune.
I doubt an instrument would go 60 cents flat in 40 degree weather.
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Author: baursak
Date: 2008-12-13 14:38
The Central Military Band of Kazakhstan played inauguration ceremony several years ago in january in Astana city. Temperature was... -35 C. Clarinets keys did not move, fingers too...
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-12-13 23:49
Oh my!!!!!!!!!! I have played in -12°C frost and half of the marching band had to stay inside to warm up the instruments when the other half part played,specially the flutes and clarinets. Then I was playing now in -5°C frost today and I could not get the B key up after when I had to play C afterwards and the intonation was all over the place. Specially in the upper register.Sometime when I played C over the brake and then G over the brake the G wouldn't come out or was out of tune. But playing in -5°C frost is ok but when it gets -8 or lower then it's too cold because the keys on the brass instruments specially trumpets and tubes will get stuck.
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Author: davidsampson
Date: 2008-12-14 03:32
You can buy military grade M16 oil designed for arctic conditions. I have heard that some brass players , especially in DCI, have used this for playing in cold weather.
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Author: Lee
Date: 2008-12-14 20:33
Marched in the Liberty Bowl parade back in the 60's when it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The brass players were using antifreeze for valve and slide lub. I took my clarinet apart at the middle joint and put it and my hands under the uniform coat whenever we were not playing. That was using an R13 which is still doing well.
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Author: Veldeb
Date: 2008-12-15 21:57
I'm part of a combined band (LGBA) that will be marching 177 at the parade. I'm a local here in dc. The biggest problem she should expect is the wait. 4-6am lineup for a parade that doesn't start until 2pm. Hand and foot warmers and ear muffs/hat/gloves for the wait and places to stuff them in before step-off. Once you're moving.. you're moving in the inaugural parade which is essentially a military review.. not too much stopping historically. We've found cheap fingerless gloves in black or white at:
http://www.bandshoppe.com/catalog/productDetail.do?p=Fingerless_Nylon_Marching_Band_Gloves
These looked promising for the actual parade.. although we used to just buy the cheap cotton ones from uniform stores and cut the finger tips off ourselves
and also these new things called "Wristies" that are also popular at places like REI or other camping stores although pricier.
http://www.wristies.com/
Blake
www.dcdd.org
www.gaybands.org
Post Edited (2008-12-16 14:56)
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2008-12-17 03:15
Having marched in a few inaugural parades, I would never sign a permission slip for one of my kids to do that gig. It's usually dangerously cold and we should all take a stand on the insanity of doing something that weather dept in the middle of a washington winter.
Tom Puwalski who will watch it on a Big Screen HD with a tankard full of warm spiced wine
Veldeb wrote:
> I'm part of a combined band (LGBA) that will be marching 177 at
> the parade. I'm a local here in dc. The biggest problem she
> should expect is the wait. 4-6am lineup for a parade that
> doesn't start until 2pm. Hand and foot warmers and ear
> muffs/hat/gloves for the wait and places to stuff them in
> before step-off. Once you're moving.. you're moving in the
> inaugural parade which is essentially a military review.. not
> too much stopping historically. We've found cheap fingerless
> gloves in black or white at:
> http://www.bandshoppe.com/catalog/productDetail.do?p=Fingerless_Nylon_Marching_Band_Gloves
>
> These looked promising for the actual parade.. although we used
> to just buy the cheap cotton ones from uniform stores and cut
> the finger tips off ourselves
>
> and also these new things called "Wristies" that are also
> popular at places like REI or other camping stores although
> pricier.
> http://www.wristies.com/
>
>
>
>
>
> Blake
> www.dcdd.org
> www.gaybands.org
>
>
> Post Edited (2008-12-16 14:56)
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