Author: crsbryan
Date: 2010-05-22 19:43
After years and years as a student, and more years as a teacher, I have been party to both teachers and students sharing mouthpieces. It's certainly much easier for brass and flute players to clean and sterilize the smooth metal finish of where mouth meets instrument. I'm skeeved out by the prospect of playing my students' instruments, because of what might be in the mouthpiece/reed. When I think of the habits of everyone in my studio in college, in class, and on weekends, I shudder at what I have managed to avoid over the years.
While hard rubber, plastic, and metal mouthpieces are pretty easy to sterilize, reeds sure are a different matter. Sterisol, rubbing alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide are good solutions (no pun intended) for those, as are rum, vodka, and even Dow's scrubbing bubbles. My personal preference for a good thorough cleaning on a mouthpiece is Efferdent. It is, after all, meant to use on things you put in your mouth. But, it's not fast. I like the recommendation above to dip the whole thing in alcohol.
Colds, flu, gingivitis, herpes, let's add to the list... thrush, trench mouth (I know it's a form of gingivitis, but goes far beyond the average), strep, mononucleosis, some other STDs I'd rather not even imagine... The more you think about it, the worse the mind makes of it.
I'm not going to take any chances with my students' health or my own.
In my mind, this is one of the best arguments yet for synthetic reeds. Much more consistent, always work, more durable, and from this discussion, don't require sucking and easier to sterilize if the need to play a student's instrument appears.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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