 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: moolatte
Date: 2009-11-01 20:41
I'm sort of inexperienced when it comes to instrument care (No matter how cheap my instrument is, I take the best care I can, though)
We march for Christmas parades and stuff. My fingers get really cold outside. Mittens let cold leak in. What's the best suggestion for keeping your hands warm, but still being able to make an air-tight seal on the keyholes?
And best suggestion for the following (Still outside winter weather related)? :
-Keeping in tune in the cold weather
-Preventing the reed from going bad on you before you play a solo (Had this happen recently. You just heard an awkward silence in the middle of the piece because my clarinet wouldn't play.)
-I have a Vandoren navy blue plastic reed case. It's supposed to be humidity controlled, but it kind of gets cold sitting in my locker. Does that affect the reeds?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-11-01 22:10
Yep, fingerless gloves is the best bet - they'll keep your hands warm (and you can put heat pads inside them) though your fingers will still get cold.
As everyone else's instruments will get cold, the general tuning will drop across the entire band so don't worry too much about that.
I hope you're playing a plastic clarinet for this!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-11-01 22:17
I agree with the gloves without the fingertips. If it's really cold, add a pair of latex exam gloves underneath the cloth gloves. You can get a box of them fairly cheaply at most drug stores. The powdered ones are better, because it's easier to get your hands in and out of them. They also make them latex-free, if you are allergic to latex. They're quite thin, but might help keep the fingers a little warmer and will still seal on the toneholes.
Jeff
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Author: DrH2O
Date: 2009-11-01 23:04
Play a synthetic reed! My daughter marched in the inaugural parade last winter - very cold and the cane reeds gave out. She played a Legere and it worked fine.
Anne
Clarinet addict
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Author: moolatte
Date: 2009-11-01 23:05
"I hope you're playing a plastic clarinet for this!"
Yeah... I'm not. I'm using my all-purpose clarinet. If something happens to it, I'm clarinetless. Right now, getting something for performances is kind of out of the question. (I've asked my parents about helping me get a new one, but they think you have to pay the $3000 all at once)
I'm using a Normandy 4.
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Author: ShazamaPajama
Date: 2009-11-01 23:18
in high school marching band i switched to sax so i could wear gloves while i played haha.
my freshman year, when i was still playing clarinet, for cold parades i just wore gloves any way and pretended to play. lolz
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-11-01 23:24
Look for a used Bundy for outdoor performances, especially in cold weather. You can get them dirt cheap, and they'll last forever. You really should not take a wooden clarinet out into the elements. If something happens to the Bundy, it won't be a great loss, either! I had one that took me from 4th grade to senior year. In 9th grade, I got an R13 for serious music, but kept the Bundy for marching and other not-so-ideal conditions.
Jeff
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-11-02 15:28
Or when you upgrade your all purpose horn, get a Greenline.
I have witnessed a clarinet literally crack with a "POP" from one end of the top joint all the way down to the other. Think about the stress you can force wood to endure if you have 30 degree weather outside and you are blowing 98.5 degree air through the inside.
YIKES !!!!
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-11-02 18:03
But if you do have a plastic clarinet, make sure you don't drop it as plastic gets very brittle with extreme cold, and you don't want it to shatter at your feet if you happen to drop it when your fingers stop working with the cold.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: LesleyM
Date: 2010-12-20 10:23
Well, as the others have suggested I invested in an inexpensive plastic clarinet for playing outdoors. it was considerably less than the repair cost for a cracked wooden one and took away the stress of one of my "babies" breaking. Yes, Iam that attached to them. They are Selmer 10S's and they don't make this model any more.
But it was still damned cold - we had a flautist growing icicles yesterday! My RH little finger went completely numb (all the clarinettists said the same)even with fingerless gloves so I am going to see how much of the finger I can keep but still be able to play.
As for tuning - it is a joke. I could hear it changing even within a single carol.
But it is fun so "hang it!"
Lxx
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-12-20 12:11
Local pawn shops over here have serviceable and very dusty bundy clarinets for 150. Being a pawn shop, you can certainly bargain down. I'd go pick one up ASAP. Consider it "insurance" against not having a clarinet at all. I'd rather pay 150 to insure having a clarinet around than not pay it and lose the ONLY one I have.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-12-20 12:40
Make sure when you have a plastic all-weather clarinet, there's plenty of lateral play in the keywork between the pillars relative to the length of the keys, so long rods (LH F/C and RH E/B keys) will have around 1mm of free play between the end of the rod and the pillar so it won't bind up solid when it's cold.
Even more so with plastic alto and bass clarinets due to the long lengths of some key rods, almost to the point where the keywork looks like it'll fall off. It's best if they're fitted with parallel pivot screws as they will keep better regulation as the keys will only move in the one plane, whereas point screws will leave the keywork very loose in all directions which could make things unreliable.
Not a problem with all metal clarinets (plus flutes and saxes) as the body and keywork will expand and contract relatively evenly (obviously the body will warm up/cool down faster than the keywork), but as plastic shrinks/expands more than metal, you do have to build in these allowances to be sure the keywork will still work in the coldest weather.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-12-20 13:25
> Make sure when you have a plastic all-weather clarinet, there's plenty of
> lateral play in the keywork between the pillars relative to the length of the
> keys, so long rods (LH F/C and RH E/B keys) will have around 1mm of free
> play between the end of the rod and the pillar so it won't bind up solid
> when it's cold.
My exact experience. Darth Tone (my Bundy alto) would refuse to pop back released keys last year in -15°C. But flutes and saxes regulated with close tolerances had the same problem - keys bound up solid.
A hooray for beaten-up old student instruments with tons of rattly keys and leaky valves! ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-12-20 19:32
Before the Greenlines (which don't seem to expand and contract to the same extent as plastic) I would really file down the keys between posts (make 'em rattley on purpose). This would just kill repairmen who swedge keys for a living but it was the only way to make plastic play in frigid temperatures.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: gsurosey
Date: 2010-12-21 03:56
I played at hockey games at SUNY Oswego (I'm a founding member of their pep band; woohoo). I refused to bring my R13 into the ice rink; I played piccolo instead.
Rachel
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-12-21 12:45
Once you've got the problem of binding keywork under control, you still have the problem with condensation blocking up toneholes.
Although it wasn't freezing but still cold enough to warrant wearing my outdoor jacket during the rehearsal, playing basset horn in a very cold church the other week presented all manner of problems with condensation blocking up toneholes and running out of others. I had some control over it by keeping both hands held round the upper part of the top joint during rests just to keep it as warm as I could, which helped keep toneholes clear, but still the condensation poured from toneholes on the back of the instrument.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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