 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2011-09-08 15:23
I'm having, again, a problem that I've had before and looking for ideas on ow to solve it.
I cut my fingertip, and it requires a bandage. The porous bandage causes a leak at the tone hole, and I can't play any notes below it.
What do you do (short of putting the horn a way for a few days while the wound heals)?
I found a roll of tape that has a satiny finish in my medicine chest. I think it is intended for lending support to sports injuries like sprains. It doesn't stretch, so makes a lumpy wrap around a fingertip, but it is tightly woven and doesn't leak much. That's working well enough for me to continue my practice regimen, but still snags on the nearby keywork --causing the occasional need to sigh and re-start.
Bob Phillips
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-09-08 19:40
A finger cut from a surgical glove is exactly how I got through a recent similar problem, but it wasn't the identical situation. I had a weather-related dry skin split in my left thumb. Incredibly enough, the crack was in just the right place to cause a small air leak where my thumb needed to cover the hole. I wasn't covering it with a bandage, so I don't know how the added thickness of gauze would have affected things, but a thumb cut out of a thin rubber medical-type glove allowed me to seal the hole without re-positioning my thumb in any way.
Karl
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2011-09-08 19:49
I like using band-aid brand "sport strips". They're a soft, rubbery foam and they cover tone holes very well. Don't get generic because they fall off easy (trust me I know) This works for me almost 100% of the time, unless the cut is awkwardly placed on my finger.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2011-09-08 21:15
If you need to use a bandage then I would recommend just using a regular band-aid and covering it with a single layer of SaranWrap when playing. This should provide a smooth, leak-free surface. I remember some of the players in my high school's pepe band putting SaranWrap over the figers on their gloves when they had to play outside in cold weather. I don't see why the technique wouldn't work here as well.
Post Edited (2011-09-08 21:15)
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2011-09-09 15:23
Thanks, all.
Now I'm feeling silly with those boxes of vinyl and latex gloves out in my "paint cabinet."
Bob Phillips
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2011-09-10 00:33
Try gluing a soft clarinet pad, leather pad, something like that. It's a bitch about your finger. Hope you heal fast without numbness. Best of luck and good health to you. See a hand specialist if you can. Maybe he/she will have a much better idea. I broke my right finger once and I was still able to play. I wasn't in a symphony then, but I was still able to mess around a bit.
Nothing like what you are going thouugh.
Ask a repairman to make a covered thumb joint/key with a clarinet pad in it.
Bob
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Author: Ronish
Date: 2011-09-10 07:52
Sorry I can`t help with specific problem, but when I burnt my finger there was no playing problem because I always use a plateau clarinet. In this case a Vito.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2011-09-10 23:51
Bob B,
Thanks for your good wishes. I'm down to just a small (doesn't leak) scab on my finger tip now; and I'll be ok.
Talking to friends with pro musician jobs, I find that their worst nightmares involve hand damage that would keep them from playing. I'd really hate having that happen to me; and I just severely miss my noodling.
Bob Phillips
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