Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2013-08-06 21:48
I too use the BG swab for my mouthpiece work in my shop. When swabbing my mouthpiece on the performance job, I use the same swab I use for my clarinet. It is made by a friend - Garry E. Moody. He is the double reed faculty at Colorado State University, and he offers his swabs for sale. They are available through distributorship under the name: GEM Swab. It is a silk swab with a long string and a rubber coated weight I prefer the color black for its conforming nature within a concert setting. I note that in Jack Brymer's book he described silk to be an abrasive and he didn't like to use it on his clarinet for fear of reaming his instrument to different proportions. I personally don't have the same conclusion. I have been using the GEM swab for my clarinets as well as mouthpieces for 20 years, and I am happy. Regarding my swabbing technique, for clarinet I pull through from the barrel - downward. I do this because it keeps the instrument oriented in a "playing posture" and therefor it is less likely to promote water from filling toneholes due to unnecessary jostling (necessary to rotate the instrument upside down to allow for easy swab insertion into the clarinet's bell). I started doing this about 6 months ago, and I am convinced it is a far superior way to swab, keep your environment tidy, and to clean your instrument effectively. I will never swab my clarinet from the bell end again. And regarding mouthpiece swabbing technique, I simply remove the reed, ligature, and then the mouthpiece from the clarinet and gently pull the swab from the butt end of the mouthpiece, through the chamber and out the tip end. I am certain not to rub the cord against the sidewalls or ramp of the mouthpiece, but I do invite the silk or microfiber (BG) cloth to pull through slowly and absorb the moisture. By the way, I don't try to make my mouthpiece bone-dry - just essentially free of water. Any slight moisture that remains inside the bore following swabbing, seems to dry out in ten to fifteen minutes while inside my case.
That brings me to my next point - mouthpiece storage. In my earlier post, I mentioned that for mouthpieces that are to be stored for lengthy periods of time to simply wrap them in tissue paper, put them in a box (not translucent like tupperware, but opaque to prevent light from coming through), and tuck the box away in a cool dry place. But I didn't mention how I store the mouthpiece I am using, the one that sits in my clarinet case upon completion of practice. I simply swab the mouthpiece as outlined above, and carefully place my ligature over the mouthpiece (certain not to allow any hard bits like metal from the BG ligature, or in my case - my entire ligature is metal - careful not to touch my ligature on any of the mouthpiece's table, siderails or tip area). As any material like metal which is certainly harder than Behn Proprietary Rod Rubber, from which my mouthpieces are made can easily scratch. And while scratches on the mouthpiece's body don't really make too much difference on playability, a scratch on a mouthpiece table or facing can have detrimental effect over the playing experience - much like playing a reed with a chip or crack! Then I simply place my PLASTIC mouthpiece cap over the ligature and mouthpiece. I NEVER use a metal cap. The reason is obvious when one sticks a finger up inside a metal cap - notice the air-vents are simply punctured into the mouthpiece cap's tip. They leave very sharp internal points which can and WILL destroy a mouthpiece. So, please never use metal caps. And even more importantly, NEVER PLACE YOUR MOUTHPIECE LOOSE INSIDE YOUR CAP. Always secure your mouthpiece with a good quality ligature to prevent any of the cap from touching the "business end" of your mouthpiece.
You may be thinking, why use a cap anyway? It prevents the moisture from drying as fast, and can scrape the mouthpiece and cause damage. Just place the mouthpiece loosely inside the case, free from metal caps and allow the mouthpiece to easily dry. This is fine I think, with one concern. Now your mouthpiece could easily jostle around inside your case, and I fear that if the case takes a tough fall, it may not be secure enough to prevent your mouthpiece from banging up against something inside your case - such as the lower joint trill keys, or your bell. So my solutions is to protect the mouthpiece with a PLASTIC cap, and a properly made and securely fashioned ligature around its circumference. Indeed it takes longer for any residual moisture to air dry, but I prefer the added protection.
And regarding Ken's concerns about how disgusting mouthpieces can get - especially with younger players. Young players tend to over suck their reeds - before and during their entire playing experience. They tend to place their entire mouthpiece inside their mouths and occasionally even touch their lips on the barrel! I have seen it and I am always amazed at how far young players take a simple request. They are EXTREMELY literal with teacher requests. When teacher says: "lick the reed" or "make sure your reed is wet", students frequently do just that - they saturate the reed. And when the young student puts away the equipment improperly cleaned, calcium deposits, goo and gunk will grow. I suggest two things. 1. Think of a kitchen sponge - when it is dry it is warped and hard, when it is saturated it just spills water out when squeezed. Now think of that sponge in an in-between state. It is just wet enough to retain moisture, come to its full and even (non distorted), and softer state, but if you ring it out, barely a drop of moisture will actually ring out of the sponge. That is the exact same state I want my reeds to be in, at all times during playing. In other words, I want my reeds to be semi-wet, semi-dry. Just like that sponge in its mid-state-of-being. Reeds should be just wet enough to be perfectly flat yet not anywhere close to being waterlogged. 2. By teaching young students to be "dryer" in their approach to wetting their reeds, and playing their clarinets, they will more than likely prevent slime, goo, calcium deposits and other disgustingness to encroach on the instrument, mouthpiece, and barrel. And very importantly, they will sound better!
Again, for cleaning the mouthpiece - getting any unpleasant stuff off, I on a monthly basis simply soak my mouthpiece in lemon juice for five minutes, and that stuff just sloughs off.
And finally, regarding "rail tilt", it is a matter of degree. Consider "rail tilt" to be a condition which grows more acute with use. So the more you play, the more pronounced the tilt will become. I have found there to be a sweet spot where this is concerned. Under professional use (perhaps 3 or more hours per day), a mouthpiece tends to "break-in" in about a year from new. Then after that, the tilt grows gradually to a point where it "blows out". That is to say that progressively the mouthpiece loses its sonic luster, and dulls in tone and response.
So in other words, "rail tilt" is a good thing up to a very moderate point. It defines how a mouthpiece "breaks in" and ultimately "blows out". When "rail tilt" becomes excessive or when a mouthpiece table has been poorly fashioned by a "refacer" who doesn't understand the nuances of "table-acoustics", the mouthpiece becomes warped.
Bottom line:
Go ahead and swab your mouthpieces - BG or GEM are what I use for swabs.
Play half wet reeds. Don't play saturated or waterlogged reeds.
Clean your mouthpiece with lemon juice.
Enjoy your "rail tilt" up to a point, then get your mouthpiece properly brought back to spec. Generally after 3-5 years of professional level usage.
Oh, and one more thing - to address the greening, or browning patina that accosts older mouthpieces. I say - live with it. But if you simply can't live with it, try rubbing a VERY small amount of cork grease on your mouthpiece - or the oils in your hand can help bring it to some luster. But in the end, there simply isn't a good reason I can think of to try to alter its natural state, or to bring it back to something it was in a previous life - young, clean, shiny, and plastic looking. I much prefer the patina of time, the wisdom that a few wrinkles, discoloration, and age will bring to the mouthpiece. Makes me feel better to say that anyway.
Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com
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