 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BbMajorBoy
Date: 2014-06-30 22:43
So today I was shadowing a clarinet teacher at a prestigious London university.
There was a voicing error on the students part and the teacher wanted to check her clarinet (a Peter Eaton) was ok. She took the clarinet and, without changing mouthpiece to her own, starting playing it.
So to clarify, a teacher playing on a students mouthpiece and reed immediately after the student.
Is it just me or is that a bit weird?
The weirdest thing was, the student was fine with it!
Leonard Bernstein: "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-06-30 22:58
Perfectly normal, but a good deal of the time there was a mouthpiece change. My teacher's expected me to say something if I was sick, but sometimes you can't tell a student what's wrong unless you get the full picture.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-06-30 23:16
My teachers (1960s-70s) played on my setup all the time. I play on my older students' mouthpieces and reeds when I need to find out what kind of response they're dealing with. So many times their reeds are so unresponsive (way too soft or too hard) that I marvel that they can get anything at all to come out.
I think there was an ulterior motive for my teachers, especially as I became more advanced - to prove to me that the problems I was having were mine and not the equipment's. If my teacher could do something I couldn't do on *my* setup, it was more of an incentive to figure out what I had to do to solve the problem on my end.
Karl
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Author: pewd
Date: 2014-07-01 02:21
Yeah, what Karl said, that pretty well sums it up.
I'll play on an older students setup for those reasons. But only with students who have been with me a number of years (we trust each other), and ones I know are rarely sick.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-07-01 06:24
I have to say that I am NOT a germaphobe. I have been know to eat food off the floor......and enjoy it. But I do appreciate that there is a percentage of students out there that may have the same reaction as you, so I have NEVER taken someones set-up to play it.
Also, it is very obvious that we all have different ways of playing and whether I can get a decent sound out of someone else's mouthpiece/reed means little. The goal is to the THE STUDENT to get the desired sound from their set-up. Grabbing and playing is about as productive (to my mind's eye) as grabbing a pencil from a math student and just doing the problem for her/him.
............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bruno
Date: 2014-07-01 23:09
When I was a kid there was a (cute) girl in my neighborhood, Jean. Whenever someone had an ice cream cone she would always ask for a lick, and she would leave a big point on it. I can't tell you how many ice cream cones I just handed over to her to keep. It wasn't and isn't about germs, bacterial or otherwise. It was just icky. And it still is. Yuk!
bruno>
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Author: BbMajorBoy
Date: 2014-07-02 01:38
Paul, it's more like the student has a broken pencil and the teacher is trying to help him fix it but trying it out first to know how bad it is.
It was just checking that her setup was ok. This still seems a bit odd, usually one would switch mouthpiece.
Did it work out with the girl Bruno? Sounds like a childish love affair. Let's hope she doesn't get a taste for clarinets!
Leonard Bernstein: "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-07-02 03:16
"BbMajorBoy,"
I'm confused. You make a clear case for testing the set-up (to me, that means reed/mouthpiece) but you then say "one would switch mouthpiece."
I've played student's clarinets before. You have to make an assessment if there is a mechanical stumbling block. But I still think getting the whole "mouthpiece/reed thing" is better left to the operator........with the aid of the instructor providing guidance for exactly what the sound SHOULD be.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: BbMajorBoy
Date: 2014-07-02 03:21
Sorry, I'm tired.
I meant testing setup like mechanical order and pads all sealing and other things like that. To me, not much can be wrong with the mouthpiece. If you've a bad reed, change it. When my teacher has checked my setup, she has handed me my mouthpiece and put hers on then plays it.
Leonard Bernstein: "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2014-07-02 03:38
As an oboist, clarinetist, saxophonist and bassoonist...my teachers have all played my setup. My oboe and bassoon teachers are interested in seeing how my reeds respond and react. They usually give the reed a quick peroxide or listerine bath. My single reed teachers make sure that the reeds are working with the mouthpiece and to see what kind of response I'm getting. I'd do it with older students, or at least my more mature students, but not most of my beginners.
I was always asked (and always ask my students) about any current or recent illnesses. I also do the peroxide soak as well, especially with my double reed students. I can usually tell what needs to be done to a reed within a few seconds of playing it also.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: johng ★2017
Date: 2014-07-02 08:48
I caught a childhood disease I had not had before doing that when I was teaching public school bands. Very, very sick. Never again.
John Gibson, Founder of JB Linear Music, www.music4woodwinds.com
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Author: Funfly
Date: 2014-07-02 17:50
I use generally use mouthwash before I play.
But…
I took an alto sax (wood) reed off the other and left it in my 'damp' box. When I looked at it a week later there were two distinct black fungus growths on it.
It's not just colds but things like cold sores will stay with you forever.
I wouldn't use anyone else's reed and a mouthpiece only if it had been cleaned.
It also gives a good lesson to a younger player that this is a bad practice.
Martyn Thatcher Mature Student Cheshire U.K.
Clarinet - Yamaha SE Custom
Alto Sax - Yamaha YAS 480
Guitar - Yamaha FG 375-S
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Author: William
Date: 2014-07-02 19:08
Reeds and mouthpieces aside, flutes were my nemesis as a teacher. Often, to determine what is wrong with a students flute, there is no switching mouthpiece or head joint--you simply have to take it out of their hands and give it a toot. And in doing so, I can't tell you how many colds I caught, even when the student did not appear to have one. As for the other instruments, I always used my own mouthpieces--clarinet, sax brass.
However, sometimes I have found it necessary to play on a students oboe or bassoon reed to determine a problem and make adjustments. Sometimes, like kissing your sister, I guess it is just the right thing to do even if sort of "yucky".
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Author: personwithaclarinet
Date: 2014-07-05 19:33
I know some people who consider that weird, but a lot of wind players I know just ask, "You aren't sick, are you?" and go right ahead. Often it's necessary for a teacher to figure out what's up with a student's instrument/reed/mouthpiece.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-07-07 04:51
Not much different from sharing a toothbrush, if you ask me.
I'm not a clarinet teacher, nor am I ever likely to be. But I could imagine one of my grandkids ending up on clarinet or sax, and me being asked to try out a setup. And then I'd be fairly grossed out even if they weren't. But as others have pointed out, there's not much other way to know what they're dealing with.
I might insist on a "duplicate" reed of my own (even though we all know no 2 reeds even same brand, model, and strength are ever the same), and then Sterisol the mouthpiece before and after I played. And that should tell me enough to give advice with no grossout. That whole process would be perhaps impractical for a timed lesson. If I had to use their reed I'd soak it in peroxide before and after, even slower process, and peroxide doesn't kill everything, so some grossness would remain.
So yes I think it can be dealt with reasonably. Even so you might share more than you planned, one way or the other.
Just a couple weeks ago I tried out a bunch of mouthpieces at Sam Ash, and trusted they were (as I was told) properly sanitized before and after. Some risk is unavoidable.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: wanabe
Date: 2014-07-08 00:35
I've only known a teacher take a clarinet from a student (me) and play it without changing mouthpieces once. Immediately afterwards the teacher noticed me looking furtively at the mouthpiece and made a half-axed apology to which I replied, "Not to worry, my AIDS is in remission". He never did that again.
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Author: William
Date: 2014-07-08 21:59
A bit off subject and totally non-medically educated statement, but I've always heard that Aid's is practically impossible to contract via saliva. If anyone has any definitive info to share, it might be of interest regarding the sharing of reeds and mouthpieces.......
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-07-09 17:45
We all DO realize that our mouth's are ALWAYS teaming with bacteria (good and bad)? Our bodies are equipped to handle this because it IS the primary entry way for things to enter the body.
Like I said earlier, I wouldn't sweat it.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-07-09 20:49
Our bodies are not always able to fight off infections, Paul. The recent incident of the young man dying after having 4 wisdom teeth extracted is one vivid example.
We take chances every day, that's Life.
Bob Draznik
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2014-07-11 22:13
It has been a few years, but I remember a post on here on this subject. A young student was having difficulty. The instructor took the instrument and was unable to make any sort of reasonable sound with it. He/she took the reed off and found the back of the reed covered with a thick layer of green mold. The student never took the reed off when the instrument was put away.
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-07-11 22:53
Sharing a mouthpiece and having ANY surgery are two completely different levels of risk. Everything has risk, but it really isn't easy to catch many STD's from a mouthpiece/saliva. Really, so long as the teacher is asking and the student is okay it really should be fine. It is your responsibility to say no to your teacher if you think you ought to.
Post Edited (2014-07-11 23:01)
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