 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2014-12-05 20:37
I wonder if lipstick on the reed affects the clarinet sound? LOL
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-12-06 03:02
Not tried lipstick, yet ... but I am pretty sure I've treated my reeds with Chap-stick.
Tom
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2014-12-06 03:15
Anything that clogs the fibres or in anyway affects the vibration cannot be good for the sound or response.
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Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2014-12-06 03:35
it may possibly affect the fibres by making their vibrations more uniform. If so I'm betting that the effect is so miniscule as to be unnoticeable.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2014-12-06 23:41
I have to agree with Norman. I don't see how it can be any good filling the fibers with anything.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2014-12-07 01:42
A little background as the OP
I was at rehearsal and the clarinet player next to me was having trouble with her clarinet. Others tested it (not with her mouthpiece and reed) and it was ok. Her reed had some lipstick on it and I said that's the problem. She was told to change reeds.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2014-12-08 02:27
Sometimes I am VERY tempted to apply Chapstick although I've refrained, not knowing quite how it would affect the reed. Now I know!
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-12-08 03:12
derf5585 wrote:
> Her reed had some
> lipstick on it and I said that's the problem. She was told to
> change reeds.
>
So did changing reeds solve the problem? You still wouldn't know if lipstick was the issue or something else was wrong with the reed, but if the instrument is OK.....
I would in general side with the folks who think (intuit) that lipstick in the reed's pores can't be a good thing. Someone would need to take several good reeds (if she can spare them), smear a little lipstick on them and try them.
I suspect this becomes an issue between a lot of high school (and maybe junior high) band directors and their girl clarinetists.
Karl
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2014-12-08 14:15
My teacher told me that lipstick actually rots cane so I try not to play with visible lipstick on my lips - however I do sometimes sneak some on for a performance!
Of course formulations of lipstick must have changed somewhat over the years so this may not necessarily still/always be the case.
Vanessa.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-12-08 17:47
Nessie1 wrote:
> My teacher told me that lipstick actually rots cane
The question, of course, is, how does your teacher know this? Has he (she?) actually seen reeds that had been rotted out by lipstick? Or is this just one of those silly things grownups tell children to avoid having to make a genuine defense of their authority?
In this as in so many other areas it's really hard to tell where folklore, legend and personal witchcraft leaves off and real knowledge begins.
Probably none of us here really knows whether lipstick is harmful to reeds. It's surprising to me if it's never been carefully looked at, because it must be of concern for women reed players who wear other forms of makeup routinely but accept lipstick as a genuine danger. (Or maybe they just discover the answer for themselves by trial and error and never share it.)
As I've already said, I suspect there is some truth in the taboo, but it's an intuitive suspicion and, since I never wear lipstick in any case, I've never had a real need to know.
As a band director I generally copped out by ignoring it and suggesting a new reed if the girl in question sounded like one would help, regardless of the cause.
Karl
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2014-12-09 00:02
Next question
Does tongue piercing affect clarinet playing?
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-12-09 00:53
derf5585 wrote:
> Next question
> Does tongue piercing affect clarinet playing?
>
I guess it depends on where the piercing is. I had a student once with a ring through the tip of her tongue. She took it out for lessons and, I imagine, rehearsals and concerts. With it in she had trouble even talking clearly. <<shrug>>
Karl
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2014-12-09 01:07
If Hamilton plating on your keys can make you sound better, then gold lipstick on your reed will make you sound better still!
As for tongue piercing: That's just gross.
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2014-12-09 01:09
Hamilton gold is actually brass that is toned with a small amount of gold.
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: derf5585
Date: 2014-12-09 02:14
http://www.artbeads.com/hamilton-gold-plate.html
fsbsde@yahoo.com
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Author: Dibbs
Date: 2014-12-10 14:49
I don't think that's right. Hamilton is a colour not a purity specification.
In fact here's a place that does 14 carat Hamilton plating.
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Author: Jim22
Date: 2014-12-11 02:49
I'm confused. We want to seal the vamp so moisture mostly can't soak the reed while we play. Isn't lipstick mostly wax, I would think that if we are successful in sealing the vamp, the lipstick wont get in. If not, the lipstick might just help seal it.
I've no idea if it helped or hurt, but I have actually rubbed in a little beeswax based lip balm once I get a Reed adjusted for the purpose of sealing it. I don't recommend it, but I have done it. If it hurt anything, I couldn't tell. It make the water bead up and not soak in.
Jim C.
CT, USA
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-12-11 03:08
Jim22 wrote:
> I'm confused. We want to seal the vamp so moisture mostly
> can't soak the reed while we play.
Well... Some of us may.
Karl
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