 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2016-03-07 22:51
Yet another thread about crows foot adjustments, with the implied idea that a new or newly serviced clarinet should be good to go for months if not years, before having a problem with long pipe clarion B or surrounding notes. And I guess no other mechanical / sealing issues either. Isn't that a fantasy world? And doesn't that mind set mean that almost all students at all levels are regularly playing on leaky misadjusted clarinets? (Should I extend this to all kinds of woodwinds and brasses? Drums?)
Do any band directors show clarinetists (others?) how to deal with these issues on their own? If not, why not? We have such wonderful resources these days- YouTube videos from Tom R are a great start.
How about you individual clarinet teachers? Maybe adjusting the crow's foot shouldn't be lesson 1, but surely by the time you're trying to get a student to play smoothly over the break- that student needs to know how to figure out if their clarinet is adjusted right, and how to patch it if it isn't.
Crow's foot isn't the only issue, just maybe the most common one.
Am I picking a fight here?
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-07 23:12
Stan, I've taken up this fight by supplying beginning lessons students with a good used clarinet that plays perfectly as part of the deal. A Vito V-40 is my favourite for this.
Consider carefully the time and effort NOT wasted by me trying to teach kids with crummy and/or broken gear, and the important fact that kids with good gear stick with the instrument--everyone comes out miles ahead in the long run.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-03-07 23:20
I show simple adjustment/repair issues during lessons when they come up.
I think it is too much to expect band directors to cover such things. It's hard enough to cover basic playing techniques of the percussion, brass and woodwind in addition to keeping everyone playing and interested.
And the state of instrument repair (the profession) is not so great itself. I run into more shops that salivate at doing middle school repair (you know, throw in pads and get it out the door) to a mediocre degree than anything else. There are decent repair folks that decide to do the "money" route and stop caring. It's sad but true. So I can't imagine what would happen if you got disaffected students involved in trying to repair their own horns.
It sounds like my worst nightmare.
........................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2016-03-07 23:43
While we're on the subject...
Band directors could, generally speaking, do a better job making sure clarinets are properly assembled and disassembled, thereby avoiding a slew of problems before they can occur. My lessons students from the local school are generally clueless about proper assembly when they start lessons. It's really troubling to consider that their director is a flutist.
One local student, and not a client of mine, auditioned some mouthpieces of mine after breaking the beak off of hers. I was aghast when she assembled her clarinet by placing the bell on a table, adding a joint, and then pushing it straight down the tenon--banging on the top of the joint with the palm of her hand to force it down. Doesn't her director notice this?
My old band director, a trumpeter by trade, apparently wasn't paying attention in Woodwinds Methods classes. We were taught how to use cork grease and to position reeds properly, and that's about it.
Post Edited (2016-03-07 23:53)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-03-08 03:25
There are some simple fixes that should be taught. The most obvious is looking for screws that are backing out and tightening them when found. An older student can be taught pretty easily to do an emergency pad replacement, at least to the extent of putting a pad back in place that has for some reason fallen out (most of the time they won't have access to new pads).
I would avoid teaching a student to adjust (read bend) the crowsfoot key because that's often (in my experience, usually) not the best way to regulate the affected pad closures, and too much bending can make things worse.
An advanced student, of course, can learn to make almost any emergency hand repair that can be done without specialized tools or power equipment, but you'd have to use some judgment about who is analytical enough to correctly identify the problem that needs fixing.
I agree with Paul that doing this in a formal way is best avoided by school band directors, who don't have the time in their schedules to do it effectively. Although, if the band director is doing a spot emergency repair and the student is able to watch, that's a great informal teaching/learning opportunity.
Repair is not the same as maintenance. Using cork grease appropriately, safe assembly techniques, reed placement, swabbing, etc. should be demonstrated from the first lesson and an ongoing part of the instruction routine.
Karl
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2016-03-08 04:10
I had a high school band director (looooong before personal computers) who required us, each year, to write an essay on some aspect of basic care and repair of our instruments. He actually read and graded them and recorded the subject so that you could not reuse it the following year.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-03-08 11:34
I've long been amazed at the way highly experienced and very competent players frequently have no idea how their instruments work and are unable or unwilling to carry out even the most rudimentary repairs. Many teachers not only fail to teach repairs, they promote the idea that adjusting a clarinet/saxophone/oboe/bassoon or whatever is a black art that should never be even contemplated by mere players.
On the matter of crows feet, Boosey and Hawkes managed to completely eliminate the monstrosity on the 1010. i wonder why this wasn't more widely adopted?
Tony F.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-03-08 15:51
From what I've seen, band directors/instructors and especially DIY dads shouldn't be let loose with a screwdriver or pliers on any instrument if they have absolutely no clue nor aptitude for the task facing them.
Even ones that have done a basic course still have a lot of shortcomings when it comes to understanding and dealing with the simplest of regulation issues.
So they should be set simple aptitude tasks first to establish they have adequate mechanical reasoning, then go from there.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2016-03-08 18:55
How about something like the following protocol- for students of any age and their "handy" Dads...
1) First you have to know whether there's really a problem with the instrument. Here are some easy and somewhat reliable tests... (you fill in the blanks).
2) Even if there's a problem with the horn, it's good if your playing technique can overcome it. Try to learn to play through it if possible, while you think about some kind of repair. Evaluate how much of an emergency it really is, vs how difficult or risky self repair might be, and decide whether it can wait for next regular professional service checkup. You DO plan a regular checkup, don't you? Or in worst case you need a trip to the shop now.
3) Only attempt repairs that you've been shown how to do, that are low risk, that are reversible, and that are easy to know by experimentation whether you made it better or not. If you end up taking the instrument to a pro repairer, he/she should not have more work to do (and you have a higher bill) than if you had never touched it. (Fill in your list of acceptable self repairs. Personally I would exclude anything that bends metal- others might disagree. I think some of TR's videos suggest key bends.)
4) Only after many many successful minor safe repairs, should one even think about more risky things- and only as the situation demands. Maybe buy a junker to practice on. This is beyond the scope of my original suggestion of the stuff every medium to advanced player should be able to handle.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-03-09 05:27
Silversorcerer,
Had you supplied your email address with your profile information, I would have sent you a private message. Thus, I must make my comments public.
As a very successful band director, woodwind instructor, professional woodwind player, and an educator I find your "just give them all a kit..." comment quite offensive. What high level of experience in any of the areas I mention above qualifies you to make such an assertion?
If it was meant to be humorous, it was not.
HRL
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-03-09 08:19
The little smiley face might give you a clue. I don't think anybody has a reason to question your admirable qualifications in several fields, and I'd suggest that you're probably not one of the band directors that this throw-away comment was aimed at, so why all the indignation? Lighten up a bit.
Tony F.
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Author: saxlite
Date: 2016-03-09 09:14
You think you have problems? I repair woodwinds in Silicon Valley- every kid's Dad is an engineer! You should see some of the messes that I get!
Jerry
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-03-09 15:52
Hi Tony F.,
That's a good thought but the use of the word "all" was the tipping point for me.
HRL
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2016-03-10 02:35
Silversorcerer,
Thank you for the explanation. It is appreciated.
HRL
Post Edited (2016-03-10 04:12)
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