 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-07-09 03:56
Sorry if I've missed previous coverage of this.
I know Lomax http://www.lomaxclassic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=221 makes cases to monitor instrument temperature and humidty when disassembled and in storage.
But is there anything out there to do this while a clarinet sits assembled on a peg in a pit, to help keep it intonation play ready while the musician plays, say, other woodwinds required in the score?
The theory here would be that when it's time for the musician to play the instrument being warmed, it plays closer in pitch to how it would after, say, 15 minutes of play?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-07-09 05:22
Keep the mouthpiece and barrel warm or the entire top section warm by removing it from the rest of the clarinet and wrapping your hands around the joints (and especially the top end of the upper joint).
But with pit playing, it's easier said than done. If there's a lot of long dialogue going on between numbers, that's the only time to get your instruments prepped and keep them warm (and the reed wet unless you use synthetic reeds) in time for the next number.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-07-09 07:24
Woodworkers sometimes use a steam wallpaper remover and a long sealed box with a door and hole in it to accept wood and said steam respectfully, to help make the wood bendable. If that's at intensity "10" of heat and steam I wonder if I could devise something at intensity level "2" to keep woodwinds intonation ready using a similar concept.
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2016-07-09 19:15
More clarinet 'cozy's' here:
http://www.instrumentcareaccessories.com/
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2016-07-09 22:59
Neither one looks like it would be especially good when you have to make quick instrument changes.
Karl
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2016-07-10 03:44
Out of curiosity, why not just use a short enough barrel that will be up to pitch when cold and then as it warms up, lower pitch with embouchure until you have a bar of rest to pull barrel out a bit? Then when you know you have other horns to play and the clarinet will be down for a bit, push that barrel in a bit and repeat.
Not a good idea? I mean, all these other ideas of electronics, holding upper joints in your hands, etc, are fine and dandy until you really consider the frequency of instrument switching, the possibility of being on that reed book that is NOT primarily clarinet (clarinet might be a secondary, or even less), and the VERY cramped quarters of a pit.
Maybe I'm off, but seems to me a whole lot of ideas which are fine for a clarinet only job with space, but I don't see them being practical in a pit situation with a book labeled "REED 2" or something of the like.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-07-10 04:04
Saxes and other instruments aren't nearly as badly affected as clarinets when it comes to them playing flat when they're cold, so with pit band playing my priority is trying to keep my clarinets warm if it's cold.
Only I forgot last night when I had my bass on its stand left on stage for just over two hours before I had to play it (in an arrangement of Nelson Riddle's arrangement of 'I've Got You Under My Skin'.
Sorry, but this is really surreal as right now I'm listening to it on YouTube while watching Sigourney Weaver fighting the alien in 'Aliens' which just happens to be on telly! Had Dennis Potter directed 'Aliens' then he'd have probably done something like that.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2016-07-10 04:06)
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2016-07-11 22:59
Perhaps instead, I need to invent the self adjusting electronic clarinet barrel that accepts a desired pitch, and self adjusts the barrel length to best try to achieve this pitch in "slide whistle" like fashion.
Bluetooth enabled of course. ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif)
..or once again have I already been "beaten to the punch" on such gear..like Lomax and the play ready instrument accessory mentioned above.
Post Edited (2016-07-11 23:00)
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2016-07-12 00:31
Dave- exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps a button on the side of the clarinet as you play an open G or clarion G (as part of the music) says to adjust the barrel or middle joint, respectively- instantaneously. And if it still doesn't sound right, try again next G you hit.
Actually, automatic compensation via servo motors and computer tech is what I would expect in the instruments of 50-100 years hence. Along with a bunch of other razmatazz. And bboard (or the equivalent of 2066) will be filled with the protests of the purists who eschew such crutches.
For today though, I covet click barrels. Only a matter of time before I spring for one- $90 last time I checked. Precision wins over guesswork every time. But those who love their exotic barrels can never go this route.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
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