The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: How Cold Is Too Cold?

Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-10-06 06:59

I set my thermostat at 56 or 57 F, and in winter my inside temperature then cycles between there and about 59 or 60. I've practiced daily in those conditions during seasons stretching back 11 years now. No problems. I warm my R13s up from the outside-in, holding the joints against my body with my arms. That was suggested to me many years ago as safer than just blowing warm air into the cold interior.

I remember as a schoolboy around 1970 playing my old Buffet R13 at outdoor Christmas celebrations in mid December, in Vermont. It was cold enough to numb my fingers. Never got a crack, but I wouldn't do that in my current incarnation; I have a plastic clarinet that's fine for that kind of job.

An old boxwood clarinet with 5-keys that must have come down to my grandfather had been out in an unheated storage shed (again, Vermont) for over 50 years when I found it. Cold snaps below -20F were annual occurrences. No cracks.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics