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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-09-14 00:34
I have taken to smearing a thin film of oil on the face/table of my mouthpiece. This keeps particles of whatever (skin off one's lips, saliva, condensation, this morning's breakfast...) from adhering to the surface. I , personally, use tea trea essential oil because it's very light and also disinfects: not a bad thing given the times we are living through. How much oil should be used? Not even a third of a drop. Just a thin film that makes the table shine a bit. Try this and tell me what uou think please.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2020-09-14 00:58)
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-09-14 01:21
I'm no expert. What kind of oil? Why? I've always heard it's best not to have anything but your breath that could go into a clarinet, especially a wooden one.
For over 5 decades I've thoroughly rinsed my reed and mouthpiece (inside & out) with cold tap water after each use and have had no problems. Don't know how the pandemic comes into play unless your mouthpiece is in someone else's mouth or very close to someone.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2020-09-14 01:22)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-09-14 02:08
ruben wrote:
> This keeps particles of whatever (skin off
> one's lips, saliva, condensation, this morning's breakfast...)
> from adhering to the surface.
Ruben, I confess I've never thought about this, and on first impression it sounds to me like a solution in search of a problem. Do you really find all that detritus stuck to the facing?
That said, are you smearing the oil over the rails or just the table? Do you wipe it off when you take the clarinet apart and put it away? Have you found that the oil has any effect on the reeds (or do you use synthetic?)?
Karl
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Author: m1964
Date: 2020-09-14 06:09
I would question the effect of oil on the reed, but 1/3 of a drop should not affect the clarinet, wood or plastic, IMO.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-09-14 06:25
I've never heard of this practice.
Can you share were you got the idea for this? I would also be concerned about possible negative effects on cane, but for sure this would be a non-starter for Legere.......slippery enough!
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2020-09-14 06:47
I always lick the whole underside of my reed before putting in on the table of my mouthpiece. The idea is to stop air leaving out of the instead of the mouth piece instead of it going through it .
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2020-09-14 06:48
I always lick the whole underside of my reed before putting in on the table of my mouthpiece. The idea is to stop air leaving out of the instead of the mouth piece instead of it going through it .
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2020-09-14 08:48
To each his/her own. I once knew a guy who glued small strips of cardboard to the vamp of his reeds. He sounded great but nobody else could produce a reasonable sound on his set-up. I was not tempted by cardboard then. Likewise I will I pass on the oil. My loss perhaps, but probably not.
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Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2020-09-14 10:01
Be careful. Tea tree oil is known to be quite allergisizing.
Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-09-14 12:35
Karl: I smear it on the whole surface, but what really counts is the rails. If one has too often take the reed off to wipe the rails -as I do- there must be some barely visible detrituse on them. Granted, this could just be a neurotic tic!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-09-14 12:36
Jarmo: I'll try marijuana oil; it should facilitate the high notes!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-09-14 12:37
Alan: Yes, I've seen this done. My teacher used to do it.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Djudy
Date: 2020-09-14 13:21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_tree_oil " it is poisonous if consumed by mouth" please be careful !!
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-09-14 16:58
I am not sure you are getting a better seal that way or you are creating a hydroplaning effect. It would be a shame to have a perfectly flat table and then cause it to be less than that.
I did have a brief dalliance with the idea of placing moisture under the reed early in my Legere experience. You can see the progression of moisture build up under the reed (they are almost perfectly clear) as you continue to play. There also seemed to be a bit more "solidity" to the sound once the underside (or a lot of it anyway) seemed overtaken by moisture. I reasoned that if I started out that way things would start off better. So I "soaked" the Legeres in my mouth prior to playing for a period of close to a year.
When I finally switched back to just "slapping the reed on," the sound improved noticeably and I never went back. My guess was that I was causing more gaps than I was preventing. But the bottom line was that, at least with plastic, this idea of starting out with a moisture barrier was not a good idea.
Condensation moisture builds up pretty quickly anyway.
As for detritus (of which I am somewhat of an expert, drinking fizzy drinks and eating sandwiches while I play.........not much of a "have-to-brush-before-playing" guy), unless you have some particle that stops the reed from vibrating, or makes the reed considerably "duller," then there should not be an issue. Even with that, you can do a quick "slurp" to get rid of most obstructions on the fly.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-09-14 17:09
That "slurping" drove our Wind Ensemble conductor (himself an excellent clarinetist) nuts at Temple. My stand partner (who shall remain nameless for this post because both he and the conductor are still very much alive) sometimes egged him on by slurping in rehearsals during rests and stops just to get a rise out of him.
Karl
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-09-14 20:38
I brush my teeth before playing-- if using my wood Buffet. I just rinse my mouth if practicing on my "plastic" Selmer. I mentioned on another thread my stand partner who brings a fancy coffee to consume right before the concert. I've heard that's not a good idea.
Just out of curiosity--Still not sure what kind of oil ruben is using.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2020-09-14 21:48)
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Author: RKing
Date: 2020-09-14 20:39
I wonder how long you can expect a regular cane reed to last if you oil up your mouthpiece. Water or saliva is one thing; oil sounds like something much more destructive to the reed.
Ron
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-09-14 23:15
Ron: There's not enough oil on the rails to affect the reed and furthermore, reeds like oil. Cane has oil in it and loses it with it exposure to condensation and saliva.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-09-15 00:24
So I found lemon grass oil used for aroma therapy and bamboo oil used in fragrances (and is richest source of natural silica). Then I found that arundo donax is actually being researched for oil spill applications due to its ability to absorb and hold onto oils.
I would REALLY love to follow through with the idea that using oil on the reed may be in some way beneficial to the reed. My immediate thought would be that the absence of the naturally occurring oils contributes to the brittleness and snap (ability to vibrate at such high frequencies). But it might be worth experimenting to find out one way or the other.
Unfortunately I no longer use cane so it'll be up to someone else out there to experiment with this one.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2020-09-15 03:26
Weren't the old (old as in the 1970's) Olivieri reeds labelled "tempered" soaked in some sort of oil?
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-09-15 04:30
I used Olivieris for a while back then but don't recall hearing they were soaked in oil. But, could be....
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2020-09-15 04:48
I remember they were described as "tempered" but I never knew what that meant.
Karl
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Author: StanD
Date: 2020-09-15 07:19
Maybe off topic but I’m more concerned about excessive saliva under my reed than my latest snack. When using a particular ligature (inverted style, am I allowed to mention the brand?) this occurs. Switching to a different lig there is virtually no leaking. Torqueing down the “leaky” one has no affect.
Any thoughts?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-09-15 13:22
I suppose that you have the same amount of moisture being produced all the time but what is happening with the problematic ligature is that there is more native torque toward the bottom and much less toward the top causing the moisture to pour out the top........perhaps BG Tradition?
Some of us do produce saliva that gets built up around the front of the mouth. Lately (last week or so) I've experienced this a little for some odd reason, unusual for me.
I would say though that you should judge the ligature by how it sounds (responds, resonates, stays put when swabbing horn, etc.) and find a work around for the saliva. It may just be a momentary phase for you (that is being noticed on that particular ligature of course).
................Paul Aviles
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Author: StanD
Date: 2020-09-16 16:30
Paul, you nailed it. The leaky lig is, indeed, a BG but the Revelation model. Negatives: Fussy to align (l put a white dot at the front center), slips when turning or adjusting mpc, saliva under reed which leads me to suspect air leakage as well. Positives: Sound seems a bit brighter than with my Rovner.
Re saliva at front of mouth: Same here. Even after trying to clear mouth. Been experimenting with breath attack to get the sound started. Also, trying a non-drowsy antihistamine but not yet sure of its effectiveness.
Thanks for the input.
Stan
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