 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2023-07-06 22:31
At the beginning of last night's concert, one of the pads on my clarinet fell to the ground:( It was from a side key controlled by the L pinkie finger. I could play nothing that involved using that key. I placed it back where it belonged, but it immediately made its way back to the ground. WHAT SHOULD I HAVE DONE??? I just played along and pretended to play the notes that wouldn't voice. Luckily, my solo was not affected...whew!
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2023-07-06 23:21
My personal suggestions:
Carry the following items with you:
1. Rubber bands.
2. A cigarette lighter.
3. A piece of string/yarn.
Of course, it all depends on your attire.
I've found these three items to be very useful over the years. They aren't a fix-all, but depending on the situation - they can replace a broken ligature, a loose pad, or a broken spring.
(Perhaps the rubber band might have gotten you through the concert by holding the key closed? Or perhaps the lighter might have warmed the glue and let you quickly reseat the pad?)
Fuzzy
;^)>>>
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2023-07-06 23:47
The lighter sounds like it would have been very handy to have.
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-06 23:49
If you can't leave the stage , then carrying out any provisional repair is probably impossible, but with a few minuets backstage , I wound add to Fuzzy's list , chewing gum, nail varnish and Teflon tape, which will also fix a torn skin pad in an emergency.
Sound like you dealt with this dilemma valiantly.
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: SunnyDaze
Date: 2023-07-07 00:27
If you are in evening dress, do you have pockets? I always wonder how the women on stage manage with no pockets.
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Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2023-07-07 02:37
Reminds me of a clarinet ensemble concert I performed in about 15 years ago. We were playing a transcription of something, and a few chords from the end of the piece my bass clarinet suddenly stopped working - a pad had fallen out of an upper joint key.
I had a few more pieces to play in so it was crucial that it be fixed. Luckily, we were playing in a library. People found a few possible fixes; we settled on Elmer's Glue. I was able to glue the pad back and finish the concert. The pad held for about four months until I was able to have the horn overhauled.
The concert was recorded so the resulting noise was saved for posterity. I still listen to it once in a while.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2023-07-07 06:11
Not directly related to pads, but I ALWAYS carry a good micro screw driver and a crochet hook to move needle springs around. I also highly recommend having a lighter. You can easily reheat whatever existing lacquer or glue there is in the key cup to put a fallen pad back in. Just don't wait for the next event or a later overhaul. Have that repaired stat.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Julian ibiza
Date: 2023-07-07 10:21
Those wind-proof, blowtorch lighters are almost made for gluing pads . They even come in a handy right angle blow torch shape, with tightly focused flame .
Julian Griffiths
Tel. 34 696 798 853
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Author: Micke Isotalo ★2017
Date: 2023-07-07 18:00
As also Chris P suggests, I always have a piece of Blue Tack in my clarinet case.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2023-07-07 23:04
That was Chris C's suggestion - I'd also suggest the same as well as a roll of PTFE tape as that stuff works wonders. And when using Blu-Tack, only use the smallest piece and roll it out as thinly as you possibly can.
While lighters are good in emergencies and gas torches are made for installing pads, in the wrong (inexperienced) hands they can end up making an expensive and unsightly mess if the flame catches the body of the instrument, especially a plastic clarinet where it will very quickly scorch and melt the surface or at worst, distort or destroy a tonehole.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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