 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ElizabethMH
Date: 2025-03-15 20:51
Hello,
May 2023 I finally bought myself a decent clarinet, a new R13. I broke it in as they say you should (I seem to remember the shop assistant did say to play it in gradually). Played it for about 4-5 months. For various health reasons (tendinitis being one), I stopped playing it and went to my student Yamaha, as it is a bit lighter. Also, in general I have been practicing intermittently. My R13 has been sitting in its case for about a year and a half, more or less.
Should I break it in again?
TIA.
Elizabeth
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Author: kdk
Date: 2025-03-16 03:58
I don't think there's probably an answer that's industry-standard, but I don't think you'd need to go through a drawn-out process. Play it lightly for two or three days, making sure that the rings haven't come loose because of dry wood.
It might make some difference where the clarinet has been sitting. If it has been in a closet with a heat duct running up the wall, be doubly careful to check for dryness (loose rings, binding keys), but that really shouldn't be an issue with blackwood after a year and a half.
It might not hurt to put a Boveda humidipac or a Dampit in the case with the clarinet for a couple of days to humidify the wood.
Karl
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2025-03-16 18:53
Grease the joint corks, check the functionally, and enjoy. You should be fine.
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-03-17 12:26
The clarinet is dry. If you start playing for an hour or more a day, there is a (good) chance it will crack. Esp. if you did not have a humidifier pack in the case.
I'd break it in again- start from 15 min/day for 2-3 days, then make it 15min. x2/day for a couple of weeks. then 30 min. straight per day for two weeks.
I used this "method" on many instruments- new and old and so far have not had one crack on me...fingers crossed.
A great player (who is also a very knowledgeable tech) told me, "It's always good to break any instrument slowly".
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Author: ElizabethMH
Date: 2025-03-19 15:57
Thanks very much for your feedback. I haven't been able to check the R13 yet, but I think I will take it slowly and play it in gradually (also so my arms get used to the weight).
Elizabeth
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-03-19 20:10
Is there conflict between the ideas that a) clarinet wood is permeable to water and b) bore oil does not penetrate clarinet wood? I've read plenty of both.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2025-03-19 20:39
What wood are you talking about? I'm not sure you can generalize about all "clarinet wood."
Karl
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-03-21 16:52
Hi Karl. Grenadilla - I assume that's the norm for R13's and the majority of wooden clarinets. Maybe not, and if so, I'd like to know, but that's beside the point I queried (which is beside the point of the thread too, ha.)
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Author: Hy-Dex
Date: 2025-03-23 02:21
I err on the side of caution, and it has long been my understanding to break in new clarinets slowly and the same for clarinets unused for some time. This is to avoid cracking and the intonation going haywire. I always break in my new clarinets slowly, as well as older clarinets unused for quite some time or older clarinets that are new to me: (10 minutes per day for the first month, 20 minutes per day the second month, 30 minutes per day the third month, and one hour per day the fourth month). This method has worked very well for me in that I have not had a clarinet to crack in decades.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2025-03-23 17:13
In 5th grade, many moons ago, I started clarinet using my grandfather's long dormant R13. Break-in was not mentioned; I just took it to school and did what they said, practicing some days up to a half-hour. No cracks.
Later on, I played it at football games and outdoor Christmas concerts, sometimes in cold, even freezing temperatures. No cracks. It also got played in one memorable drenching downpour during a parade, and many of the tone holes got full of water.
In high school, on the advice of my teacher, I sold the R13 and switched to a new Selmer (either a series 9 or 10, don't recall.) No break-in, and I was practicing considerably more. That got used outdoors in cold weather too. No cracks.
Shortly after graduation, I switched to a pair of well used, well maintained R13's. I played those regularly for several years, then took a short little 32-year break from playing.
In January 2007, I dug the R13's out of the closet, wiped the dust off the case, and started practicing again. I didn't think of breaking them in, but after 5 minutes my lip fell off anyway (the reeds I had were Vandoren purple-box 5's,) so there was a period equivalent to a gradual break-in while I grew back into playing.
Anyway, not breaking in clarinets at several points didn't cause me any cracks. But. Knowing more about materials at this point, I advocate a break-in period for new or long-dormant wooden instruments, just to be safe. However, I don't put much evidential faith in individual cases where a break-in process was followed and no cracks occurred.
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