Author: RobinDesHautbois
Date: 2011-10-10 11:51
J.
Yes indeed, you are right to recommend those care techniques! ![[rotate]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley25.gif) They do stand up to the test of time and experience. WHY this is so is a completely different matter and my depend on variables we are not even aware of.
(BTW, shoulder-flattened reeds: I too have experienced that. Maybe it makes them easier for the weaker breath? ![[toast]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley15.gif) )
I think 3 stages of warming up the instrument are usually suggested:
1. hands and or under sweater
2. blow without reed
3. long tones before diving in to scales and repertoire
For sure, I can assume that warming up the wood under your sweater would raise temperature for the metalwork: you feel the stinging-cold keys getting warmer, but does the wood get warmer? (much harder to tell) Also, the proximity to the skin can very well increase moisture in the wood, to a small degree, but enough to acclimatize it before breathing. Blowing in the wood is like pounding it with a hammer, in terms of moisture!
Another factor is vibration from the music being played. Sound means vibration which means possible friction of the wood grains. I don't know of studies to this effect and they would be different from standard stress/strain studies. I think it's safe to assume that internal grain lubrication is required to prevent cracks (e.g. bisphenol-A in plastics) and the gradual balancing of moisture is critical to that end. This would also give a hint to why long tones are suggested for the instrument as well as the player's physical endurance: the same note for a long time likely causes less sudden stress on the wood compared to quickly shifting notes... but again, industrial studies should be done to confirm, deny or correct.
Finally, most instruments have wood made of trees that were likely cut down between 5 and 20 years ago; I don't know how long it takes for them to grow. When growing (same with cane) the wood grains take on the health (literally) of the soil and water they consume. Can anyone seriously and honestly deny that for the past 50+ years pollution has been creeping up on Central/South America and Africa where these trees grow? If not pollution, the wood still acquires health from variations in other climatic conditions.
All this means that wood is indeed vulnerable. We talk more about cracks today, but I don't know if they are really more frequent than before, when there was no Internet for complaints to pile-up! For sure, though, the warm-up practices and "play-in periods" recommended by manufacturers are paramount! ![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) So DO KEEP RECOMMENDING AND PERFORMING THOSE INSTRUMENT-CARE PRACTICES!!! ![[happy]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smiley12.gif)
Robin Tropper
M.A.Sc., B.Mus., B.Ed.
http://RobinDesHautbois.blogspot.ca/music
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The Oboe BBoard
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