 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-05-26 20:49
On the Doublereed list, there's been an interesting discussion on contractual limitations on playing when the temperature is too high or too low. Of course, few double reed players have plastic instruments, and those that are available are expensive (especially bassoons), and the small bores are more sensitive to temperature changes.
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The Philadelphia Musicians' Union (Local 77, American Federation of Musicians) policy:
21. Temperature Restrictions: At no time shall musicians be required to
perform if the temperature--onstage with full lighting--15 minutes before
the scheduled concert time, is 95 degrees or higher, or 65 degrees or lower.
If the temperature cannot be corrected within 45 of the scheduled concert
time, musicians must be paid in full for the service.
There doesn't appear to be a limitation on humidity. 90 degrees at 5% humidity would be at least tolerable, but at 95% humidity . . .
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A member of the Augsburg Symphony says:
The Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra plays every year the last five or six weeks of it's season in an outdoor setting . Since in our evening performances maximum temperatures have never been an issue, but minimum temperatures are, we have a rather complicated regulation only about the latter.
There are three electronic thermometers installed in our pit, one near the concertmaster stand, one on the woodwind side, and a third on the brass section side, each at about a height of 1,20 m. The temperature measurements have to be taken in the presence of at least one member of our orchestra committee and one representative of the theater directory. The temperature in question is always the average of the readings of the three permanently installed thermometers.
* At 5 pm the temperature has to be at a minimum of 17°C. If this minimum
hasn't been reached, the performance at 8.30 pm will be cancelled. This has
happened strangely rarely, even on very cold days.
* A second and last measurement is taken during the interval of the
performance. Here the temperature has to be still at a minimum of 14,5°C [58.1°F] for the performance to go on. After this point there is no more temperature limit. Our record so far has been 8°C [46.4°F] at the end of the performance on a rather fresh July night. You can imagine what it sounds like under such circumstances.
* The tickets will be refunded to the audience if the show is cancelled altogether, or if it is not resumed after the break. Once a single note has
been performed after this point, there are no more refunds. The risk of this
happening because of rain is a lot greater than because of cold, though.
* Substitute players get half the fee if they have to show up but don't play
which happens not too infrequently because of rain. Once the performance has started, they get their full fee. Fees for having kept the appointment in case of a cancelled performance are subject to individual negotiations. The
orchestra members receive their monthly salaries independently of the number of individual services played.
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In the West Point Band, I played honor guards (outdoor ceremonies, with no marching) where the temperature was in the low 20s. As you can imagine, the clarinetists got out very little sound.
I also sang a choral concert at The Cloisters where the temperature was well over 100, with 100% humidity. We stripped down to t-shirts and never performed better. Everything was wonderfully lubricated. Later we went to a Szechuan restaurant air conditioned down to about 50 degrees and had the hottest items on the menu.
What are your experiences/war stories?
Ken Shaw
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-05-26 21:04
After I had graduated from the Crane School of Music (The Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam) all the students and faculty were heavily involved in the music program for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Students performed music during the opening, closing and awards ceremonies and several Crane School staff composed music specifically for the games.
Graduates have come back to tell me many stories about playing outdoors for the national anthems and different ceremonial events during the brutal winter weather at Lake Placid.
The most interesting story was how during the weeks preceeding, the brass players tested which formulas of valve oil and slide oil would work best in sub freezing weather, by playing their instruments in the big walk-in meat coolers at the local supermarkets. Many a curious shopper inquired as to why there was brass music continually coming from the meat department.
One trumpet player told me his final formula was a 50/50 mix of valve oil and Tequila ...GBK
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2005-05-26 21:20
Any "Miracle on Ice" stories, GBK? That's at the top of my "Great Moments I'd Like to See in Person" list. Even better to have a clarinet with me while seeing it!
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-05-27 01:39
So can one demand a refund of fees paid for a Conservatory exam played inside a non-airconditioned room, with full lighting on the stage all day long, temperature at least 95 degrees? I wrote and complained but the complaint was dismissed - the examiner was a flute and brass player, no experience with reed instruments.
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Author: clarinetdaddy
Date: 2005-05-27 12:50
Hello Ken,
Haven't added my .2$ in a long time. But playing in temp's up to 150 degrees was really some kind of an experience. Reeds & Wood clarinets just would not work while standing for 20 minutes while these officers would "Talk". But when we switched to Greenlines and Legere reeds things got a lot better. Maybe the next time I can say that we won't play the ceremony if the temp goes above 95 degrees. (NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!)
Clarinetdaddy
clarinetdaddy
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing".
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-05-27 14:23
clarinetdaddy -
Here are two more West Point Band honor guard war stories.
The first was in the dead of winter, with the temperature at about 4 degrees Fahrenheit and a vicious wind whipping around Trophy Point. We were in thick overcoats, 20 lb. each, that were buttoned open so they provided no insulation, and we had to wear thin white gloves with cut-off fingers. We marched up to the top of the hill and waited half an hour for the big cheese to arrive. By the time he did, all the brass instrument valves and slides had frozen up, and nobody had any sensation below the elbows or knees. Forget about the embouchures. The son of a baboon 3-star general, wrapped up in leather and fur, had a 10 minute conversation with the 2-star general base commander and then walked around inspecting the troops. Then we had to play. My lips were too numb to form an embouchure, and only about half the brass players would touch the mouthpiece for fear of their lips freezing to it.
On the second, it was warmer -- about 25 degrees, but as we went up the hill, the skies opened, and we got 2 inches of rain inside of 5 minutes. The dictator of Paraguay arrived, took one look at the mess and demanded to have his honor guard held indoors. So we marched down the hill, which had turned into a waterfall. As we came down the hill, several people in the band sang about The Grand Old Duke of York:
The grand old Duke of York
He had ten thousand men
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
The band officers didn't appreciate it. Tough bananas, colonel.
When we got to the unheated field house, they held an inspection, and then the dictator delivered a 20 minute address in Spanish, followed by a translation. Then his son and heir gave a 30 minute speech in Spanish, plus a translation. Several cadets fainted, but the band did OK.
After that, I would put on two pairs of white wool gloves, and then white plastic gloves. It wasn't easy to move my fingers, but at least I avoided frostbite.
Nothing to do with the weather, but we also followed horses (and, once, elephants) down a parade route. Talk about an infiltration course. . . .
Ken Shaw
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2005-05-27 15:59
I'm interested to see that the minimum playable temperature is set at 65 deg. That is exactly the figure I arrived at for myself. I can reach an equilibrium within a minute or two which brings me to pitch at that temperature, but I need my 61 mm. barrel, pushed all the way in.
There is a Legere in my case which is used only when the humidity is low, at which times it is absolutely essential.
John Morton
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Author: jim S.
Date: 2005-05-27 16:50
My old bandmaster told of brass players in his WWII band who ripped the skin off their lips on command. Apparently they followed orders in those days OR ELSE, (or maybe desperately wanted to go to the sick bay).
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2005-05-27 19:40
I have a trumpet playing friend who was stationed in the northern mid-west. In the winter, he would spit in his valves before they started their march down to play colors each morning. By the time they got there, the valves were frozen, so he did not have to worry about putting the mouthpiece to his lips.
He also managed to find enough ways to mess up that he was usually in the basement shoveling coal ("punishment") on the days the band had extended outdoor exposure in cold weather.
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Author: Iacuras
Date: 2005-05-29 00:24
Here in Denver it can get quite cold during the marching band season. Especcialy when we play at nights. At all of the late season football games it probably gets down to around 25-35F. State finals are incredibly cold though. They take place the last weekend of October at night. I think the record is around 10F. When it gets that cold, steam starts coming out of the bells of the brass.
Steve
"If a pretty poster and a cute saying are all it takes to motivate you, you probably have a very easy job. The kind robots will be doing soon."
"If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly."
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Author: BassClarinetGirl
Date: 2005-05-29 15:09
I don't have a bad performance tale, but a horrible practice story...
In fall, 2003, we were holding one of the "wonderful" 7:15 marching band practices before school. Early October in Minnesota, you can imagine that at that time of the morning it was about 30 degrees out. Well, we (the clarinets) put on our open-fingered gloves and trooped down to the football field. We just get out there, taking our places, and real disaster struck. The sprinkler system came on.
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Author: SueSmith
Date: 2005-05-29 18:12
My worst experience...
A had my first private lesson with a certain BSO member in the Goldberg room of Symphony Hall...working on the Debussy Rhapsodie. It must have been 60 degrees in that room...so cold my hands could not warm up. All of my runs were choppy because half my fingers were stiff as a board...and my teacher kept saying "you have to practice the runs until they are smooth". He could play them brilliantly, but considering men don't feel the cold like women - especially a 220lb man to a 120lb girl...he had no idea I could barely move my fingers because it was cold!
Talk about embarrassing.
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-03-02 00:01
The classical portion of President Obama's first inauguration was played AND pre-recorded given the cold temperatures.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama
As you may recall, the great Anthony McGill played clarinet in a quartet then.
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