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 Frequent water in tone holes
Author: ChrisArcand 
Date:   2006-11-26 03:08

As of late, I've had a problem with getting too much water in my tone holes too freqently, creating that evil gurgling noise on some notes and thus making me stop and spend 5 minutes a time blowing it all out, swabbing, etc. One that is particularly annoying is when it makes a lot of noise and cuts out the tone when I play a throat F#, because I can't seem to determine EXACTLY where the problem lies...It seems like it's coming from the A/Ab pads, because when I clean those out it seems to help, but that doesn't really make any sense to me.

In any case, this has become more of a noticable annoyance because it happens VERY frequently as I practice a particular piece.

Does anyone have any thoughts/experiences on the subject, perhaps what things may cause it to happen more frequently, etc? (And what is the most likely candidate for a watery F#?!) I couldn't find any existing posts about it.

As I said, more of an annoyance than a worry, so if I'm just overeacting and you find this resonably normal, you could say that too.

Thanks!
Chris Arcand

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: GBK 
Date:   2006-11-26 03:19

ChrisArcand wrote:

> I couldn't find any existing posts about it.



Ah...but there are [wink]

Start here:

http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/Study/WaterInTheHoles.html


Then go here:

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=204235&t=204235

There are numerous other postings...GBK

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: ChrisArcand 
Date:   2006-11-26 03:33

Thanks Glenn, somehow I knew you'd post something like that. Very helpful.

Chris

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Bob Phillips 
Date:   2006-11-26 17:34

I just mentioned (the i'm drowing thread) that my new horn waters up in a different way than my old one did. It is a Buffet R13-RC. When the A/Ab holes are plugging, the resistance on those notes increases dramatically, but they will still speak --giving me a chance to swab before they get really bad.

The trill key Eb and the third finger left hand Ab/G# both just stop playing. The Ab/G# is a much bigger problem on this horn than on the old one because the old horn had an articulated G# with the tone hole running UP through the center tenon.

I just swab a lot. I've had little success with oiling the bore, waxing around the tone holes. I have not tried surfactants in an effort to spread the water/spit.

Bob Phillips

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: sfalexi 
Date:   2006-11-26 18:07

I'm having precisely those problems with a buffet R13 Greenline. What I've started doing (and it's done a fair job at preventing/delaying this) is every other song or so (maybe once every ten minutes), I remove the barrel and mouthpiece. I almost ALWAYS find a HUGE amount of saliva/water between the barrel and top tenon. I bang the bottom of the barrel against my thigh (therefore soaking my pants with saliva) and wipe the top of the tenon.

I do this every ten minutes or so and it's done a fair job of delaying/preventing the gurgles.

Alexi

US Army Japan Band

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: BobD 
Date:   2006-11-27 14:18

Is it possible that the pads are not sealing properly thus drawing water with the air?

Bob Draznik

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Malcolm Martland 
Date:   2006-12-17 16:22

Hi - check out:

http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=197484&t=197278

I use surfactant - Moeck Anticondens - works for me.

Malcolm

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Detru Cofidin 
Date:   2006-12-17 16:40

As water collects and dries it forms small rings of dried whatever-you-want-to-call-it (it IS coming from your mouth and lungs) around the pad holes. These rings like to attract more water, which is why people often have problems with the same holes. It's like a sponge effect. The best thing to do is to take the key off and scrub that baby out with a q-tip or a shaver cleaner. This could help a lot.

Nicholas Arend

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Detru Cofidin 
Date:   2006-12-17 16:43

Another thing to do is make sure you swab quite often when you first start playing especially. My instructor tells me to do it after long-tones(warmup) then ten minutes after that...and then the clarinet is obviously warmed up, so there isn't as much condensation forming in the bore.

Nicholas Arend

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Caco185 
Date:   2006-12-18 03:51

Here is a really quick trick that always works for me...

Turn your barrel, so the water trails down a different part of the bore.. Ya see.. If you put the barrel on the same way everytime (label facing forward or backward) the water will develop a trail. If you turn the barrel so the label is facing a different direction everytime, this won't happen. At least it works with me. It's worth a shot!

Dale Huggard
Clarinet Performance Major, Michigan
Buffet R-13 - Silver plated
Genussa Excellente
Spriggs Floating Rail Ligature
Vandoren V12 #4

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 Re: Frequent water in tone holes
Author: Terry Stibal 
Date:   2006-12-18 15:56

And, Herr Phillips again points out one of the major advantages of the articulated G# key - you now have a properly sized and safely located G# hole that is up and out of the line of flow of the condensate stream running down the bottom of the horn's bore.

I've played "full Boehm" horns for many years, and have never in the last forty years had to clean out a bubbling G# key. No cigarette papers, no blowing/sucking out the hole from the side, nothing. This alone is worth almost as much as the added facility that the articulated G# key gives you.

One of the specialty makers (Rossi?) has relocated the tonehole for the G# to the top of the instrument, but as soon as you take that approach, you have to also start fiddling with the length of the joints (as the "true" location is smack dab in the middle of the normal tenor joint). One piece bodies would correct this problem easily, but I don't see them becoming the norm anytime soon.

leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com

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