 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2008-09-26 01:53
For months now, since I joined a couple wind groups, I've been struggling with intonation issues. The foremost of those has been bad flatness of the throat tones. I've been compensating with a combination of fingerings, shorter barrel, and lip, but all of those involve tradeoffs. Finally, Monday night, I noticed things were noticeably worse, so I finally decided to see if perhaps there was some foreign matter in one of the tone holes. I've never checked closely before.
I started with the register hole, imagining it would be clear due to its surrounding post that extends well into the bore. Taking a round toothpick broken in half, I stuck it through the hole. To my surprise, such a big plug of scuzz was pushed through that the hole must have been almost blocked.
So I settled in and took all the keys off the top joint. Turns out every tone hole in it had at least some crud, and some holes near the top of the instrument were maybe 15% or 20% smaller. Much of the crud was around the bottom of the holes, and it seemed thickest on the north edges - closer to the mouthpiece.
To dislodge the stuff I tried using the aforementioned toothpick, a cotton swab, the plastic tube from inside a pen, the end of a large drinking straw, and a little screwdriver. The screwdriver was necessary because some of the crud was congealed too firmly for the other items to remove it. I was as careful as possible not to scratch the inside of the holes with the metal, but for any further such work I will look for a less aggressive tool.
A lot of scuzz-goo-crap came out of those holes in the course of an hour and a half. Some of the worst affected holes still don't look exactly pristine; they remain discolored and rough looking. I'm considering applying some bore oil to them with a cotton swab - ?
To any other neophyte who decides to try this project themselves, when you put your lips to a tone hole to blow loose crap out, just remember that someone told you those needle springs are really, really sharp.
After reassembling, which will surely go smoother next time, I turned on my tuner and tried things out. The results were amazing - the instrument I'd been struggling so long with is now basically in tune with itself all the way up and down. The tone is, ah, different, perhaps. It seems brighter and more open. Not sure I love that, but I'll work with it; I obviously have to adjust some of my technique. The throat tones are now on pitch without trickery, and sound a lot clearer without employing my resonance fingerings (those fingerings are now revealed to all be quite sharp, like the open G using the two bottom trill keys I'd been resorting to.) Altissimo F in tune! Eb / Bb with the left sliver key - in tune! Etc, etc.. And all with the embouchure stable.
In retrospect, the job was overdue. The clarinet, an R13, was owned and used by a professional for some years, and then sold to me. I've played it, hmm, maybe a total of six years. I don't know if this cleaning has ever been done to it before. Last summer I had a local repair person work on some things, and he said he cleaned the tone holes. However, I can't believe he did so very thoroughly.
On to the lower joint.
Advice, comments?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2008-09-26 01:59
DON'T use anything hard or sharp in the tone holes. Try a cotton swab (Q-tip) dipped in isopropyl alcohol. This usually does the job without the potential for scratching. For the register tube, use a pipe cleaner.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-09-26 05:55
use a silk swab - less lint
qtips work great, pipe cleaner on the register vent as jeff said.
and you can get small brushes for the smaller holes
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-09-26 06:23
There are mainly two types of dirt in tone holes. A type that is at the top or upper sides, some from whatever it is you are blowing into the instrument, but especially in the open holes where some of it is probably coming from the fingers. The second type is what I call tone hole nests. This is a type of dirt that is at the bottom the tone holes, some of it in the undercut area (if your clarinet have that), which you can't really see under you remove the key and use direct light to the tone holes. This type of dirt is usually from your blowing but also swab leftovers. For both types, but especially the latter, sometimes the dirt can be too hard or even impossible to remove even with nylon brushes and soap/water. In that case you have to use something "hard or sharp" inspite of Jeff's recommendation not to do it. Just go gradually and don't use anything harder or sharper than you have to.
Recently someone brought a clarinet with especially bad case of tone hole nests. The tone holes were supposedly cleaned several times and it always came back. That's because no one ever cleaned it seriously, probably didn't want to use "hard or sharp" things to clean it. It needed very thorough cleaning, and for some of the holes there was no choice but to use hard objects. You just need to be very careful which is easy for some people and not so easy for others....
BTW, one thing that I found is good for cleaning dirty tone hole, preferably while washing with soap, is a type of tooth brush. It's very small with a small plastic handle, and it feels very grabby - when you slide your finger on it it feels a bit the same as leeves of some plants where one direction is smooth and one is trying to grab your finger.
Nitai
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-09-26 09:52
Philip, don't take it personally, but I would like to draw your attention to the following:
Do you wipe the sockets dry with the same pullthrough you use to dry the bore with? This is the most likely way of having crud build-up in toneholes as the cork grease from the sockets will collect at the base of toneholes (where they meet the bore) each time you use a pullthrough that has become all greasy like a wax jacket.
So a preventative measure is to wash your pullthrough in a hot wash to clean all the grease off it (put it in a net to stop the string getting tangled up with all the other washing), and each time you put your clarinet away use a seperate piece of kitchen towel or paper towel of some kind to dry the sockets with (and chuck it out when it gets skanky).
So DO NOT use your pullthrough to dry the bore and the sockets with.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-09-26 10:19
I use a liquid with the name "Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment" for such jobs; it also removes light tarnish from the keys. I also use a dental brush that is called a Proxy brush. This is a smallish round brush that is cone shaped. If you clean the tone holes with a hard object you must be careful not to remove "non-gunk" that was previously used to adjust intonation.
Bob Draznik
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Author: RAB
Date: 2008-09-26 12:25
I would suggest that you have your clarinet "serviced" about every 6 months, Much like you would go to the dentist for a professional cleaning. The instrument should be disassembled, all the tone holes cleaned, all the screws and rods cleaned, all the hinge tubes cleaned and any leaks, adjustments or pad re-seating or replacement be done at that time. This will insure that the small problems do not turn into major problems such as frozen keys, etc.. Also the instrument will allways be in top playing shape.
Remember the old car motor oil commercial from several years where the mechanic said you can pay me me now ,(reguler service) or pay me later. (Major work)
RAB
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-09-26 12:50
Try the local fabric store that sells sewing machine equipment for another small brush that works well on tone holes. Ask for the brush used to clean lint out of the sewing machine bobbin case. This brush is only about three inches long including the handle, and has a conical head of bristles all the way around. The bristles seem the same as the ones on a toothbrush, but the shape and the small size make this brush much easier to get into the tone holes.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-09-26 12:54
Having a service done at 6 monthly intervals is a bit too frequent unless you're playing a minimum of eight hours a day, every day.
12-18 month intervals is more usual between services on most instruments.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2008-09-26 14:13
A good brush to use is a clean mascara brush - it has stiff nylon bristles and a cone shaped end. Most are not wire wound but if yours is then file down any sharp end pieces.
L. Omar Henderson
www.doctorsprod.com
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2008-09-26 14:50
I read somewhere that non-oily eye makeup remover is good for dissolving tone hole crud.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-09-26 17:22
just remember that someone told you those needle springs are really, really sharp.
been there done that oh too many times.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-09-26 17:46
It's the blunt ones or ones with snipped ends that do more harm.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Rusty
Date: 2008-09-26 20:43
I`ve bought clarinets on eBay and I`m trying to think of a simple way to check to see if tone holes are "crud" free. I`m reluctant to pull them all apart if they are pristene. What would be the worst hole? How about checking the register hole, as Philip did, and if this is clean leave the others till major clean up time.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-09-26 22:04
Rusty wrote:
> I`ve bought clarinets on eBay and I`m trying to think of a
> simple way to check to see if tone holes are "crud" free.
I wonder when MusicMedic or Ferree's come up with the first woodwind endoscope...
"Bore Probe", anyone? ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-09-27 06:14
Chris' advice about using different swabs for the bore and for ther sockets is good, I recommend the same thing usually. But, the worst case of dirty tone holes I've seen was on a clarinet where the player always used two different swabs. OTOH going against my own advice I use only one swab, and when I recently (after four years) cleaned my clarinet the tone holes were very clean.
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Author: Geirskogul
Date: 2008-09-27 07:06
tictactux wrote:
> I wonder when MusicMedic or Ferree's come up with the first woodwind
> endoscope... "Bore Probe", anyone?
Just the solution:
http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-25643-SeeSnake-Inspection-Camera/dp/B000WTKC3O/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1222499094&sr=8-1
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Author: davetrow
Date: 2008-09-27 17:39
When I visited Backun recently (I had them overhaul my R-13 and I picked out a barrel and bell), Morrie gave me a mascara brush and told me to use eye makeup remover to clean the tone holes.
Dave Trowbridge
Boulder Creek, CA
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Author: Jasen
Date: 2008-09-29 13:44
I buy a lot of old horns off ebay to restore. I use those little dental floss/brush things meant to scrub underneath braces. Stiff bristles, and sufficiently narrow to fit into most holes.
If I feel there is excessive waxy/greasy build-up inside, I dip the brush into mineral spirits. Of course, rinse and dry the piece soon after, and re-oil the bore.
Now, I generally have the horn completely disassembled at this point anyway, with plans of cleaning/oiling all the key mechanisms, and rewaxing the exterior as well, so I'm not worried about getting solvent in the key mechanisms. Use prudence with your babies.
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Author: davetrow
Date: 2008-09-30 02:39
I want to thank Chris P for his post about not using one's swab to dry the sockets. Sort of a d'oh! moment for me.
Dave Trowbridge
Boulder Creek, CA
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Author: BobD
Date: 2008-09-30 11:58
I get my dental "Proxy" brushes free from my dentist. I asked my wife what she uses to remove mascara and she said "soap and water". According to google many women use Johnson's Baby soap. Real mascara products are relatively expensive. My clarinets get a colonoscopy once a year.....once every ten years when they're over 65.
Bob Draznik
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-09-30 13:01
Rusty -
I ALWAYS disassemble ebay horns - regardless of apparent condition. You never know what you'll find.
In addition to dirt, even on instruments advertised as 'overhauled' when disassembled many times have issues. You take the keys off and you'll have key cork fall off, you find loose flat spring screws, loose posts, etc.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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