 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: SzyGuy
Date: 2011-03-18 19:06
I've been playing clarinet my whole high school life and only now has this problem surfaced. I was playing and everything sounded fine. I noticed some moisture coming out of the right of the reed so i cleaned the inside with the rag and string. As soon as i put my reed and lig. back on it makes no sound what-so-ever. It's a piss off when it works fine one second then after cleaning it, it makes no sound. I'm using a Vandoran reed, a leather ligature and a bad Yamaha clarinet from school. What is the problem!? Maybe it's because i've never waxed it... ever.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2011-03-18 19:21
It's possible that when you drew the swab through it cause the register vent to come out a bit, resulting in a leak. This happened to me once -- check out the register vent first.
Then look for a leak somewhere else: Top two trill keys, then throat tones.
Will the Bb4 speak at all?
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: SzyGuy
Date: 2011-03-18 19:24
I'm sorry i don't know what a throat tone is or a register vent. Where is this vent located?
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Author: salsacookies
Date: 2011-03-18 19:31
have you checked your mouthpiece to see if part of your swab broke off and got stuck in there? and not greasing your corks has nothing to do with the actual playing of the horn. it just makes the parts slide together better.
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Author: SzyGuy
Date: 2011-03-18 19:33
Yeah nothing has ever gotten stuck in the mouth piece. And now i just put it together and it works fine... But this has happened a couple times recently. It just discourages me when i want to practice some J. Brahms. -.-
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Author: kilo
Date: 2011-03-18 19:59
The register vent is the small tube extending into the bore which is activated when you press your left thumb on the key to sound the clarion register. Throat tones are the three chromatic notes between open G and clarion B. ("Clarion" refers to the middle register — don't they teach this stuff anymore?)
Post Edited (2011-03-18 20:43)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2011-03-18 21:42
How about a throat Bb (a and register key)
Doesn't that play?
Check your side Eb (first line Eb) key and make sure that the key didn't get bent so that it's opening the other side key next to it.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
Post Edited (2011-03-18 21:43)
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Author: BartHx
Date: 2011-03-19 04:04
I have repaired a similar problem several times for members of our community band. I would think it would be even more common on a school owned instrument. If you don't hold the top joint carefully when you assemble the clarinet, you can easily put sideways pressure on the top two trill keys. If they get pushed on enough times, their hinge tube can become distorted, develop side play, and the pads don't always center on the tone holes. If it happens again, try carefully opening and closing those two pads -- making sure that they seat properly on the tone holes. You could also just have someone lightly press them closed while you try to play. If that is the problem, the hinge tubes need to be swedged (squeezed back to the proper shape and size) to eliminate the side play. A tech can make the repair in a few minutes, but don't ever try to do it yourself unless you have the correct tools for the job. I did one such repair just before we went on stage in Washington, D.C. last summer. I had a spare instrument I could have loaned, but figured, if I could get it done in time, the person would be much more comfortable in a formal concert with their own instrument.
Be equally careful holding the lower joint when assembling your instrument. The side keys for the left hand pinky can be easily bent. Sometimes, a little bend there can cause a major headache that can be difficult to spot.
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Author: HMonk
Date: 2011-03-21 05:51
@BartHx
I'm new to clarinet and your post addresses an issue I have. I have a new clarinet and assembling it, presumably because of the new corks, is really difficult. I worry about torquing the keys/levers and creating the problems you mention.
One obvious solution is to sand the corks but I am not comfortable doing so fearing that I might take off too much or do so unevenly and create leaks. So my question is, is there a safe way/place to hold the joints while assembling them?
Thanks,
Monk
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-03-21 13:58
Yes - probably several. The important thing is not to grip across any of the long, unsupported pivot rods on the bottom joint (I hold the lower section at the bottom with my right hand, the thumb and first finger around but not touching the post that supports the longest rod) and to get used to holding the rings down on the upper section (I use my left hand in nearly a normal playing position) in order to raise the upper bridge key so it doesn't bind or crash into the lower one while sliding them together.
But more important is that assembling the tenons and sockets of each section shouldn't be so difficult on a routine basis that you seriously risk bending keys. It's something you should address. You can certainly get a repair person to sand the corks a little. You can try greasing them well and leaving the clarinet assembled for a day or two, which may compress the corks enough to ease the job of assembly (move the tenons every so often to keep anything from sticking). There's not, I don't think, much chance of your doing any real damage if, in reducing the corks yourself, you do only a little at a time and make a point of going around the cork's entire circumference. You can use a long strip of abrasive a little less wide than the cork (so you don't hit the wood part of the tenon on either edge of it) and pull it back and forth as you rotate the section.
Karl
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Author: HMonk
Date: 2011-03-21 17:36
@KDK
Thanks.
I assembled the instrument as you described and will leave assembled for a bit. I guess I had enough grease on the corks because when assembled, it greatly oozed out of the seams. I was not able to get the last sixteenth of an inch or so of the joints seated by twisting them so after I put the barrel on I placed the bell in my lap and pushed downwards on the barrel and pushed everything together; don't know if there is a potential for harm in doing that.
I'll save the sanding as a last resort.
Thanks again,
Monk
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Author: Ian White
Date: 2011-03-21 21:25
If you've that much grease you definitely need to get the corks sanded. Maybe it is even the wood that has expanded with water & that needs to be reduced a bit - this will only be a few minutes job for a technician to do safely.
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Author: HMonk
Date: 2011-03-22 04:59
@Ian
I figured the sanding was lurking in my near future; I shall do it. After reading a few references on the Net about the task, it seems less complicated than I imagined; I live in a rather remote area so the job is mine to do.
I'll holler if I get in trouble.
Thanks,
Monk
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