 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Justin Willsey ★2017
Date: 2017-10-05 23:50
What's the coldest temperature you're willing to play your wood clarinet(s) in? Last night I rehearsed in a room that got down to 66 Fahrenheit at one point, and it got me wondering (and by wondering, I mean worrying about cracking).
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Author: jdbassplayer
Date: 2017-10-06 00:32
Just for fun I put an old wood clarinet in a freezer at 0F overnight and played on it for half an hour the next day. Aside from being SUPER flat it was fine. The coefficient of thermal expansion of wood is tiny compared to most other materials. Humidity is what I would be worried about.
BTW, 66 is relatively warm here in New England😂
-Jdbassplayer
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2017-10-06 02:06
I wouldn't worry at 66, however you might be a little chilly. Below 60, however, I would be gone. Not so much worried about cracking, but that it would be an inappropriate place to play. Good intonation would be impossible!
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-10-06 06:59
I set my thermostat at 56 or 57 F, and in winter my inside temperature then cycles between there and about 59 or 60. I've practiced daily in those conditions during seasons stretching back 11 years now. No problems. I warm my R13s up from the outside-in, holding the joints against my body with my arms. That was suggested to me many years ago as safer than just blowing warm air into the cold interior.
I remember as a schoolboy around 1970 playing my old Buffet R13 at outdoor Christmas celebrations in mid December, in Vermont. It was cold enough to numb my fingers. Never got a crack, but I wouldn't do that in my current incarnation; I have a plastic clarinet that's fine for that kind of job.
An old boxwood clarinet with 5-keys that must have come down to my grandfather had been out in an unheated storage shed (again, Vermont) for over 50 years when I found it. Cold snaps below -20F were annual occurrences. No cracks.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2017-10-06 10:30
In the late 1940s, I marched in the St. Paul Winter Carnival Parade with the 47th Infantry National Guard Band, in January, I believe. Since it was so cold, I wore gloves with holes in the finger tips and played a metal clarinet. After it was over, I saw that ice had formed on the interior of the clarinet bore!
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Author: Luuk ★2017
Date: 2017-10-06 14:16
As member of a symphonic band with a long history of both formal concerts and outdoor performances I can share some anecdotes. No reason to think these can be extrapolated to general validity, but they come from thirty years of experience.
We, the Philips Symhonic Band, used to march at least ten times per year during soccer season (September to June). Sometimes, weather was very bad: rain, wind, thunderstorms, freezing cold (or very hot). Temperatures varied from -5C to more than 30C (23F to > 86F). Nowadays, the soccer clubs only seldom make use of us, partly because marching bands are seen as relics, but also because the stadiums have become so big and acoustically loud that it is impossible to reach the audience because of sheer lack of volume, even with a trained wind band with 80 members.
However, sometimes we still are playing outdoors, most recently in August at the Liechtenstein Princely Tattoo where we participated in three open air shows plus two marching events, while the rain was pouring down all the time and temperatures between 15C and 11C (59F to 51F).
We also participate each year in the Liberation Procession in Eindhoven.
My observations:
- most members use an old but good instrument outdoors, to avoid any risks;
- rain may be a bigger problem than temperature: bad for pads which may swell and/or loosen, and tone holes get blocked by water (especially register hole and upper joint normally closed keys);
- after the Liechtenstein Tattoo (where we really, really got wet during three days) of one clarinet the pads had to be replaced, and one tenor sax got its octave key axle stuck and broken;
- low temperatures are mainly a problem for good intonation, and woodwind keys or brass vents getting stuck (which may even happen above freezing temperatures);
- another major problem may be cold fingers;
- we have never experienced any cracking clarinets, except once during a staged concert (whole upper joint cracked open). Maybe the use of 'old' instruments averts problems: the wood has aged, any internal stress has relaxed.
All in all, most problems I have seen associated with playing outdoors seem to be reversible. However, I use a plastic Vito outdoors and a Leblanc Opus on stage.
Regards,
Luuk
Philips Symphonic Band
The Netherlands
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2017-10-06 18:43
It's the playing outdoors in the summer when it's 100 degrees that I worry about. Almost all the clarinetists in our summer band will play a plastic clarinet for outdoor gigs when the temps get that high...or even over 80 degrees for that matter. I had a clarinet crack when I left it in a warm car...WARM, not hot. My house easily gets down to 55 degrees at night in the winter and I've never had problems with the cold...knock on wood!
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2017-10-06 21:10
The traditional wisdom on cracking is that it's the sudden change - especially from cold to warm - that can cause a crack to occur in a piece of wood that already has a weak spot at that point. The old advice has always been to warm a cold instrument up slowly with body heat (under the arm, under a jacket if you're wearing one). I think it's probably true that some instruments - because of the wood they were made from - are more likely to crack than others. Many of us have played in all kinds of conditions without a problem. You don't know which instrument is likely to crack until it happens, so large, quick temperature changes will always have to be regarded as a risk.
On the other hand, cracks can be repaired, these days well enough that you can't even see them much less notice a difference in the way the instrument plays.
I agree with the others who have said 66 degrees doesn't seem in itself dangerous. Playing in a very chilly environment (colder than 66 - e.g. football weather or November outdoor concerts) can affect the mobility of your fingers (especially if you're older) and your general feeling of comfort. It can also cause a lot more water collecting in your tone holes. Playing in very warm conditions can make your hands slippery with sweat and, again, make you uncomfortable enough to affect your concentration and composure.
Whether or not it's too hot or cold to play may become a group decision. String players are more likely to have trouble with their bows that can cause more predictable problems - saggy bow hairs in heat, hairs that pull tight enough to break the bow tip in cold.
Karl
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