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Assembly
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1. Ensure all the tenons are greased with clarinet cork grease.
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2. Grip the middle of the bottom joint with your left hand taking care
not to bend the long side levers, and twist the bell
onto the bottom tenon.
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3. Grip the top joint with your left hand so that the side with no keys
is lying in your palm and your fingers are holding the
ring keys down; then grip the bottom joint in your
right hand so that your palm rests on the bottom two
keys holding them shut.
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4. Now carefully twist the bottom joint onto the top joint tenon - if you
are holding the joints correctly then the two metal
extensions from each joint (the "bridge"
keys) should not touch each other during this process;
while still holding the two joints as described align
the joints so that the rings are all in a straight
line.
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5. Insert the mouthpiece into the barrel with a twisting motion and fit
the reed to the mouthpiece using the ligature -make
sure the reed is on evenly so that the arc of the reed
tip matches the mouthpiece tip.
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6. Grip the middle of the top joint with your right hand taking care not
to bend the long trill keys, and twist the barrel
(with mouthpiece and reed attached) onto the top tenon
until the reed is in line with the ring keys.
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Taking
care of
the instrument |
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Grease the tenons before assembling the instrument if necessary.
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After playing remove the mouthpiece from the barrel and remove the reed
from the mouthpiece; place a mouthpiece mop in the
mouthpiece to soak up any moisture; put the ligature
back onto the mouthpiece and then fit the mouthpiece
cap on; put the reed in its holder. (This routine will
prolong the life of the reed and help prevent deposits
forming in the mouthpiece).
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Use a "pull-through" to clean out the barrel, top joint and
bottom joint of the instrument after playing.
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Leave the clarinet to "air" on a stand for 5-10 minutes after
playing if possible to prolong the life of the pads.
If the instrument has to be packed away often without
being left to air then "pad savers" for the
top and bottom joints will help - they will soak up
the moisture left in the instrument.
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Cleaning
the instrument |
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Once a month leave the mouthpiece standing upside-down in mouthwash for
30 seconds and then wash out with soapy water but
avoid wetting the cork too much (this will clear away
any calcium deposits that have built up).
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If dust or fluff does gather on the instrument then gently brush it away
with a shaving brush.
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Occasionally polish the keys to prolong the life of the plating. Use a
silver cleaning cloth (for silver plated keys) or a
brass cleaning cloth (for nickel plating).
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If you feel competent enough then once a month use a precision screw
driver to gently check none of the screws are working
loose.
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Cleaning
pads |
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If the pads become sticky use pad cleaning papers to clean the pads: -dab
on a little meths onto the paper with a cotton bud,
place the paper under the key pad, hold the key
lightly closed and pull the paper through. Now the pad
is clean place a sheet of Yamaha powder paper under
the pad, hold the key lightly closed, and pull the
paper through.
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Clarinet
stands |
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Some players find the hassle of assembling and dis-assembling a clarinet
can prevent them practicing. If the clarinet is placed
on a stand after playing it can be left assembled and
it will drain properly (although it is vulnerable to
being knocked over).
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Child players (with siblings) might be better
taking the bell off the instrument and placing it
under their bed with the holes pointing upwards, the
instrument won’t drain effectively but it might be
played more often and won’t get knocked over. In
performances it is best for the player to keep hold of
their clarinet, this way it won’t cool down (and
play flat).
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Clarinet
cases and case covers |
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Clarinets are easily damaged and a well fitting instrument case is
essential. The keys will be bent if the instrument can
move in the case while being carried. Nothing else
should be kept in the case unless there is a specific
compartment for it (or it can fit in the bell).
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Clarinet case covers are useful if you need to carry a stand or sheet
music.
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Clarinet
mouthpieces, ligatures and mouthpiece caps |
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The mouthpiece is largely responsible for the response, tuning, and tone
of the instrument so it is important to prevent
deposits building up inside it.
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The ligature should be regularly checked, the basic cheap metal ligature
has a limited lifetime because the constant loosening
and re-tightening of the ligature screws gradually
distorts the metal so that it no longer holds the reed
flat to the mouthpiece.
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Mouthpiece caps are used to protect the mouthpiece - for some reason
mouthpieces are regularly dropped! If the cap is
plastic and is cracked, or it is metal and badly
dented, replace it because it will not protect the
mouthpiece if it is dropped.
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Servicing
and repair |
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The instrument
should be serviced on average once a year to ensure it
is operating correctly.
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The pads, corks, and
felts on the instrument (and also the adhesives which
keeps these items in place) deteriorate over time. On
older or poorer quality instruments the mechanism
itself starts to wear and keys can become loose or
jammed.
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Usually such
deterioration is gradual and the player subconsciously
compensates by blowing harder and pressing harder on
the keys. Without servicing the deterioration
continues: the quality of tone diminishes; the
instrument becomes less responsive; the tuning becomes
unreliable. Eventually something major goes wrong and
the instrument becomes unplayable and in need of
considerable repair.
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Players often blame
themselves for the poor sound they produce when really
it is the condition of the instrument that is causing
problems. Test your clarinet with the following
exercises, you should be able to play the notes
without squeezing the keys too hard or blowing too
hard:
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The
mouthpiece |
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The mouthpiece is the critical component of the instrument and is largely
responsible for the tone, tuning, response, and
dynamic range. Usually a clarinet is supplied with a
suitable mouthpiece that matches the instrument but
often this can be improved upon to some extent. There
are many makes of mouthpiece designed to produce
different quality sounds to suit different types of
music and styles of playing - particularly Jazz. For
classical players it is best to stick to the
manufacturers own range of mouthpieces or try a
Vandoran mouthpiece.
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When trying different mouthpieces it is important to make sure the bore
of the mouthpiece matches the bore of your clarinet
barrel. Also bear in mind that you may have to try
different strength reeds if the tip opening or lay of
the mouthpiece is different to your current
mouthpiece. Refer to the page “information about clarinet and
saxophone mouthpieces for advanced players”.
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A good
ligature |
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On a student mouthpiece the ligature is usually made of metal and has two
screws. The ligature should fit onto the mouthpiece
without twisting or bending, and the two screws should
be parallel. With the reed off the m/p the
"bands" (sides) of the ligature should
nearly meet when the screws are tightened. With the
reed on, the space between the bands should be less
than 1.6 mm (1/16").
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If the ligature does not fit properly or if the metal has become
distorted then the reed will not sit on the mouthpiece
correctly and the instrument will not play as easily and
as well as it should. You should consider buying a new
ligature.
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If the mouthpiece manufacturer makes a matching ligature then buy that
one, otherwise I would recommend the following:
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- For plastic mouthpieces - Rovner light or dark - around £15 to £20
- For ebonite mouthpieces - Rovner as above, or BG ligature - around £20 to £30
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