FrannyToo!
The Clarinet People

 

Clarinet Care
For the Beginning Student
And Anyone Else!

 

How To Clean, Maintain, and Protect
Your Clarinet 

by Clyde Haberman

 

Introduction 

This booklet is a guide primarily for the beginning clarinetist and  will teach you how to best take care of your instrument so that you get the most from your clarinet: the most service and the most performance for the most time.

My Story

When I was in grade school, the local music store came to our school and set up a display of all the band instruments in the school's gym. I was in 4th or 5th grade at the time and I remember walking into the gym and going directly to the clarinet.  No trumpet or flute or drum for me. That's what I wanted to play! It certainly looked mysterious and complicated and pretty.  All those keys!  I actually had no idea on how the clarinet sounded.  There just was something that drew me to it. Many decades later I am very grateful that I chose the "licorice stick," as it was called back then.  That decision has given me a lifetime of challenge, satisfaction and fun. I hope that you have as much fun and pleasure and fulfillment as I have had. 

First tip:  Hang onto your instrument!  When I was in 7th or 8th grade my parents bought me my first wood clarinet.  I loved it and practiced a lot more than I had with my metal, one-piece clarinet.  But soon after I got my new clarinet I left it on the bus one day coming home from school!  I felt miserable.  Luckily for me my father knew an executive in the bus company and they quickly tracked it down for us and I got my clarinet back that night. 

This booklet won't help you learn how to hang on to your instrument - that's up to you!  But it will help you learn how to take care of your clarinet.  If you do take care of your instrument it should last you a long time.

 

1)  Getting Acquainted

Your clarinet has 5 main pieces:                  

From top to bottom:

First there is the mouthpiece and the ligature.  The ligature holds the reed onto the mouthpiece.  Without a reed you will not get any sound.

 

Second is the barrel, a short piece about 2.5 inches long that connects the mouthpiece to the upper joint.

 

Next, of course, is the upper joint, where the left hand is placed. 

Then there is the lower joint, where the right hand goes. Notice that the lower joint has a 'thumb rest' on the back side of the bore.  Your right-hand thumb is used to support the clarinet.

 

And finally the bell, which is flared out.

 

You will notice that there is a specific place in your clarinet case for each piece to fit snugly and be protected.

Your clarinet is either made out of special wood, like grenadilla wood or ebony, a hard plastic like 'resonite', or hard rubber. Much less common are metal clarinets, which are usually one long piece and the mouthpiece.

2)  Assembling Your Clarinet

Here is a safe way to put your clarinet together.  It is easier to assemble if you are sitting down.

1.  Hold the upper joint (the shorter of the two big pieces) firmly in your left hand, resting in your palm, with your fingers over the key holes, depressing the keys so that the little 'arm' on the bottom of the upper joint is raised.

2.  Pick up the lower joint with your right hand, hold it loosely and place the socket of the lower joint around the cork (tenon) of the upper joint and gently twist it on so that the 'arm' on the upper joint is aligned with the extension on the lower joint. The 'arm' of the upper joint rests on top of the extension of the lower joint.  (note: make sure that the cork has a very thin coating of 'cork grease' so that the pieces fit together easily but snugly.)

3.  Holding the joined upper and lower parts in your left hand just underneath the thumb rest, take the bell in your right hand and gently twist it on the lower cork (tenon) until it is snug. Line up the insignia on the bell with the insignia's on the body of the clarinet.  Disregard if there is no insignia on the bell.

4.  Now hold the upper joint of the clarinet so far assembled in your left hand.  Pick up the barrel and use the same gentle twisting motion to assemble the barrel on the top tenon, again lining up the insignia if there is one on your barrel.

5.  Next, holding the clarinet in your lap, take the mouthpiece, without the ligature, cap or reed and assemble it to the top of the barrel. Line up the mouthpiece with the opening and the flat surface ( called the "table") with the octave key on the upper joint.

6.  Place the reed on the flat "table" of the mouthpiece and slip ligature over the reed.  Tighten the ligature so that the reed is held in place securely but not so tight that you are 'pinching' the reed. The tip of the reed should be at the tip of the mouthpiece.

 

3)  The Reed 

The reed is perhaps the most important part of your clarinet.  The clarinet cannot produce sound without the reed.  If you blow on the mouthpiece without a reed you will just get the sound of wind blowing through your clarinet.

As we mentioned above, the reed is fragile and easily chipped or cracked if not handled with care. The reed should be moist when ready to play. The easiest way to do this is to hold the reed in your mouth while assembling your clarinet.

When not playing always keep your reed protected in the plastic sleeve that it came in.  Depending on the brand of reed you use, there are various types of holders for your reed. Always use a holder that will keep your reed flat.

What kind of reed should you use?  What strength?  There is no easy answer to that question until you begin playing and see what works for you. 
The mouthpiece that you use has a lot to do with the strength of your reed.
Your teacher can help you decide on a good mouthpiece for you and what strength reed to use. 

There are many, many brands of reeds available.  Reeds come in sizes from soft to hard or they are numbered from 1 to 5.  Again, your teacher can help you decide. Or ask at your local music store.

If you are careful a reed can last a long time, especially if you rotate your reeds and have several ready to go.

 

4)  During Your Practice Session

As far as the care and maintenance of your clarinet while you are practicing or performing, Common Sense is the rule.

 

A few useful Do's and Don'ts

 

• The clarinet is a delicate instrument and it is important to take care of it very carefully. 
• Dropping your clarinet can be a disaster. So always make sure the various pieces fit together snugly so they don't fall apart. 
• Be very careful not to bang or bump your instrument.
• Never leave your clarinet laying on a chair or laying on the ground.  It can too easily get damaged that way: the wood or plastic body can get scratched; the keys can get bent if banged or bumped. You can get a clarinet stand to hold your instrument while you are not playing.
• If you take a break during a practice session, keep your instrument safe, and don't walk away from it if there are other people around.
•  If you are not playing it, keep it in its case, or if you are about to perform, hang onto it.
• If you are not playing it, always use a mouthpiece cap so you protect the reed.  The reed is very fragile and can easily chip or split if not protected.
•  Especially if you have a wood clarinet, protect it from extreme heat and cold and extreme dryness and moisture. Don't store your instrument near any source of heat or in direct full sunlight.
• The pads can split or be otherwise damaged if not protected. Be careful not to bump or rub on the pad
• It's a good idea not to let your friends play your instrument.  For sanitary and health reasons, and also to make sure another person doesn't leave teeth marks on your mouthpiece, don't let others play your clarinet.

OK, Relax!  With just a little common sense and good practice you will be able to protect your clarinet and it will last you for a long time.

 

5)  After the Practice Session

You guessed it - more Common Sense!

• Disassemble the clarinet. It is easier to do this sitting down
• In reverse order from assembling the clarinet, take it apart carefully.
• Loosen the ligature and take the reed from the mouthpiece and store it in its plastic holder. Slide the reed in its holder tip first.
• Take the ligature off the mouthpiece and then remove the mouthpiece from the barrel with a gentle twisting motion.
• After cleaning the mouthpiece with a cotton swab to remove moisture, place the ligature loosely back on the mouthpiece and put the cap over the mouthpiece.
• As you remove each piece of the instrument, remove the accumulated moisture with a swab.
• With a separate paper towel, clean the sockets on the barrel, bell and lower joint to remove moisture and excess cork grease.
• As you remove each piece, after cleaning place it in its proper place in the case.

Do not keep the clarinet assembled and laying unprotected between your practice sessions.

Always disassemble your clarinet and put it away after swabbing it out.

• Close the case to protect instrument from dust.

 

6)  Ongoing Maintenance

 Accessories (Which can be purchased at your local music store)
    1.To maintain your clarinet properly you should have the following:

• A soft cotton or chamois swab that you can pull through each piece to remove moisture
• A tube of cork grease to prevent the corks from getting dry and brittle and to make it easy to assemble the joints
• A small bottle of bore oil
• A small bottle of key oil

2. Moisture/Dryness
    As we said earlier, protect your clarinet from excessive moisture or too
    dry conditions. Keep your instrument away from heating vents and damp
    or moldy environments.

3. Corks
    Keep your corks very lightly greased with cork grease.  It is not necessary 
    to apply cork grease every time you assemble your clarinet. If you use too
    much grease you will just build up that grease in the sockets and tenons
    where the parts come together.  If it feels hard to assemble, use cork
   grease sparingly.

4. Pads
    Common sense again!  Be careful not to hit the pads or put your
    instrument away improperly. Pads are very fragile and the "skin"
    of the pad can be easily damaged.

5. The Keys
    To keep your clarinet looking nice, get a silver polishing cloth and
     periodically polish the keys lightly.  If any key ever seems to "stick" or
     be hard to depress, put a very small drop of key oil where metal moves
     against metal.

6. The Wood
     If you have a wood clarinet, periodically apply a good quality bore oil
     to the inside bore of each piece (except the mouthpiece) using a
     cylindrical cotton swab.

 

Closing thoughts

If you want to get the very best from your clarinet, you have to give it the best care.  And if you do, your clarinet should last you for a long time, until you are ready to step up to the next level.  When you do, you're going to want to get a clarinet that has been really taken care of, and the new student who gets your clarinet will want the same thing.

I hope you enjoy your clarinet.  Now, go practice!