A good musician needs a good sounding instrument. For an instrument to sound good, it ought to be well taken care of. Now, taking care of his instrument is the job of the musician.
Clarinet, a woodwind instrument, comes with a hard case that shields it from moisture and bumps. It is necessary to keep it inside the case whenever it needs to be transported to prevent the clarinet from being scratched and damaged, especially when it is not being used. Aside from keeping it safe inside the case, there are other ways to take care of it.
Below are easy steps to make sure you are giving your clarinet the proper care it deserves.
- Handle the instrument with care. Do not grasp the instrument by its keys, since these are soft enough to get bent or misaligned. To get a hold of the instrument, insert your finger into one of the holes on either side of the clarinet and pull gently.
- Be careful in tightening and removing the reed. The reed is attached to the mouthpiece of the clarinet with the help of a small device and is tightened with screws. Make sure you do not tighten the screws too much, otherwise, either the screws will break or the reed will crack. The reed’s vibration combined with the wind limitations of keys and holes emit the sounds you hear from the clarinet. After using the instrument, detach the reed and allow the reed to dry in the reed case. Do not let it dry while it is attached to the mouthpiece, or else, it will get sticky and even get stuck.
- Gently assemble and disassemble your clarinet. Avoid twisting the parts with brute force so as not to damage the cork. Apply cork grease so the parts fit in perfectly as you use gentle, twisting motion.
- Wipe the outside keys and holes with dry cloth. It is important to keep the holes and keys free of body oils and dirt to keep the instrument in good, playing condition. Moreover, wash the mouthpiece once a week with hot, soapy water.
- Keep the insides of the clarinet clean and free of moisture. Cleaning the outside of the clarinet is not enough. Using it distributes saliva inside the clarinet, which, if left unclean for long, can damage the instrument’s performance. To clean the insides of the instrument, use the cleaning swab that comes with it. If there is none, buy a clarinet cleaning kit which costs only a few bucks. To clean, insert the swab into the bell and through the mouthpiece. Repeat this as often as you feel it’s needed.
- Check every once a month the screws that are securing the keys and the thumb-hold to the instrument. These should be tight. If not, do not adjust it yourself because you just might damage the clarinet. You can bring it to your dealer because they have the proper tools and the skills or the person to repair instruments.
Before you make any repairs, tightening or loosening of screws in your clarinet, ask the experts first. Let them show you how to do it properly so next time, you can make the adjustments yourself.
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