Recommended Clarinet 'Care Kit'

The Clarinet Care Kit

I was obliged to make some recommendations when a new beginner pupil has come to me with a clarinet and no additional accessories. The instrument had sticky pads and dirty keys. The following were my recommendations for a ‘care kit’ for years to come...

Thoughts - 

I have never felt the need to bombard a novice player with a bewildering and costly list of ‘extras’ or special equipment as they begin their study. A well made instrument, quality mouthpiece, appropriate reeds and the development of good habits and practice discipline rate much higher in my priorities. However, some items are sensible to purchase and introduced from the outset so that an instrument can be well cared for, serve better and its value maintained.

To address the sticky pads I would recommend cleaning paper. Cleaning paper is paper that has a finely ribbed texture and which has no sticky gum line like one would find with cigarette paper. It is used to absorb excess moisture when smaller tone holes have become blocked through a build up of water or as a first level treatment for the onset of the ‘tacky’ sound of a sticky pad. Cleaning paper can be used when pad surfaces are wet but the sheets are very thin and are likely to disintegrate if used under too great a pressure. Yamaha make a good product.

If the sticky pad problem persists move on to powder paper. The application of powder paper has been around for years as a treatment to reduce the surface adhesion of pads to tone holes on woodwind instrument, i.e. the familiar ‘tacky’ sound on the lifting of a pad that is caused by a build up of saliva or moisture on the surface from playing or even just during transport when keys are held shut for a long period. The powder residue on the paper creates a new barrier between the pad surface and the tone hole rim. Best applied when the pad surface is dry. Once again, Yamaha make a fine product.

For individual ‘problem pads’ I would recommend the BG Pad Dryers. These are a washable, micro fibre fabric product that provides an alternative to cigarette paper or cleaning paper to use for removal of moisture from tone holes. Simply insert between pad surface and tone hole and allow the moisture to be soaked up into the Pad Dryer. They are very absorbent and one Pad Dryer is intended to last for years of regular use.

To avoid moisture build up in the first place an absolute must is a good cleaning swab. Many types are available, good and bad, but my preference runs to the Dryer Swab which I helped design. I believe that this is simply the best clarinet swab on the market for both absorption and easy of use. Designed with an asymmetrical shape that makes pulling through the clarinet far easier and the brushed cotton fabric used is both highly absorbent and durable. The addition of a ‘pull back’ strap is a bonus ‘belt and braces’ extra to lend confidence when using the swab. High quality alternatives from BG and Yamaha are also available, each with different features. All of these are preferred to basic cotton or felt versions on the market.

Every clarinettist should use some type of cork grease to aid in the assembly of their instrument and to preserve the cork itself. Most brands are acceptable but some stand out for being either longer lasting or more effective. Rico and D’Addario greases are good, Elm bark grease from Doctor Slick products is a very ‘clean’ product and Selmer Tuning Slide and Cork Grease is deservedly recommended.

To clean around keywork a traditional shaving brush is the best quick answer to removal of dust and link from between keywork mechanisms on any clarinet (or other woodwind). Simply use the brush to lightly and quickly dislodge particles that otherwise might ‘gum up’ mechanisms or compromise the seating of the pads themselves. Regular use will not only keep an instrument looking better but playing better as well.

I like to see all players using mouthpiece patches to protect their mouthpiece and aid the formation of good habits for teeth placement. For most purposes I would recommend ‘thick’ patches, as they tend to be more durable and provide a greater cushion for the teeth. Thinner patches serve well to reduce mouthpiece wear and are almost unnoticeable to the player. Yamaha, BG and Kolbl are leading brands.

To protect reeds from damaged and warping once they begin to be used some type of reed storage device, other than that supplied by the reed manufacturer, should be used. Whether to hold 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 reeds or more, something that will protect the reed tip, allow for air circulation during storage will help reeds to serve better and last longer. Many brands are available and some of these are small enough to store easily inside a case and some that also feature a humidity control.

Finally a silver polish cloth, used to wipe over keywork after playing to remove fingerprints reduce oxidation tarnish is a good practice. Denis Wick and others offer good, generous cloths for the purpose.

These products represent my suggestions for a best practice maintenance ‘kit’. As a player progresses and becomes more discriminating the enhancements to be found from experimentation with equipment including the upgrade of instruments, experiencing different mouthpiece options, learning about varieties of reeds and the effects of different ligature designs, barrels, bells, etc. are all waiting to be discovered – but after a good foundation in playing has been laid.

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The tips and comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful. 

Thomas Dryer-Beers

A Guide to Current Vandoren Single Reed Products 2016

A Guide to Current Vandoren Single Reed Products 2016

Vandoren make a truly remarkable range of top quality products for the clarinettist and saxophonist. So much so that perhaps a little additional background might be useful when considering which choices might be right for your set-up and style.

For the manufacturer's explanation I recommend a visit to the main Vandoren website where their many products and much additional specification information, artists, news and images may be found.

www.vandoren-en.com

For UK and European ordering of Vandoren reeds I am pleased to be able to recommend visiting:

www.reeds-direct.co.uk for their unrivaled stock and service.

For information and ordering any of the wide range of Vandoren accessories I would like to recommend visiting:

www.vanbleu.com

For my summary and opinions - stay right here!

For each of the reed products the Vandoren website offer their intentions and design details. I find that these are sometimes difficult to decipher and I have developed my own, deliberately short, and hopefully memorable, characteristic tone and performance descriptions. I hope they might help and I encourage all players to try the logical options for them - as I have - and see what these fine reeds can offer.

For clarinet reeds the range now extends to 5 products:

Traditional - Brilliant, with great attack
V12 - Flexible, woody and warm
56 Rue Lepic - Dark, centred and stable
V21 - Response with warmth
and the quality student reed by Vandoren, the Juno - Reliable, easy play

For saxophone reeds the range extends to 8 products:

Traditional - Brilliant, with great attack
Java - Flexible and round
Red Java - Responsive, flexible and bright
V12 - Flexible, woody and warm
V16 - Punchy with edge and projection
ZZ - Flexible, responsive and characterful
V21 - Response with warmth
and the quality student reed Juno, by Vandoren - Reliable, easy play

All the above reed designs are manufactured using the same top quality cane - their different performance is due to the variety of profile used in the cut, the thickness of the tube of the cane used, the thinness of the reed tip, the taper of the blank and the amount of cane left in the heart and spine.

All the above reeds are, of course, available in different strengths, and the effectiveness of the match to the mouthpiece being used and the playing approach of the player are critical factors in the performance and successful use of any reed. An incorrect reed  cut or strength match will compromise the intended performance without any doubt. While it is true to say that a successful match is an individual choice there are some generalizations, based upon likely use and type of mouthpiece match that may help. I am attempting to place these on a spectrum of likely successful use - bearing in mind that narrower tip openings demand stronger strength reeds where as larger tip openings will generally require softer strength reeds - medium tip openings can match most strengths and cuts. The characteristic use (C) - Classical, (J) Jazz is shown at the far left of each line.

Use      Narrow Tip Opening          Medium Tip Opening       Wide Tip Opening 

(C)/(J)       Traditional --------------------------------------------------------------------                     
(C)      V12 --------------------------------------------                                                                 
(C)               V56 ------------------------------------------
(J)                                       Java --------------------------------------------------------- 
(J)                                       Red Java----------------------------------------------------                 
(J)                       V16 ----------------------------------------------------------                             
(J)                                       ZZ -------------------------------------------------------       
(C)            V21 --------------------------------------------------------                             
(C)                                           Juno ----------------------------------------                                     


I hope the short summaries above will prove useful. It certainly helps me to keep all these products clearer in my mind when I am advising pupils or customers.

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The comments above are the result of many years of providing help and advice, my personal interest and study, and the teaching that I have done during my career. I have many colleagues and teachers to thank for sharing their thoughts and suggestions on this and other topics. In addition I am indebted to Woodwind & Reed, Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) where, in the course of helping customers, many of these concepts have been refined and have proven helpful.
Thomas Dryer-Beers

And so it begins! My biographical background and the reason for blogging. Thomas Dryer-Beers

 Hello future readers - wind players all.

My name is Thomas Dryer-Beers. I am a woodwind player, a former working musician, soloist, ensemble performer, lecturer, author, private teacher, peripatetic teacher and ensemble coach. I am a product of the American band system having grown up in the state of Indiana and having begun my musical career playing recorder, violin, trombone in successive years before gravitating to the saxophone which finally 'took' and later adding all the other members of the woodwind family. I earned music degrees in Woodwind Performance at two major music schools in the USA, Indiana University (BMus) and University of North Texas (MMus), but have been living and working in the United Kingdom since the late 1980's. In the UK I carried on my teaching and performing but was introduced to the music industry through work with specialist music shops, most notably as a former Instrument Sales Manager Woodwind & Reed based in Cambridge ( www.wwr.co.uk ) and its associated mail order company Reeds Direct Cambridge ( www.reeds-direct.co.uk ) where I still work part time and serve as a consultant.

I have been a teacher and performer since the mid 1970's and have advised retail customers since 1988 till the present day. I have also been the principal consultant to Reeds Direct Cambridge since its beginnings and am responsible for the creation of the RDC Reed Strength Comparison Chart and author of many reed product descriptions. Customers throughout the UK and worldwide have relied upon this chart to help in assessing and selecting appropriate single reeds for their clarinets and saxophones.

Recently I have taken a more limited advisory role with Woodwind and Reed due to a permanent partial hearing loss that began to affect me several years ago. I do benefit from hearing aids that have been a great help for conversation but the technology is simply not advanced enough to allow me to hear clearly enough to advise customers as I once did. This change has been a bit of a shock to say the least but I am coping with it and looking forward to a different future than I previously imagined.

I have begun this web log, which I hope will be of interest to a wide range of woodwind and brass musicians, so that I might be able to share the experiences, insights and observations gathered in my over 40 years of playing and more than 25 years in the music industry. I have also been recently been asked to serve as a regular contributor corresponding as 'The Single Reed Doctor' for the Journal of the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain (CASS). Writing contributions in this manner is my way of saying thank you to all the players, teachers, pupils both young and old, and the many customers whom I have met, advised, supported and most importantly from whom I have learned a great deal in the process of assisting them and attempting to answer their questions. I have no agenda except sharing what I consider to be useful thoughts, memories and accumulated knowledge though and products of interest. I will not hesitate to acknowledge individuals who have been significant to my development as a musician, cite where further information or products can be found when such citation is appropriate and direct my blog readers to where instruments, accessories or services may be experienced or purchased.

I wish to thank Daniel Bangham - proprietor, Tim Taylor - general manager, and the staff at Woodwind & Reed for encouraging me in this web blog project. I hope that readers will find the topics and information useful and if so please let others know in order to help disseminate the blog content as widely as possible. Please add your comments as they are welcome.

Thomas Dryer-Beers, August 2015