Clarinet Assembly
♫ November 14th, 2011 8:35 pmHere is a fully assembled clarinet with the different parts named. The only thing not shown, which is a rather essential ingredient, is the reed which in the picture above is out of sight on the other side of the mouthpiece. More on the “bane of a clarinettist’s life” later.
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Figure 1.2 - Closeup of the bridge key mechanism on a Yamaha Custom clarinet. |
The clarinet is fairly easy to assemble only needing extreme care around the bridge key area between the upper and lower joints, where incorrect assembly or disassembly could result in damage to the keywork. A detailed approach to assembly appears further down this page.
Different models of clarinets have slightly different shaped bridge keys so don’t worry that yours doesn’t look exactly as the above picture which is a Yamaha Custom model. Notice the flanged sides of the bridge key which help it to slide over the top of the key on the lower joint.
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Figure 1.3 - A new student clarinet ready for hire. |
If you bought a new clarinet then before you assemble it, the corks will need to be greased. Provided with your new instrument should be a small pot or tube of cork grease. If you have bought a second hand clarinet then you may need to get some of this from your woodwind supply shop. A rental clarinet should have cork grease provided with it, please request it if not. The other accessory shown is the pull through, rather delicately presented as a bow tie. Don’t worry, you won’t need to return it to this state after using it each time!
Also provided with this particular instrument is a sling (in the left hand tray) for help with supporting the instrument. I personally have never used a sling for playing the clarinet and consider it unnecessary for performance. It would only be necessary in a case where there was damage to the person’s right hand or arm (the left hand does not contribute to support of the instrument) and it transfered the load of that right side to the neck. The clarinet is not nearly as heavy as the alto saxophone.
Cork Grease
A little goes a long way with this stuff. My favorite method is pushing my index finger forward to get some on the nail (scraping backwards will get it all under your fingernail, yuk!) If you have a tube - like the blue one shown in the picture above - then this is easier as the tube can be twisted to make the grease exposed at the top.
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Figure 1.4 - Cork grease application to the upper joint. |
Transfer this to the corks on each joint and smooth it round with your thumb and index finger to ensure even coverage. This will make putting the clarinet together a much easier task. A new clarinet will need this treatment before you play for at least a week to make sure enough soaks into the corks. Once again, don’t go overboard with the grease. If you get it on the wood or keywork of the clarinet, use a cloth to wipe it off, we don’t want a greasy clarinet.
Bottoms up
The most sensible way to put a clarinet together is from the bottom up as the bell provides a firm base for us to use in leveraging the other joints on, so that’s where we need to start. Take the bell in one hand and the lower joint in the other. If you are right handed then the bell will be most comfortable in the left hand and the lower joint in the right hand.
Even this initial stage needs further discussion in refining the technique required not to damage the instrument in wrenching the keywork while assembling. Use Figure 1.5 as a guide and use your tummy as a comfortable resting spot for pulling the lower joint onto the bell. Notice the position of the hand holding the lower part of the lower joint; there is very little contact with the keys at all. Be carefull not to push down with your palm against the long rods of the lower joint.
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Figure 1.5 - Assembling the lower joint and bell. |
Once you have started the assembling process with one hand holding the bell in place against your tummy, switch to both hands holding the lower joint and pull the joint towards you and onto the bell. Since you have greased the cork of the lower joint then this won’t need much effort and avoids any unnecessary twisting and potential key mangling.
Next, assuming you have the lower joint in your left hand, keep holding the lower joint in the same aspect as you see in Figure 1.5. This allows you to keep a good visual check on the bridge key mechanism (closeup in Figure 1.2). Take the upper joint in your right hand and hold it as shown in Figure 1.6. Your lower palm needs to depress the rings of the upper joint so that the bridge key is elevated. The upper joint bridge key needs to go over the top of its lower joint partner.
Yes, I know I just told you to hold as few keys as possible but we need to press the ring keys down on the upper joint and a firm grip is advisable here so the keys don’t move under your hand. Holding it in this manner is not putting any stress on the keys from an unusual angle.
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Figure 1.6 - Holding the Upper Joint and elevating the bridge key. |
Bring the upper and lower joints together carefully and pull the upper joint towards you as shown in Figure 1.7.
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Figure 1.7 - Lining up the upper and lower joints for assembly |
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Figure 1.8 - Transfer to a two handed grip of the upper joint and pull towards you to complete the safe assembly of the upper joint. Unless the corks are very compressed and move freely, this is the prefered method as it involves no twisting to the left or right and gives you plenty of control and leverage. |
It is important that the bridge keys are aligned as it affects the lowering of the upper joint pad attached to the ring of the second finger hole. The whole reason for having this bridge key mechanism is basically for one note only, and an alternative fingering at that. More on note fingerings later. If you need to turn the upper joint to the left ot right slightly, change your grip to the one shown in Figure 1.9.
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Figure 1.9 - Change the grip to the extremities of the upper and lower joints to finish fine adjustment of the bridge key mechanism. |
Nearly there…
Now it’s starting to look like a clarinet. Swap the main grip from the right hand to the left. Take the barrel with the right hand and pull it on towards you like you did with the other joints - Figure 1.10. Try and restrain yourself from twisting and turning.
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Figure 1.10 - The barrel joint has a fat end and a thin end and will only fit on the upper joint one way. |
Now you can change your left hand grip to the top of the barrel for support. Take the mouthpiece (without ligature or reed) and line up the table (or flat) part of the mouthpiece with the register key on the upper joint (the paddle shaped key under the upper joint near my left hand thumb in Figure 1.10).
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Figure 1.11 - The mouthpiece table lines up with the paddle shaped register key underneath the upper joint. |
Once the moutpiece is lined up, take the ligature (these come in different shapes and sizes and can be made from different materials) and slip it over the mouthpiece with the screws to the front as shown in Figure 1.12.
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Figure 1.12 - The standard metal ligature that comes with pretty much all beginner and hire clarinets. |
And finally ladies and gentlemen we come to the reed. It is necessary each time you assemble the clarinet to wet the reed before you place it on the mouthpiece and attempt to play. This is accomplished by putting the reed carefully into your mouth tip first and making it damp with your saliva to about halfway down. Of course you could run it under the tap but saliva is preferable as each time you do this it seals the cane in the reed and makes the reed more responsive.
It is possible to place the reed against the table of the mouthpiece and place the ligature over the top but this is asking for trouble as it is very easy to slice the top of the reed. It is safer to put the ligature on first then slip the bottom of the reed underneath it and onto the table of the mouthpiece. This can be a bit fiddly and requires a bit of dexterity with your thumbs to maneuver the reed into the correct allignment, see Figure 1.13. You will need to lift the ligature slightly back up the mouthpiece to give room underneath for the reed to drop down far enough.
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Figure 1.13 - Slipping the reed onto the table of the mouthpiece underneath the ligature. |
To get the reed under the ligature you will need to make sure the screws are loose enough to allow the reed clearance underneath it. Once you have the reed in place, adjust it so the tip of the reed is level with the top of the mouthpiece and as much in the middle as you can get it, see Figure 1.14 for the final placement. Do the screws up on the ligature to hold the reed in place but don’t overtighten as it is easy to strip the thread on the metal ligatures.
Check that the top of the ligature is below the reed’s “cut” line halfway down the reed and that the back of the ligature is below the bevel halfway down the mouthpiece.
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Figure 1.14 - The mouthpiece with ligature and reed in place. |
The clarinet is now correctly assembled and ready for making beautiful music with. The next topic will deal with the correct disassembly of the clarinet and it involves a slightly different technique for getting the pieces apart.