May. 26, 2008 - It Was A Winderful Day
It was a winderfully musical day. The band played last Saturday afternoon at an open house on the base. Every year there is a big military exercise in which several countries participate. On one of the Saturdays during this exercise they hold an open house which is similar to an air show without the air display. This year our band was asked to play outdoors for an hour or so during the open house.
The weather was uncertain. We had “dueling forecasters” this week, with the daytime forecaster predicting 19 degrees and partly cloudy for Saturday and the evening forecaster predicting 15 degrees and rain. Since we would be wearing our uniforms without the tunic (ie, we’d be in short sleeves) and I have learned from past experience that it is almost impossible to play with teeth chattering from the cold, I was strongly rooting for the daytime forecaster. I wonder if the two forecasters have bets on which will be right when they disagree like this.
Fortunately the daytime forecaster won this time. It was cloudy in the morning, but the clouds lessened throughout the day and by afternoon when we arrived at the base it was sunny and warm…and windy. Being on the flight line we had the full effect of the wind. This caused more than a little consternation as we set up and discovered that the stands would blow over if we didn’t flatten the tops out. To play we had to keep a foot (or two) on the stand base, and keeping music from blowing out from under the clips we use in outdoor situations was a challenge.
Once the chairs arrived and we were set up we sat down and began to get out our instruments. As I put the pieces of my clarinet together I realized quickly that I had forgotten one major item at home.
I have two clarinets: One is my own which was purchased by my parents as a “rent to own” instrument when I was in grade 6; the other is owned by the band, a clarinet that I signed out when I joined the band. The reason for signing out a wing instrument is mainly for use in outdoor situations where there is a risk of it being rained on or just being used in a less than desirable climate, or in case one should fall while on parade and the instrument be inadvertently smacked on the tarmac, or in parade situations where a tenor sax rounding a counter-march corner could run into your instrument, rendering a permanent dent in the bell. But that could just be a horn problem. I normally use my own clarinet for band practices and to play at concerts and mess dinners. But for parades and outdoor performances, and also for trips such as the one we just took where my luggage is at the mercy of the airlines, I use the wing clarinet. But I always use my own personal mouthpiece.
When I prepared my clarinet this morning I changed a number of things from my case to the wing clarinet case. I made sure that I had the reeds I would want (a selection to choose from, in fact) and the cleaning cloth and my clarinet stand (also on loan from the base). But when I arrived and put my clarinet together I realized that I had forgotten to move my mouthpiece over.
I looked up and said, “I have no mouthpiece.” The bandmaster, who was standing nearby, heard my problem. Fortunately there are spare clarinets in the band room. “Feel like taking a drive?” he asked me. Truthfully I didn’t, but I was grateful that I didn’t have to drive the 15 minutes each way home and miss half the performance. Most of all I was annoyed with my own lack of preparedness which had caused this interruption in my day. As I stood up I realized aloud, “I don’t have my license.”
Unless my trumpet player isn’t going to a gig and therefore I have to drive myself, I don’t take my purse. There are rules about purses and uniforms, and I don’t know all the rules. I think a purse carried while in uniform is supposed to be small and black. My purse is large and brown. Since I’m uncertain of the rules it’s much easier to simply not carry a purse while in uniform. In fact, when I do have to drive I will often carry my license in my pocket and leave my purse at home. On this day, however, I did not bring my license. Since the exercise is going on we have to show ID whenever entering the base. My trumpet player shows military ID and I show my military dependent ID. Since I had to bring that, my driver’s license would have been redundant.
So I had to take my trumpet player with me to retrieve a spare mouthpiece from the band room, causing us both to miss the first 15 minutes of the performance. I quickly found a clarinet and opened the case to take the mouthpiece. My trumpet player suggested that it would be easier to take the whole clarinet, rather than having a mouthpiece to return on its own. I was in a hurry and that made some sense, so I grabbed the case and off we went.
When I returned I put the recently acquired mouthpiece on my clarinet, which was already together and waiting on my clarinet stand. Choosing a plastic reed rather than fighting with the wind to keep a wood reed wet, I began to play.
Me and my trumpet player
It only took a few notes to hear that I was drastically out of tune. I checked my clarinet and saw that in my haste I hadn’t put the barrel in all the way, making the sound terribly flat. I quickly fixed the problem. But I wasn’t very far into the piece when I found that some of the notes were not playing properly. I checked the reed. It was fine. I fixed it anyway. I continued to play. Still some notes would not sound. What could be wrong? I muddled through the piece, playing the notes I could, and when it was finished I mentioned the problem to the clarinet player beside me. She is a band teacher at the local high school and with a degree in music and the clarinet being her primary instrument she is a good resource for me when I don’t know what’s going on with my own instrument.
I played some notes for her – or tried to – and she heard the problem. She said something must have bent when the clarinet had fallen over.
Yes, this was a banner day for me and my poor clarinet. It seems that while I was off fetching a mouthpiece, the wind had blown my clarinet over onto the pavement. The clarinet player beside me looked at the instrument and could see nothing wrong. But it wasn’t playing, so I quickly put the spare one I had just picked up from the band room together and put the malfunctioning one away. It was a good thing my trumpet player had suggested I bring the whole clarinet! I knew trumpet players had to be good for something. ;-)
My trumpet player behind the flutes
The rest of the concert was uneventful. Unless you count as events my trumpet player’s music blowing off the stand during the playing of said music (to be kindly retrieved by the bandmaster also during the playing of said music), a sheet of music from my folder blowing back to be caught by a saxophone player behind me, and other general wind-blown mishaps.
It was a challenge to play in such windy conditions, but it was a fun gig nonetheless. A few people stopped to listen, while most enjoyed the music while looking at the nearby aircraft. A friend kindly took some pictures, which have now been uploaded as promised.
Later, at home, I put the damaged clarinet together to see if I could find anything bent or broken. All of my purely amateur diagnostic tests failed. I think the register key is involved, but beyond that I am just as mystified as I was when I first discovered the problem. Thankfully I can use the other spare and the broken or bent clarinet will be sent for repairs. Hopefully they’ll be able to fix it.
Meanwhile, I have the other wing clarinet together and have been switching mouthpieces and reeds to see how I can make it work best. It doesn’t do well in the higher range. At first I thought it was the mouthpiece that was the problem, but with my mouthpiece it is still not working well. Hopefully I’ll have something figured out before the honour guard later this week…or I will have to take my own clarinet and hope it doesn’t fall on the pavement!
Comments
May. 26, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jacqueline
What a day! Glad you enjoyed it inspite of all the challenges.
May. 30, 2008 - <em>Untitled Comment</em>
Posted by molytail
Oh ya gotta love days like that LOL *grin*
(saw your post on the CHE carnival)
Hey... military.... yearly exercise, people coming from all over....(*province*)... are you in (*town*)? I lived there six years as a kid. :-) (not trying to be nosy LOL ..just noticed the details and wondered)
Edited by teabaglady on May. 30, 2008 at 9:16 AM
May. 30, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by teabaglady
Molytail,
You found me! I guess the exercise is a give-away to anyone who's lived here. I edited out the names as I try to keep my location out of this blog. But I'm glad you stopped by! I'd love to visit your blog, and hope you come back and leave me the link!
May. 30, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by molytail
Oh sorry about that! I won't repeat 'em. :-) ..Kinda cool though! Not only did I live there as a kid, but my brother & his g/f & their baby live there now LOL ....
http://molytail.blogspot.com/
^^^ is me... I forgot to link, used to being on blogger blogs where it leaves it.. I don't have a fancy blog though, mostly rambling along about whatever, kids, pets, yada yada.
Nice to "meet" ya! >^..^<
