Off-label dowels

Off-label Uses For Dowel Rods


Most hardware stores have a good selection of hardwood dowel rods in various diameters.  A dowel rod will set you back $2-$3. I use long 1" dowels to dry cane after gouging.

By banding the gouged pieces to the dowel for several days, you accomplish two things:

• The gouged pieces will retain their original curvature when dry.  Most pieces curl up after gouging or profiling if left to dry without binding to a dowel.
• You can change the curvature of the gouged piece if it's too curved or not curved enough.  Cane diameter has implications for the shape of the tip opening the reed will have.  Too big a diameter (for me 26mm or larger) will result in a tip opening that's too flat.  Too small (23mm. or less) lends an opening that's too arched.  Flat will have a weak high register, arched a weak low register, yielding a one-dimensional reed.

I also cut small sections (about 4") from a 1" and a 1 1/4" dowel for use in sanding the gouge.  The 1" is great for smoothing out the gouge and preparing the cane for further processing.  Just wrap a cut sheet of sandpaper around the dowel section and sand with the cane laying in a 1" diameter bed.

For more on preparing the cane for profiling, etc. by sanding the gouge see my instructions on my website.

Sometimes I run into a batch of cane that's too soft to use.  One way to nudge the cane into the "Useable" category is to experiment with the gouge.  You can thin the gouge until it's .005" thinner or more by sanding with the 1" dowel as described above.

Another way to adapt the cane for use is to make the gouge more elliptical (thin sides, thick center).  I do not like cane that's gouged concentrically (just as thick on sides as the center).  It just doesn't seem to work with my bassoon.  Concentrically gouged cane yields reeds with tips that collapse readily.  By modifying the gouge to make it more elliptical, you remove the softer, pithier cane away from the bark on the sides of the gouge.  This leaves only the harder can nearer the bark and adds a stiffness to the reed at the sides of the blank.  As a result, tips stay open more readily during playing.  The reed blade has more spring to it.

Here's my method:

Since the gouged piece of cane is split from a tube that's roughly 1" in diameter, it stands to reason that sanding with a 1 1/14" dowel will sand only the sides of the gouge first, yielding the elliptical shape I desire.

First place the piece of cane in a bed that is 1" in diameter.  An old-fashioned child's block set may have one of these.

Using a carpenter's pencil (because of the really wide lead), mark a thick stripe down the center of the gouge.  When sanding watch for the point at which you begin to sand away the pencil mark.  When you notice this, stop.  You will also notice cane dust embedded in two places in the sandpaper but not in the middle of the sandpaper.

Here's a little movie of the sanding:

 

Off Label in the Plumbing Department

Let's go the plumbing department! 


There are some really cheap products here that will make your bassoon tune better, fit together better and work more quietly.

Plumber's grease can be had for as little as $1.00 per tube!  It is a terrific, non-corrosive lubricant for quieting and lubricating posts and rods on the key mechanism. You can also use it on rollers and long screws, although most repair technicians prefer a key oil in those places.

 

  

Plumber's tape (also called thread tape or teflon tape) also costs about $1.00.  It's really great for wrapping loose tenons.  I find it a much better material than thread because thread compresses cork when wrapped over it, making it necessary to wrap even more thread on top of it.  Better than waxed dental floss, too, for the same reason.  Teflon tape stretches so it has "grab" like plastic wrap.  You can use it on tenons and bocal corks.  It can also be wrapped around the seams of a reed to stop leaking and wrapped on a bocal tip to plug a leak in the butt of the reed.

If you look closely at the juncture between my long joint (left top) and boot, you will see a small pinkish section between the metal of the boot ferrule and the wood of the small end of the long joint. This is a slip joint washer.

This washer has the same diameter as the long joint tenon and fits snugly on it.  Why put a washer here?  2 reasons.

• The washer extends the long joint, lowering the pitch of all low notes that speak out of tone holes past the last tone hole on the boot (where low F speaks).  This counteracts the some of the usual sharpness of the bassoon's low register. It may be necessary to add some plumber's tape to make up for any looseness in the way the tenon fits in the socket with the washer on.
• With the washer in place, Bb3 (first note of Mozart Concerto) and some notes around it may gain in power, focus and stability.  Evidently this is because the step in the bore caused by the added space in the socket reinforces a nodal point in the sound wave at these frequencies.

Nearly every bassoon I've come into contact with has been improved through using one of these!
 
These washers cost about 25 cents each!  I love finding cheap solutions to big problems! You may want to take your bassoon in for a fitting, however, because there are different shapes and sizes.  Be sure to buy rubber ones that fits snugly on the long joint tenon.  Also, avoid ones that are contoured.  Go for the ones that are flat on each face.

To avoid having to buy an assortment pack, try to find an old-fashioned hardware store with loose ones in drawers. The washers also come in black and grey.  If you don't like the color, you can blacken it with a marker.

Here are some more photos so you can see how things look.

Off-label Uses

Off-label Tool Uses--Mostly Cheap!


In the pharmaceutical field, the term "off-label" applies to uses for a drug other than that for which it was originally tested and marketed.

Accompany a bassoon player into a hardware store or craft store and you will see how this applies to our field. We spend a lot of time in these stores looking at products and wondering how they can be used to make reeds, etc.

The bassoonist views the sandpaper in the automotive or paint section of the hardware store as a wonderful abrasive for finishing reeds. The rubber slipjoint washer in the plumbing section doesn't belong under the sink, it is for the long joint extension from the boot socket, you dummy! I once brought my long joint in to the plumbing section to find the washer that fit best and boy you should have seen the looks I got from the plumbing guy!

This is the first in a series of posts about cheap, off-label uses for ordinary tools as applied to the bassoon and reed making. Feel free to contribute your own ideas and uses!

 

My first example comes from the medical field.  It's a scalpel.  This tool is GREAT for shaping and scoring.  Because of the high standards demanded by surgeons, the blade is of much higher quality than your average razor blade, X-acto or other type.

Using proper technique, I can shape up to 50 pieces of cane with just one blade before it gets too dull to use. Strip off as much cane as you can before actually contacting the shaper body with the knife. When shaping, as long as you keep the blade nearly flush to the slope of the shaper the blade will keep its edge for a long time.

The handle is available from McMaster-Carr:

It's only $6.47!!

Unfortunately McMaster doesn't sell the blade that's best for shaping.  This comes from Cincinnati Surgical.
Order the Swann Morton blade, 100/box, Size 25A. The non-sterile blades are a bit cheaper -- $31.00 for 100.

Cincinnati Surgical also sells a larger handle than the one from McMaster-Carr. This may fit your hand better. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the handle.  It's the last one on the page. Product: 07SM6B. The handle is $20, so not particularly cheap.

TAKE CARE!!

Remember, these are scalpel blades!  Take care when using.  The blade may be shaped differently from what you're used to.  It has a very sharp point (I know, I've poked myself with it several times getting used to it!).

The blades are also available from Cincinnati Surgical.  Order the #25A.


When inserting the blade in the handle, it's best to put it on part way with your fingers.  Look for the slot in the handle nose. Slide the nose part way into the open slot in the blade.  Then gripping the handle and not the blade, point the handle/blade down and push the blade point onto a table or piece of wood to push the blade in place. When the blade is in place you will see that the slanted back end of the blade locks into the slanted ridge in the handle nose.

When removing the blade use a pliers.  Bend the blunt back end of the blade up with the pliers, twist the blade slightly and slide it off the handle.

In the Box

In the Box

Touring With the Beethoven Violin Concerto


We made a tour last month. It included stops in Bloomington, Indiana (where we had a residency at Indiana University), Naples and Sarasota, Florida and a residency in Miami.

Among the several pieces we performed was the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Our soloist was Joshua Bell.  I thoroughly enjoyed playing the piece with him.  We performed it eight times during the tour.  Each time he  offered a performance of refined beauty.  He performed his own cadenzas, making small changes to the ones in the third movement each night.

There have been some interesting developments in Joshua Bell's career recently.  He is now the leader of the Academy of St. Martin-In-The Fields. In an interview he describes his role as part-conductor, part-concertmaster.  He sits in the concertmaster's position, playing and conducting.

This role should be natural for him because, as a soloist, he's not shy about giving suggestions and demonstrating when he wants a change in interpretation. Bell also moves and gestures a lot when he plays, so showing what he wants physically should be easy for him when he's conducting and playing.

Small digression: I remember performing this piece with Joseph Silverstein when I was with the Hartford Symphony. He also adopted the double role as conductor and soloist.  However, he moved very little when playing, so it was not easy for us to play together.  He would cue the woodwinds by raising one eyebrow, the rest of his body not moving at all.  Fortunately, Silverstein has big bushy eyebrows!

Back to Bell:  He has just made his first recording with his new orchestra -- Beethoven's Symphonies #4 and #7.

The other career development is the premiere of a documentary about his violin, The Return of the Violin.  Bell plays on a 1713 Stradivarius, the "Huberman", named for a previous owner, Bronislaw Huberman.  I encourage you to seek out this movie, because the violin has a gripping and fascinating history.

In the Box

This is a term I use to describe a situation in which an orchestral musician is put in a very tight musical space by a conductor.  It occurs during a difficult passage that's made even more difficult by the conductor and/or by the player. It applies to a piece which is performed several times over a long period.

My Box

Among the beauties of the first bassoon part to the Beethoven Violin Concerto is this short passage at the end of the first movement.  After the violin cadenza, the strings enter with pizzicato as the violin softly plays the second theme of the movement. The bassoon enters softly, intoning the theme that first introduced the solo entrance of the violin at the beginning of the movement:

Although the solos are marked "pp", the bassoon is the main voice.  Since Beethoven never wrote different dynamics for each part in the score and, instead, just wrote one general dynamic for all voices at any part in a score, it's up to the player or conductor to balance the part.  Thus, understanding your role in the score is important. 

In this situation it's clear:  you have the solo.  So, I like to play this out just a bit so there's a leading presence to the line.

Our conductor, Franz Welser-Möst, however, likes this passage to be played as soft as possible.  I knew this from playing this with him in the past, but wanted to see if this time, he'd let me play it out a bit.

As I started in on the first one I saw the palm of his hand go out towards me (sometimes known as the Heisman -- after the trophy).  Too loud!!

And here is when I made a big mistake!  I let my frustration get the best of me.  When I came in again after the bar rest, I played this solo in a sub-tone -- ridiculously soft.  And I absolutely nailed it, managing the difficult D - F# slur well, keeping all the notes smooth, soft and in tune with a good legato.

His reaction?  A big thumbs up and a smile!  Now I was stuck!  For all eight performances if I even hinted at playing it a bit louder his hand was at the ready.  I would have to play this solo at "ppp" every time.

I was "in the box".

Some Better Solutions

I hear other players around me handle this situation effectively quite often and should have known better.

• Just taking a shade off the dynamic might have gotten the job done and not left me nearly sucking in air while playing for the eight-performance run.

• Playing with less vibrato or less shape to the line might have worked, too.  It could have given the line a more placid shape and sound.

• Using a mute fingering or two (the D and the F# in particular)might have given Franz what he wanted while allowing me a modicum of comfort when playing this part. However, I'm pretty much against using mute fingerings for a solo.

In order to get through the solos each night at "ppp" I had to be sure I was as relaxed as possible before entering.  I checked the reed tip opening to make sure it was right and that there was no water in the reed before starting. I was careful to focus on breath support and good embouchure when starting the D and making a good slur up to the F#.  My fundamentals had to be just right!

All the same, I was left wondering every night during the cadenza whether or not my reed was going to work when the solos came at that extreme dynamic.

Ultimate Reed Finishing Machine

I have a new reed making machine. It's called the "Ultimate Reed Finishing Machine". It works the same way a tip profiler does, only it processes the whole blade of the reed from collar to tip.

My machine is made by the German company, Rimpl, although there are other firms that make a similar machine. I purchased it from Miller Marketing. The machine I ordered came with a template and tongue custom designed to my specifications.  I sent them three finished reeds to use in copying my scrape to the template and fitting the tongue to my reed shape and contour.

With customizing the price is about $200 more than that listed on Miller's website ($1799).  This makes this machine very expensive.  However, a Rieger tip profiler is about the same cost and it only processes the tip of the reed.

In a previous post I registered a strong opinion about expensive profilers. However, I'm very convinced that this machine is worth the extra money.  I'll explain why in a minute, but first watch this demo I made. (Warning, I have no future as a videographer!  Keep the volume control handy.  Some of the clips are recorded at a lower level than others.)


A Demo

Here is a demo I made using the machine:

Advice on using the machine:

Before making this purchase a friend lent me his machine to try.  I also asked around to find out how satisfied others were with it.

Here was the feed back I received:

• A customized model is highly recommended over the stock model. The template and tongue need to be mated to the individual's reed for accurate reproduction of the scrape and for the machine to process the blades properly.
• The reed tip needs to be closed down a bit from normal playing aperture to make the underside of the top blade flush with the surface of the template.  Failure to do this can result in a heart area that is too thin.
• Always press the reed heart down against the template before cutting to take out air pockets between blade and tongue.  (See above.)
• Always start the cut with blade positioned just to the side of the corner of the tip and work your way towards the center. By starting at the center or spine of the reed you can chop off the corner of the tip.
• So start at one corner, work your way across the blade and stop just before you get to the other corner.  Rotate the template so the blade is off to the side of this corner and finish by working your way into the center again. (See demo.)
• When fitting the blades on the template it may feel like you need to push pretty hard to get the tip of the reed up to the stop line on the template.  It may feel like you'll split the blade open.  Don't worry!  If the reed is well soaked this will not happen.  I've profiled dozens of reeds on my machine and never cracked one.
• Additionally, you make be alarmed at how wide apart the blades are pushed by the girth of the tongue.  This is necessary in order to get the blades to conform exactly to the curvature of the template.
• The instructions manual tells you to turn the knob 180° for each cut.  Ignore this advice!  Doing so will result in a "corrugated" or ridged tip cut.  Turning the wheel gradually and making more cuts than turns of the wheel will insure a smoother cut.
• After profiling the tip opening will be way too large. You will need to manipulate the tip opening, closing it down. You may need to adjust the wires as well.

 Why I like this machine:

This machine gives me a reed that measures within .002-.003" of a finished reed at EVERY point along the blade. It accurately describes the sophisticated tip scrape necessary for a good reed and mimics the taper of a finished reed from collar to tip and from side to center to side.

I leave the cut a bit thick as mentioned above to allow for breaking in and adjusting for slight differences in hardness and response from reed to reed.

I like the fact that this machine is made to profile a blank with tip cut off and not a gouged piece of cane that's waiting to be processed for the drying rack.  I have explained my preference for starting with a simple profile that's even in thickness across the cane. I like to be able to choose how much collapse I want in the tip from sides to center, not having that programmed in before the drying stage.  I count on the forming and drying process to program in a certain shape to the inside of the blank.

Winterizing Your Bassoon and Reeds

We're having a pretty serious winter here in Northeast Ohio now. It's been hard to run outside in the snow and ice, but I'm trying to get out so I can train for the Miami Half Marathon on January 29th.  I've run this race almost every time we've been in Miami in January now.

Along with physical training, I've been attending to the changes brought on my bassoon and reeds by the extreme dryness that comes from the indoor heating season.  Low humidity robs reeds and bassoons of their moisture and resonance.

Reeds

Reeds need more time to soak in the winter.  I try to use warm water for soaking. The reed absorbs warm water faster.  Cold water tends to close the tip I've noticed.

To help them vibrate better I often scrape my reeds just a bit thinner in the winter than I normally would.

Many bassoonists take steps to humidify their reed cases.  Here's what I do:

In the winter I use a humidified reed case:

Dampening the sponge puts just enough moisture into the case. 

The gage isn't particularly accurate, but gives you a rough idea of how dry the reeds are.  I try to keep the humidity at between 50-79%.  You don't need a fancy case like this, however.  If you want a less expensive solution, putting your reed case in a freezer bag with a small hole cut in it and adding a few orange peels works well. The hole keeps mold from building up.

The Bassoon

For the case I use a tobacco humidifier.

I don't recommend a string Dampit.  Repair technicians have told me they have found mold in cases sometimes when those are used, particularly if the Dampit is put in the long joint.

Some people put orange peel in the case to humidify the bassoon.  This works well, but I'd be careful if you have an older bassoon that has some finish worn off in places or just a delicate layer left.  The peel is very acidic and could hasten the decaying of the finish. A former colleague of mine has a 50-year old Heckel that has much of the finish either missing or coming off.  He has taken good care of the instrument in general, but has used orange peel in the case for years.  A coincidence?

Keeping the instrument at a constant temperature is sometimes difficult during the winter.  Try to store it at night away from direct heat but not in cold, drafty areas of your house. Having an insulated case cover is helpful as is wrapping it in a warm blanket for long car trips.

Wood and metal on the bassoon expand and contract at different rates.  Exposure to extremes of heat and cold can cause keys to bind or gain excess play.  Cracking can also be a problem if the bassoon is not swabbed properly and then exposed to cold.

I remember a Thanksgiving break during my time at Michigan State in which the power went out all over campus for much of that weekend.  Not much was hurt by it, but the keys on the school's contra bassoon (which was kept in the reed room during the break) bound up badly.  The combination of the drop in temperature during the power outage and the rise in temperature when the heat was cranked back up over that weekend made the posts move closer together binding most of the keys on the instrument!

Help from Those in the Desert and Mountains?

Bassoonists that live the dry climates found at high altitude and the desert use techniques to humidify their reeds and bassoons as a routine.

Who would like to share their techniques with the readers of this blog?

Getting Back in Shape - A Plan for the New Year

It was nice to take a break from bassoon playing over the holidays, but now it's time to get back in shape.  I believe it's really good to take several days off from playing from time to time to recharge your batteries and get some rest.

However, the Cleveland Orchestra revs back into action this Tuesday and I've been working to get myself back into shape again.

The first day back on the instrument is always great.  It's fun to rip around on the bassoon and play just for fun. I enjoy reconnecting with why I like to play.

However, the next day's practice is usually deflating.  I sound terrible -- poor support, sluggish technique, bad reeds, etc.  How could I have let myself get this out of shape?!

So I've been getting back to long tones and scales in an effort to build my support and embouchure and get my fingers working well.  I also find it necessary to fit in some sight reading because my eyes have lost a little of their quickness with keeping up with the music as it flows along.

In addition, I've made a long-term plan for my practicing this winter.  I'm going to learn all of the 12 Etudes by Bertoni.  I hope to learn a new one every two weeks. I'll also brush up on pieces and excerpts that my CIM students are learning so I can help them better and demonstrate in lessons without embarrassing myself!

Currently I'm re-learning the Nussio "Variations on a Theme By Pergolesi".  I'll also study Waterhouse's transcription of the Bach Partita in A Minor for Flute and dig out the Mozart Concerto again.  There will be some other pieces to study as the CIM semester progresses.

I'm also practicing several pieces by Manuel de Falla that I've arranged for bassoon and piano and one for solo bassoon.  I'll perform these at a concert by my bassoon quartet, the Men Who Don't Bite on Feb. 17th in the afternoon at the Pilgrim Congregational Church in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland.  This concert is part of the Arts Renaissance Tremont concert series.

I've also been making a LOT of reeds.  I hate spending time on processing cane and making blanks during the work schedule, so I've tried to fill my drying rack with as many blanks as I can.  By December I had nearly cleared my drying rack of blanks.  After a few weeks' effort I now have 35 blanks drying on them and 20 reeds with tips cut awaiting finishing touches in a reed box.  I hope this will last me until the season ends at the end of May.