against the body. In most cases, the same rule pertains to the wood piccolo as well as the metal regardless of whether or not the metal piccolo is sterling silver or a plated base metal. In any event, the shellac cork is much easier to work with than the normal cork and sterling sil- ver instruments make corking keys with shel- lac cork an absolute necessity due to the fact that sterling silver has a tendency to transmit its heat so rapidly that application of the cork with a shellac stick will seem almost futile. Pad Floating
The terminology here-in used is descrip- tive of the actual job involved in padding picco- lo keys. The key cup is filled almost to the brim with hot shellac. To eliminate this hot shellac from spilling out the key is momentarily chilled against a wet rag. This has a tendency to cool the bottom of the shellac that is in the key cup, leaving the top surface of the shellac still hot enough to adhere to the piccolo pad which is then placed on top of the shellac. This must be done quickly so that the shellac does not cool off too much. As soon as the pad is placed in position, the entire key is cooled against the wet rag. This eliminates the hot shellac from bubbling up and spilling over the edges. In this manner, the thin pad will lay on top of
the key cup in such a manner as to look as though it were actually filling the key cup. However, the important feature is the fact that the entire surface of the pad will lay level. It is advisable when applying pads to piccolo keys to hold the key in small flat nose pliers that have smooth jaws. This will not mar the finish of the key. However, it would eliminate burning of the fingers since the fingers would seem clumsy alongside the small keys such as these. It is further advisable to puncture a small hole in the side of the piccolo pad to eliminate air expansion under the skin of the pad. This is done prior to applying the pad to the hot shel- lac. It is further advisable to lightly scratch the back surface of the pad prior to application of the pad to the key cup. This will have a tenden- cy to roughen up the cardboard back of the pic- colo pad, there-by giving a better holding sur- face for the shellac to grab.
Pad Seating
Seating of a piccolo pad requires even more attention than any other type of instru-
ment with the exception of oboes due to the fact that absolute coverage is a necessity if the instrument is to play freely and fully. In seating the pad, we must bear in mind that the entire back of the key is filled with shellac. Therefore, we cannot apply the same amount of heat as we normally would on a clarinet key. In other words, we have to be extremely careful to barely warm the key cup so that the shellac just begins to soften. This will enable us to move the piccolo pad to a point of perfect cov- erage. Prior to placing the key on the instru- ment for seating, it is advisable to slightly mois- ten the skin of the piccolo pad. This has a ten- dency to soften the skin thereby allowing it to accept its impression more readily. We must bear in mind that the moistened skin is what gives us the seating and not the heat. The heat merely allows us to shift the pad. It is further important, when seating the pads on a piccolo to try to bring them into their close and perfect adjustment or regulation as possible with its coordinated keys, thereby eliminating undue work in the regulation of this instrument. Assembly
The order of assembly of a piccolo should be as follows:
1. Back thumb key which usually consists of a double pad. These two pads must be seated simultaneously. They must be applied to the instrument first so that both sides of the keys can readily be checked. After the pads are seated, we may proceed with the normal order of assembly.
2. The back thumb key is then removed and the back thumb lever applied with the back thumb key as it is returned to the instrument. 3. The G# key
4. The entire lower stack assembly which consists of the F#, F, E and D keys placed together in the same manner as on the flute. (See Key pinning, Flute Repair).
5. The G, Bb and A keys which utilize the pivot point of the B key rod as one of the holding points. The upper stack consists of the Bb, the A and the double G keys. This double G key must have each pad seated individually.
However, the regulation between the two pads is such that the height of the pad must take up the regulation point since there is no method of bending these keys or adjusting them to cover together.
6. Low D# key. 7. Two high trill keys.
It is important to remember that when we speak of assembly we mean putting the key in place, seating the pad and making the neces- sary adjustments insofar as the regulation of this instrument is concerned. (See Regulation). Regulation
The regulation of a piccolo usually takes place coincidentally with the seating of the pad and the assembly of the piccolo. These are the points of adjustment to watch for: After the F# pad is seated, we seat the F key pad. How- ever, in applying this seating, we assure our- selves that the F covers perfectly with the F#. Any adjustment that is to be made can be made, either through the height of the pad in the key cup which can be maintained at proper level when seating the F pad or by trimming the small round piece of cork on the spatula of the F key. When the E pad is seated, the height of the pad in the key cup will determine the regulation point between the E and F# keys. If there are adjustment screws for regula- tion on the piccolo in question, the adjustment point can be taken up through this regulation point. However, on so me piccolos where there is no adjustment point such as a regulation screw, the height of the pad in the key cup must be seated to coordinate with that of the F# key to eliminate bending of any keys so in- volved. The D key pad is then seated bearing in mind the exact same procedure described. It must be in perfect regulation with the F# key of the lower stack. Upon the seating of the Bb bridge key, the regulation point between the F key of the lower stack and Bb bridge key of the upper stack is so adjusted by raising or lower- ing the bridge of the Bb key so that the F and Bb keys cover perfectly together. When the A key pad is seated, it must be treated in the same way and manner as heretofore
described, except for the fact that it must be kept in perfect regulation with the Bb , bridge key of the upper stack. The adjustment between them is the same as the adjustment between the F and F# keys. The regulation point is the small piece of round cork under the spatula of the A key.
The final regulation point is between the back thumb key and the Bb key of the upper stack. This is achieved by raising or low-
ering the spatula of the hack thumb key so that the 2 keys cover perfectly together. In a man- ner of speaking we do not actually raise or lower
the spatula of the back thumb lever but rather, we tilt it from one side to another. Removal of lost motion on a piccolo follows the exact line of procedure as on a flute. (See page on Removal of Lost Motion—Flute)
Bass Clarinets Plateau Key Assembly and Automatic Registers Key Assembly
In view of the fact that bass clarinet tone- holes are too big to allow the fingers to actually cover them, we must utilize plateau keys. As a result, we have many more regulation points on a bass clarinet than we would have on the ordi-
Bass clarinet (plateau) joints and alto clarinet (ring) joints.
Complete bass and alto clarinets with bells and mouthpipes.
nary standard instrument. For this reason the top ring F key is a split consisting of a plateau key where the normal clarinet has a ring. The adjustment point is usually a regulating screw between the plateau key and the small F key that fits under the A key of the upper stack. These two keys must be placed to cover per- fectly. The back thumb key is a plateau key that must cover perfectly with the small top F key. It is usually advisable to regulate the back thumb key to the small F key first. This is done by bending the back arm of the small F key up or down, as the case may require. The adjust- ment between the plateau key and the F key is then achieved with a regulating screw. When the Bb bridge key has a pleateau key in place of the ring, this plateau key is regulated to the BE, key by raising or lowering its finger tip spatula as the case may require. The G key is then regulated to the A key by raising or lower- ing its spatula. The lower joint of the bass clar- inet has a plateau assembly in place of the three ring F key; however, the 4 D key which is the equivalent of the third ring is not regulated to the F# key but usually is nothing more than a lever closing the D key. The F and F# keys are regulated by raising or lowering the back bar of the F# key. The E key is then adjusted to the back bar of the F# key by raising or lower- ing the E key.
The only other point of adjustment involved on the bass clarinet is that of the register key. Some bass clarinets such as the Kohlert utilize an automatic register key strictly in conjunc-tion with the A key for the clarification of the Bb, throat tone, the regulation of which is identical to that of a soprano saxophone. (See chapter on Octave Key Regulation—Saxophones.) The average bass clarinet not only utilizes this type of automatic register key but also has its auto- matic register key working in conjunction with the low D key of the lower stack. It follows the same rules of regulation as a saxophone with the exception of the fact that the D key is the alternating factor in the register key assembly of the bass clarinets where-as the G key is the alternating factor in the regulation of a saxo- phone octave assembly. Many alto clarinets are built along the same lines as the bass clarinet with plateau key assembly. However, there are ring assembly instruments. These are much more simplified and as a result, much less reg- ulation is involved. It follows along the lines of
your standard clarinets. The usual bass clarinet will go to low Eb, thereby add-ing one extra key; namely, the key on the bell. If the instru- ment goes to low Eb, there will be a third spat- ula along-side the low E spatula for the right hand. This consists of a lever key for the right hand to operate the key on the bell. It must be kept in perfect adjustment with the low E key. This adjustment is achieved at the small regu- lating point between the low E and Eb spatula. Full Boehm Clarinets
The full Boehm clarinet consists of addition to the normal standard clarinet. For instance, it has an articulated Bb, or Eb, key which con- sists of an extra ring instead of the opening hole, which utilizes a fingering for Eb, or Bb, with the use of the first and third fingers. There is a small pad on the Bb, bridge key which we refer to as the auxiliary key. The third ring key is attached to the actual Bb, key. The regula- tion point between these two pads is usually an adjustment screw fitted on an extended arm from the auxiliary key over the top of the pad arm of the Bb, key. These must be covering perfectly. It is usually wise to use the floated piccolo pad in the small auxiliary key which as a result is 71/2mm. The articulated G# is an- other assembly on the full Boehm clarinet. This allows the musician to finger the G# or C# with the right hand as the left, in view of the fact that it operates in the same way and manner as the G# key of a saxophone. There must be an adjustment point between the G# and F# keys. This is usually a regulating screw. The spring tension of the G# key is extremely light and the G# lever heavy enough to quickly and easily offset this tension. The articulated D# or G# key allows for fingering with the left hand as well as the right hand. This consists of one lever key placed between the B and C# spatula of the left hand so that when applied, the D# or G# lever lifts the pad cup of the D# key. The last extra feature on the Full Boehm clarinet is the extra note of low Eb, on the lower joint by the addition of the extra key adding to the length of the instrument so that the spatula of the key is along-side the right hand spatula of the low E key so that the low Eb, E and F keys cover perfectly together.
Omega and LeBlanc Clarinets
model clarinet sold by the Selmer Company. The basic difference between this instrument and the Selmer Center Tone clarinet consists of firstly, the fact that the Omega clarinet utilizes bronze hinge bearings but most important of all is the fact that the Omega clarinet utilizes an automatic register key for the clarification of the throat tone of Bb using the back ring key as the alternating key for this type of assembly in a manner quite similar to the LeBlanc clarinet which utilizes the A key for its alternating point. The LeBlanc clarinet was the original one to have the automatic assembly. However,it is only fair to state that many years before the LeBlanc came forth with such an item, there was a European company that had such a key arrangement on their instrument. This company has since gone out of existence. The purpose of the automatic assembly is to open an equiv- alent key to that of ‘the high Bb trill key so that absolute clarity of tone is achieved on the throat tone. The LeBlanc clarinet has one model whereby it utilizes a double pad cup on the C or F key on the lower joint. This, in turn, has a tendency to give better clarity to the low G or middle D notes. The pads, when seated, must be kept in perfect adjustment with one another so that they act as a single key.
Explanation Systems
The oboe is a double reed instrument and actually the soprano of its family. The double reed family consists of the oboe, the oboe d’amour, the English horn and the bassoon. There are two systems of oboes. The older one is called the military system. This was replaced with the more modern conservatory system. In effect, there was the same differ- ence as between the Albert system clarinet and Boehm system clarinet. Of the more mod- ern system (conservatory) there are two types. The first type is referred to as a ring job or simplified system. The second type is the plateau which actually eliminates the use of open ring keys whereby pad corks are used on the same particular keys so that it entails a tremendous amount of regulation and adjust- ment. There are, many articulations on differ- ent oboes. However, most of the articulations are only put on the plateau instrument. Both the ring and plateau jobs come in two types insofar as octave arrangement is concerned. There is the double octave or the automatic octave. We refer to this key arrangement as the octave key in view of the fact that unlike the clarinet, which is built in twelfths, the oboe is built in octaves since it is of the conical bore family. There is a perfect rate of taper through- out the oboe consistent with the metal tube in the double reed through the bore to the mid- dle of the bell. The type of wood used on the instrument is grenadilla (Mozambique). The top of the oboe has an umbrella like, effect which is referred to as the crown. Most of the oboes utilize tenon caps on the male tefloris. The oboe uses the time of pin rods as on flutes whereby bridging of keys can be elimi- nated. However. in place of pins, the oboe uses threaded screws through the steel rod in most cases. There have been models that use the type of pins as on flutes. Due to the fact that the pad sizes of an oboe are so small (7 1/2mm), it becomes absolutely necessary to achieve a perfect level to the pad surface so that perfect coverage can be achieved. To do this. we use thin bladder pads such as the one used on piccolos and we float these pads
in place. This holds true even for the larger keys which take approximately l4mm pads. Many of the pads on the oboe require a hole in the middle of the key for clarity of tone and therefore, the average pad has to be eliminat- ed due to the fact that it has a skin cover. On these types, cork pads are used.
Cork Sizes
There is very little to learn about the cork sizes on the keys of an oboe since there is only one size cork used. Regardless of whether the key hits the body for stopping action or sliding action against another key, the only size cork used on an oboe is the thin or 1/64. The keys are so small that in corking the keys, it is sometimes advisable to hold the key with a small pair of pliers so as not to burn your fingers. Cork that has the shellac painted on the back works to good advantage on this instrument. It may be necessary for the