Magic for "unplayable" clarinets

Note: This "magic" applies to unplayable clarinets that were recently playable. It may not fix the used student model that you found at an estate sale six months ago.

People will come to me and tell me that their clarinets have become unplayable. They blow, but almost nothing comes out except maybe a nasty open G.

This happens more frequently than you might think.

I take a quick look, turn away from them so they can't see what I'm doing, pull out my screwdriver, make one simple adjustment, and give back a playable instrument. Poof! Magic!

All I did was back off on the Ab key adjustment screw at the top.

What happened was that the Ab key was lifted far enough by the A key to cause a leak. This happens for two reasons:

• Thinking that the screw end should contact the top of the A key, and screw it down to remove the "slop".

• The A key pad swelled after a while and when the adjustment screw wasn't high enough, pushing the Ab key up and causing a leak.

It's probably the simplest fix imaginable. I try to keep this as my secret, but occasionally my humanitarian instincts get the better of me, and I spill the beans.

Cheers.