best repairmen/expert players.

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Published on Sunday, 06 August 2006 17:09

Written by Simon Cole

As a performer who plays at the highest professional standard I can tell you exactly how an instrument plays. An ordinary repairman cannot tell you this.

As a performer who plays at the highest professional standard I can tell you exactly how an instrument plays. An ordinary repairman cannot tell you this.

I can modify your instrument to improve how it plays because as an expert player I am sensitive to the slightest change in the instrument. An ordinary repairman might test that G comes out. I test for it's response, tuning, tone, volume matching with other notes things they might not even hear.
 
Because I am an expert player and teacher I can watch you play and be able to tell when you are the problem not the instrument and offer advice. I can play your instrument and demonstrate to you where the problems are.
 
As a performer I adjust your instrument so you can play with a light touch. You won't find keys shut with heavy springs so they seal but you can't play.
And so on.........
 
 
People frequently ask to work for me as repair-persons but they can not play any of the instruments they want to fix at a professional level. 

 This is why that is a big problem.
 
 The first thing one has to do is diagnose the problem the customer or horn is having, which may or may not be what they think it is. E.g. "I need my low D pad replaced because low C does not sound."
(First off Low C involves at least two pads, the low C key you push down to lengthen the tube and the next pad down as well which must also close or it could be the effect of cumulative leaks down the horn a defect in the bore or an overly tapered neck cork or how they play or..,......)
 
In addition many horns come in for non-specific work and it is up to us to judicially spend the customers money where it will do the most good. Often flute pads can look terrible yet they cover surprisingly well so money would be better spent on fixing keys that move for instance (swaging) this can only be diagnosed by playing the instrument.

There are a lot of tests I can and do do that are useful and give an actual measurement, the Mag machine tests for air leaks for example. An instrument can past that test and still not play well. These tests are only useful when used in conjunction with a play test.
 
Visual inspection of the pads and pad heights and body with leak leak light and feelers etc., will give some indication of the problem but ultimately if you don't play the horn to test it you will not know. Low C for example on the saxophone can be a problem note for the inexperienced player.
 
To play test the horn and know the problem is the horn and not you, you have to be a really good player, not just one of the best in your band class but someone playing at a professional level which means people pay to hear you. You must play the note with a reed mouthpiece combination properly matched to each other and to the horn. The reed must be properly adjusted. You must have the correct embouchure, tongue and throat position for that note play with support and have a keen trained ear to be sensitive to any pitch discrepancies of faults in the tone.
 
If the note is airy sounding one might think the pad is too low and raise it, but how do you know it's not the way you are playing, that the reed is too hard or you bite on it so it can't vibrate. If I hear a note I know right away if there is a problem with it's pitch or tone and can separate what is a likely reed problem from an instrument one.