My clarinet has been swelling immensely! It sometimes gets to the point where I physically can not get the clarinet fully apart. I've just purchased a my first wood clarinet a couple of months ago. My teacher is recommending shaving the wood? Explain... Thank you!

That happened to my wooden clarinet when I first bought it too. The bell would NOT come off of the clarinet! Sometimes I would have to get people to physically hold one section while I twisted off the bell. If you live in a cold environment, the cold will also make the barrels harder to separate. (At least, that's what I'm assuming because I had this problem in the winter time) Anyway, I brought mine to a clarinet professor at a nearby university and what he did was shave the wood right above the cork (the part that does not show when you put your instrument together). Get a piece of sandpaper and cut it to a thin strip so that you can easily shave the wood without destroying the cork. Make sure you don't shave too much of it off, because even if it might not come off with ease now, the weather can change the size of the clarinet. Ok I'm done! Sorry about the rambling, but I hope I helped!

It actually does this when it is colder, but it has to do with playing it. Since it is colder at rest, once you start playing it the heat will cause the wood to swell. It's just simple science. I wouldn't do it myself, but I would take it in to be shaved down a bit.

i thought it happened to the cork when it gets wet and swells?

If you think about it...the cork getting wet and swelling might/probably does happen, but cork is condensable. It wouldn't be what "holds" your flute together. Wood swelling into wood, that definitely creates a problem.

-Dennis

my clarinet did the same thing at the barrel. i could never get the barrel and midsection apart. i would have to have my senior friend or my director do it. he told me to take a piece of sand paper and shave a tiny bit of cork off that section. make sure you dont take to much off though!