why dont you try cleaning it out.

You may want to find a private tutor to help you, because there are many possibilities of why you squeak, and there`s not enough space here to explain all of them. Besides, we cannot tell you what`s wrong because we haven`t observed your playing...

I have a wooden clarinet I oiled religiously but it still cracked. I think the theory pertains to soaking wood in oil until it is permeated with oil. Such wood probably wouldn`t crack, I guess. But this simply isn`t what happens to the wood of your clarinet when you apply a thin film of clarinet oil to it.

Yes, I too think you should try many clarinets and not slavishly think this is the only good one or that is defined as a bad one.

How they play for you and how they sound for you should be the most important things I guess.

And I always change my reed when I squeak. And that fixes it. But reeds are very important for me - from a box of ten I might find only two I can consistently play.

All of you wonderful musicians forgot to address her squeaking problem...this became a forum about the best clarinet, wood polishing, and cracking advice.

1. I play a selmer 100th anniversary wooden clarinet and as long as u dont use it outside alot and keep it out of the cold and extreme heat plus water duh it wont crake
2. As far as squeaking goes just pratice i remember my 7th grade year i squeaked all the time now im in 9th grade going to the 10th and i still occasionaly squeak and allways will
3. Dont sweat the exams dude i had to play senior requirements my freshman year and thats like really high in some parts so just tighten when u go up play long tones blow hot air from your diaphrame and try to loosen up on the bottom cause if u dont ull have no where to go when u get higher

I`d like to add that one crack is not the end of the world -but of course, it depends on where the crack is and what MUSICAL damage it is doing. I had a very old Le Blanc clarinet a few years ago and it developed cracks in both the barrel and the bell. - These parts can be replaced with little problem. It poses more of a problem when the main body of the clarinet is cracked but if filling a crack doesn`t alter the sound and affect the way that the clarinet performs no matter what the temperature, there shouldn`t be a problem. Of course, it`ll lower its market value and resale may be difficult but if that`s not a problem to the player for the time being, so what.

Btw, does anyone play Buffet Greenlines? Buffet promote no cracking in them but the five people I know that play Greenlines have had to replace at least one joint of the clarinet because of cracking. (to GREAT EXPENSE!!) My repairer says he`s never had so much trouble with cracked clarinets before the Green Lines.

Laura, don`t feel stupid. It happens to the best of us and usually at the most opportune times. There could be many reasons for you squeaking.
1. Embouchure. Do you feel that you`re tensing up or biting down on the mouthpiece? Where are you squeaking? In the altissimo? After a while, when you`ve been practicing heaps, I find that I squeak the most when my mouth is tired. Keep your embouchure firm, chin flat and pointed downwards but don`t bite down or squeeze to get the altissimo notes and don`t change your embouchure on any note (rather use your throat) cause this will make the squeaking worse.
2. B45 mouthpieces, I find, are notorious for squeaking in passages where, for example, you`re required to leap more than an octave or up into the altissimo. Technically, a B45 doesn`t help in this capacity. I`m not a huge fan of that mouthpiece (particularly since they tend to be really inconsistent from one mouthpiece to another).
3. The reed - maybe it doesn`t suit the mouthpiece. What brand and strength are you using? It purely depends on the places you squeak the most. The reed could be too soft for the altissimo or too hard for the throat notes etc. Experiment not only with strengths but with different cuts of reed.

There are many more reasons but try these first and if it doesn`t work still, seek more advice from a teacher or professional player. Good luck.

Oops, I meant `INopportune`

pls give me some adivce on how i can reduce squeaking.
i haf been squeaking these few band practices and i don`t know why. i tried to find if any padding haf came off of any part is damaged, but i can`t find any. howver the paddings of my strument are quite old esp. after the mid-joins. the paddings are brown in clour and some of them are very thin. i squeak a lot when i was playing the lowest `a` note and playing the middle `d` note. i am using a reed of strength 3 sholud i use a 3 1/2 one?

pls help me.

I had the same problem when I 1st got my wooden clarinet. Don`t worry, it gets better. Practice, practice, practice. That is what I did.

Yes, practice is good, but you also need to practice right, or you`ll form bad habits. Make sure your top teeth are biting down on the mouthpiece, and your bottom lip is rolled over your bottom teeth.

As far as positioning your mouth, it is best to place the bottom lip on the point on the mouthpiece where the reed touches it. This gives you the best breath control, and the best sound, I think. Your top teeth will be a little bit closer to the edge of the mouthpiece, as it is angled towards the ground.

One more thing. Make sure you sit up straight, and that the clarinet makes a 45 degree angle with the ground. I have seen many clarinet players in my class hunch over, and hold the clarinet way too close to their body.

Happy playing!

oiling your wood only makes the bore worse you should NEVER in your life oil the inside of you clarinet you clarnet has what is called a bore and that is what makes the sound of the clarinet don`t polish the inside of your clarinet. Squeaking it happens. Don`t pinch the reed to much don`t play timid that also leads to squeaking and RELAX it is not the end of the world good luck. :-)

for squeaking:
I`m a junior in high school and I`ve found that sometimes the reed is possitioned to high/low or is off-center, or the ligature is too high, which doesn`t let the reed vibrate properly. I also played on a B45 a couple of years ago and still use it for marching band, and it squeaks a little more than my Morgan mouthpiece does, but I think sometimes it`s just the reed (too soft causes squeak-age for me).

oiling:
I think oiling is important, it`s just the time of year that it`s done that makes the difference. If you oil during the humid summer, no oil`s going to be absorbed becuase the wood is already humidified. In the dry winter, however, the wood is drier (duh0, thus giving the oil a chance to soak into the wood more. Of course MANY swabbings are required to do much of anything, but that`s okay.

as for the post al ittle ways up, NEVER think you should soak your clarinet, this kinda made me scared. if you do, you will ruin your horn in more ways than, 10.

oiling is not necessary if you live in a humid climate, for all oil does is replenish moisture. however, oilking may be necessary if it is very cold and dry where you live, but not in excess, just a quick swab up inside will do. oiling the outside may do more harm than good, cuz on the ouside the graining in the wood is more prominent, and if oil gets in there and freezes, it only makes it worse.

has anyone had any experience with grandilla (sp?) wood? i see this often on amati and buffet and leblanc, and i was just wondering if it was better than the african wood.

i have played on a wooden selmer cl200 since 5th grade, and i am a sophomore. granted, it doesn`t have the GREATEST tone, but its still a good hardy clarinet. im looking to but the amati model 314 off wwbw soon, do any of you know anything about them?

also, with the squeaking, just listen to the other people, they are all telling you right, relax, a little more, firm embochuor (hm, thats not spelled right) and higher reed.

sorry that got a little long, i was just on a roll! <3

I know a way to stop squeaking im in 4 grade in the fifth grade lesson book try using a NEW reed from the box because the one that your using might be cracked