Quick Tip – Water in the Keys

Every clarinetist has had the experience of water getting into the keys and making some pretty weird noises.  But how best to get it out?  In the short term I’ve found it best to take my swab pull it to where the key is and blow the water into the swab.  This may sound incredibly obvious but it never occurred to me until someone pointed out that if the swab’s not there, the water will just come right back out.  In the long term, you can try swabbing out the barrel repeatedly (50 or 60 times) and then with a thin stick (a chopstick will work) place a line of oil down the center of the bore to give the water a place to go.