[laylomo2]

I was performing as the principal bassoonist in a symphonic band concert. We played a piece or two, the audience clapped, and when I sat down, I looked down and one of the pads had fallen off one of the highest keys. The pad is what seals the hole allowing the instrument to play different notes. Since I effectively had a leak at the very top of my instrument, I literally was incapable of playing anything at all. The bassoon turned into a squeaky toy.

Anyways, as we began the 3rd piece, I looked at the 2nd bassoonist and told her she would have to play all the solos (which she hadn’t prepared for).

At intermission, I had a crazy idea, so I found my sister in the audience and asked her if she had a stick of gum. To my delight she did, so I chewed it up, stuck it to the back of the pad, and put the pad back on the instrument. To my surprise the hack worked, and I was able to complete the rest of the concert.

tl;dr: My snot nosed 20 year old self violated a school-owned $20,000 instrument with 10 cents worth of chewing gum at intermission, but managed to play all my solos, and then afterwards learned how to properly reseat pads with a lighter.

[bambax]

My son plays the clarinet. Last year he lost a pad. (He has a nice instrument that he plays often). I went to a reputable shop and they said one should always replace all the pads at once, some were loose, and a complete revision was in order. The cost was €350.

I told them I would think about it, went home, ordered a set of pads online for €7 and replaced the missing pad myself with the help of a couple of youtube videos.

The clarinet has been working perfectly since. Two months after my repair my son had an exam at the conservatory. I was a little worried because it was a formal affair with a jury of five professionals and should the instrument have an audible whistle of some kind I was sure they would noticed it.

He passed with flying colors. I was proud of him, but also of my repair.