Swift, sure and silent action is our object in making mechanical adjustments to the clarinet.

Absolute precision, economy of motion, balance of tension and similarity of key action are vital for technical dexterity and musicality. This will encourage finger dexterity while demanding and allowing for a true finger legato.

The tension in each spring must be neither stiff, weak, mushy nor have any excess or inefficient motion.

The quality of the metal of each spring, its thickness, how much and where the metal is bent, the manner and placement of attachment on each key, and the quality and amount of oil that lubricates the key are significant.

The amount of tension between all the keys must also be balanced for similarity of
action from finger pressure. The height of each key, how it is plateaued with the others that surround it in relation to the outer wall of the clarinet, how far the key can depress and the action of the key at the maximum point of depression are significant. The adjustment of the height of the ring keys must also be precise. They must be neither too high nor too low, or the clarinet will leak. They must be positioned evenly so that the top of the rings are just slightly above the top of the tone holes.

For proper action, each screw on the clarinet must be oiled and then screwed in snugly. If this procedure binds the motion of the key, then the key must be adjusted.

The nature of every screw is to screw itself out, so you must be vigilant in your daily maintenance routine and make sure that each screw is in tightly without binding. All of the screws and posts on the clarinet should be oiled as appropriate and necessary with clock oil, machine oil or petroleum jelly.

Attention must be paid to the security of the lowest post on the upper joint. This post is especially strained through the dual action of the vertical motion of the left-hand c-sharp/G-sharp key and the horizontal action of the bridge key.

Special attention must be given to the adjustment of the bridge keys between the two joints. These bridge keys must align exactly with one another; any gap between them will create a leak underneath the pad in the upper joint and introduce a gap in the
key action. The bridge must not be over-adjusted, however. In this case the ring keys of the right hand will be too high, the first pad in the lower joint will not seal, and/or motion will be felt in the left hand ring keys when operating the ring keys in the right hand. The adjustment of the bridge must be checked daily. In putting the joints together and taking them apart, special care must be taken not to knock the bridge out of alignment.

There must be no play in the action of the clarinet save one place. The left-hand g-sharp throat tone key must be allowed to have a little play between it and the A key beneath it. Thus a slight gap must exist between the bottom of the g-sharp key and
the upper part of the A key, which must be covered with either leather or cork to silence the sound of the action. The correct amount of space is created by the screw that is located on the top of the g-sharp key. This space is necessary because as the
instrument becomes heated through playing, the pad beneath the A key will swell up and expand with moisture. If the g-sharp key is fitted exactly to the top of the A key, the swelling of the A key pad will slightly vent the g-sharp key and create a leak beneath the g-sharp key's pad.

The quality of the workmanship of the keywork as well as the manner that the keys are attached to the instrument and to each other is important. The material that the keys are made of must be flexible enough to allow bending, but not so soft as to be bent through the normal action of handling the instrument or by slight mishaps.

The material the keys are made of must be heavy enough to insure a precise mechanical action but not so heavy as to slow that action down.

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