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Instrument Care for Beginners
Five minutes a day saves a trip to my bench.
Print this and tape it inside the case lid.

Rules for every instrument
  1. It lives in its case, latched, whenever nobody is playing it. Most of the damage I fix happened in the five minutes an instrument spent on a bed or a chair. Latch both latches; I've seen plenty of instruments fall out of a case somebody picked up upside down.
  2. Never leave it in the car. Heat melts the glue and cork, and cold cracks wood and stiffens pads.
  3. Brush your teeth, or at least rinse your mouth, before you play. Sugar and cracker crumbs end up inside the instrument, gumming the valves and the pads.
  4. Little brothers and sisters don't play it. I'm sorry, but they don't.
  5. If something seems wrong, bring it in. Don't force anything that won't move, and don't fix anything with glue, tape, a rubber band or pliers. It's almost always a small, cheap fix if it gets to me first.

Flute
Put the flute together with a gentle twist, holding it by the smooth parts at the ends, never by the keys; the key mechanism bends more easily than you'd think. After playing, run the cleaning rod with a soft cotton cloth threaded through its slot down each piece to dry the inside, then wipe the fingerprints off the outside with a soft cloth. No silver polish, no oil on the keys. Don't leave the flute lying across a chair or a music stand, where it's one bump from the floor.
Clarinet
A new clarinet's corks are snug. Put a little cork grease on them and the pieces will slide together with a gentle twist. When you join the two middle pieces, press down the rings on the top piece; that lifts the little bridge key so it doesn't get bent. After playing, take the reed off and put it in its reed guard, then pull the swab through every piece until it comes out dry. Keep three reeds going and take turns with them. A chipped or cracked reed squeaks no matter how well your child plays; throw it away. Never leave a reed on the mouthpiece in the case.
Alto Saxophone
Put the neck strap on first and hook the saxophone to it before you do anything else. Pick the sax up by the bell or the body, never by the keys, and never by the neck. Put a little cork grease on the neck cork so the mouthpiece slides on without forcing. After playing, take off the reed, swab out the body and the neck, and wipe the mouthpiece. The neck goes in its own spot in the case, not loose on top of the body.
Trumpet
Oil the valves every day or two: unscrew the top cap, lift the valve halfway out, put a few drops of valve oil on it, and slide it back in. Turn it gently until you feel it click into place. Do one valve at a time, so they don't get mixed up; each valve has its number stamped on it, and they go in 1, 2, 3, starting nearest the mouthpiece. If no air will go through after oiling, a valve is in backward or in the wrong place, and that's an easy fix, not a broken trumpet. Put a little slide grease on the tuning slides about once a month. Once a month, give the trumpet a bath in lukewarm water (never hot) with a squirt of mild dish soap, run a snake brush through the tubes, rinse, dry, and oil the valves again. Don't drop the mouthpiece; a dented mouthpiece gets stuck.
Trombone
The slide is the whole instrument. One dent in it and it won't move freely, so keep the slide lock on whenever you're not playing, and never let the slide fall open. Use slide cream and a little spray bottle of water, the way your band director shows you; the slide should glide with a flick of the fingers. When you put it down, use a trombone stand or put it back in the case. Don't stand it on its bell, and don't lean it against a wall. A bath once a month, the same as a trumpet, keeps it free and clean, but ask me to show you how to clean the slide before you try it the first time.
Percussion Kit
Play the bells with the mallets that came with the kit, not with drumsticks, pencils or spoons. Keep the lid closed when you're done, and don't set things on top of it. Practice your sticking on the pad, not on the kitchen table, the dog, or your sister. Sticks and mallets go back in the bag, every time, or you'll be looking for them at 7:30 on a school morning.


Questions about any of this? Stop in and I'll show you, free. Bring the instrument.
(555) 555-0135  ·  [email protected]

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Last updated Saturday, August 28, 1999  ·  © 1999 Banta Music