Have you cleaned your instrument lately?

musicteach

musicteach

New member
Our first day of classes was today, and while the band was warming up, I was taking the opportunity to play a few runs. In case you don't know my teaching style, I conduct as little as possible during marching band season as on the field during a show, I won't be conducting them. I happened to notice one of the trumpet players cleaning his instrument. Not a big deal, right? Well...supposed to not be a big deal. He was cleaning the inside of one the valves with a cloth, and pulls the cloth out and there's this green slimy gunk all over it. As it turns out, he'd been practicing over the summer--including camp--and hadn't actually cleaned it out since Christmas! Which brings up the original question, have you given your instrument a bath lately?

Horn players--especially bras--have to take an extra precaution which is to clean your instruments!
 
wljmrbill

wljmrbill

Member
I do dust and vacuum the keyboards and exposed areas too..kinda hit and miss and keep them covered when not playing with a cloth cover....
 
Mat

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
Back when I still played the oboe I used to clean it at the end of every practice session with a specially designed cloth. It was the obvious thing to do. As for the reeds, I would clean them once every few days with a pipe cleaner.

My upright piano usually gets vacuumed once every one or two weeks and I also try to remember to wipe it with a wet cloth every month or so. I cover my stage piano with a tailored piece of fabric (rather than an expensive case) when it's not used. I will also vacuum it whenever I see dust start showing on it.

So to answer your question - yes, I do take good care of my instruments and give them a bath whenever they ask for it. Now, my furniture is a whole nother story :lol:
 
teddy

teddy

Duckmeister
Even though I keep my guitars in bags I still wipe them over occasionally and hoover the insides. I occasionally treat the fingerboards with a special oil as well. A clean instrument is a happy instrument.

teddy
 
musicteach

musicteach

New member
Mat said:
Back when I still played the oboe I used to clean it at the end of every practice session with a specially designed cloth. It was the obvious thing to do. As for the reeds, I would clean them once every few days with a pipe cleaner.

My upright piano usually gets vacuumed once every one or two weeks and I also try to remember to wipe it with a wet cloth every month or so. I cover my stage piano with a tailored piece of fabric (rather than an expensive case) when it's not used. I will also vacuum it whenever I see dust start showing on it.

So to answer your question - yes, I do take good care of my instruments and give them a bath whenever they ask for it. Now, my furniture is a whole nother story :lol:
Click to expand...

I do the same, always clean my instrument after a practice session. Now if I'm teaching and I'm playing say trumpet all day off and on, obviously it waits until after work. Or if I'm playing cello I always wipe the extra rosin dust off the instrument. I leave the rosin on the strings/bow(s). I've never had any issues doing this. Some people I've seen clean the strings thoroughly every day. But before I put a horn away, I clean the mouthpiece and the instrument thoroughly. And the reason for this is that I personally am far more susceptible to colds and such because of some of the medications I take. I spray mouthwash into the mouthpiece before I start to play.

teddy said:
Even though I keep my guitars in bags I still wipe them over occasionally and hoover the insides. I occasionally treat the fingerboards with a special oil as well. A clean instrument is a happy instrument.

teddy
Click to expand...

I agree. Like I said previously, I have to really clean my horns after each practice session. If I have a cold or something especially. I try to tell my students if you have a cold, clean it out. Give it a good bath otherwise you're just going to keep catching that cold. And it's funny. This green gunk students sometimes pull out? I've never had that issue. But that's mostly because I decided long ago if I inhaled a chunk of mold it would thoroughly upset ;)
 
John Watt

John Watt

Member
I heard JHC gets to reach his longest notes in the tub.

My father brought me up helping him to take apart the TV and radio,
to dust them out, wipe them off and take the tubes to be tested.
That also included cleaning and oiling his tools, letting me use them.

A piece of soft suede, run up and down guitar strings after playing,
keeps them going a lot longer.
Considering that I liked to play trumpet sitting behind a little falls in the stream,
with the bell sticking out on the other side of the waterfall,
it was really clean. Even the notes sounded clear with a rush of liquid tone.

I hope no-one gets into what can happen with harmonicas in water, or beer...
 
teddy

teddy

Duckmeister
I did ask my wife to help me clean my organ, but she said it was such a minor job I could do it myself....................

teddy
 
JHC

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
There are pads on the Flute that by default are closed when not in use and I learned the hard way that you must clean these when you have finished for the day so I make sure they are dry, if you don't then when you next press the key you may find that the pads are damaged, replacement pads are expensive.
 
John Watt

John Watt

Member
I had a line, but Dorsetmike said it best.
And even this old rocker is aware that organs are best suited for organists and the organ forums.
Us electric guitarists have our neck to be concerned about.

When a friend of mine bought a silver flute we thought that was it, until it had to be rebuilt.
When the brother of a pro keyboardist I was working with went to see a silver flute advertised for sale,
Moe Koffman answered the door and sold him his first flute, the one used for Swinging Shephard Blues,
saying he bought a new one. My friend was afraid to do anything to it.

You can tell body chemistry by the colour old Gibson guitar chrome turns after a while.
Most people usually make it go blue or green, but I've seen other colours.
 
Corno Dolce

Corno Dolce

Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Its more fun cleaning the skeletons out of the closet...:lol: Hey, now I know what "coming out" means:lol::lol::lol::lol:
 
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