At the base level, everyone knows their instrument. Beyond what it is called, they know the very basic parts of the instrument from when they were first taught. Either the diagram from the book they learned from, or the parts their instructor pointed out, they know at least what and where general parts are and somewhat their function. But, that's not going to help you out when trying to describe a problem.
Too many times, a person will come to me and state that it just doesn't work or sounds off. When pressed to be more specific, they can sometimes be able to tell me what notes don't work, or how things don't work when they try to do a certain thing. Those can help me to close in on a problem, but they don't help that much. Sometimes, just knowing what keys are which, or what parts are called on the instrument. Beyond the mouthpiece, there are many parts to any instrument, and each one does do something for the overall functionality of it.
Woodwind players should know what the keys are for their instrument. Look at the fingerings for a note, and the lowest finger down is the key for that note. I know this should be fairly common knowledge, but sometimes it isn't. The more you know about the way your instrument is put together, the better off you'll be.
Brass, your instrument is easier to know in that there are far less moving parts than woodwinds. This means you have even less of an excuse for not knowing the names of instrument parts. Slide parts, names for different sections of the instrument, etc. All these parts have a name and sometimes the name changes where it transitions to another part. There is a reason for this. Different sections to the same part have to be fixed in different ways.
All this points to one thing. When you do have to bring your instrument to get fixed, maintained, or even assessed, The clearer and more knowledgeable you are about your instrument, what its parts are and what is going on with it, the easier your friendly neighborhood technician will be able to focus on exactly what the problem is, and won't have to spend the first section of time just hunting for what could be wrong. They will zero in on the trouble spot, fix that, then only spend a moment or two going over the rest of the instrument to make sure it's functioning correctly.
The alternative, with unsure and vague answers, the tech then has to assume anything and everything is wrong with what you bring them, and go through a checklist to remove things they find not wrong till only the true problems are left. This takes time, and time is paid for by your bank account. It is also somewhat frustrating for a repair technician to be given an instrument that "I dunno, it's just not working," and spend a good chunk of time on a scavenger hunt to find out the entire problem was a 30 second fix.
The more you know about your instrument, it's parts and how they function, the better you and your tech will get along, and the quicker and cheaper all your repairs will be. This will save your wallet and your technician's stress level
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
Brass Tips 1: Give your horn a bath
Ok, brass players. Time for a confession. We've all been there. We've neglected cleaning our horns as often as we know we should, slap extra oil in it and pretend everything is fine. Slowly but surely, the valves and/or slides become slightly harder to move, but we don't really worry about it till it gets to the point things don't move at all.
The brass surfaces need to be clean to work as well as they should. Period. End of post.
.
..
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
Okay, okay, I'll temper that back. Your brass instrument doesn't need to be so perfectly clean that it's as if the horn has never been played. There is a middle ground, and doesn't take long at all. In fact, it will take less time per month than an a typical cartoon episode on tv, and will save you from having to run to a technician to deep clean it just so it will work again.
For cleaning a brass instrument, there are only a few things you need to know how to do. First, you need to know how to completely disassemble and reassemble your instrument. For any brass instrument, this should only take 2-3 minutes (Rotary valves, you are a different set of requirements, so don't worry about most of this, I'll talk about your instrument later) This includes bumper corks and felts on the valve. Being able to take your horn apart gives you the ability to also check on all the parts on their own to figure out what is going on with your brass.
For tools, all you will need for cleaning is soap, a tub of warm water, a rag, an old tooth brush, a 3 inch wide scrap of fabric and a towel. For soap, you need something that will degrease things well. I prefer Dawn dish soap. If it's strong and safe enough to remove crude oil spills from birds, it's perfect for your instrument. The bathtub is perfect for cleaning almost any instrument, as the entire thing can fit in it in pieces.
One of my favorite tools for cleaning is an old toothbrush I don't care about anymore. Put the soap directly on it, and go to town. For piston valves, it's great for cleaning the inside of the valve casings, and all of the valve itself. Don't try to use it inside slides it won't fit in, it'll get stuck and then you'll have to pay to get it removed. The rag can be used for larger sections that using the brush would take forever
Once it's clean, and rinsed, rinse it again. I'm serious. There's more grit left on those surfaces that you can't see. Now, use the dry towel to clean off all the slides, and use the fabric scrap to wipe down inside the casing and in hard to reach areas. Once it's dry, time for oil. Valves and valve casings need oil now, not just one. And get something on the slides. Any surfaces that move when you play need something to protect them.
The oil is there to slow down wear and tear, not to make things move. If there is too much oil or lots of old oil on things, it can slow things down as quickly as anything else. Using it to make things move is a recipe to have lots of work cleaning it off later.
Doing this should only take 20 minutes every month, unless things are bad. This should help to prolong your instruments life and will only need a deep cleaning annually at most. This is like brushing your teeth so your yearly trip to the dentist doesn't result in 20 cavities to be fixed.
The brass surfaces need to be clean to work as well as they should. Period. End of post.
.
..
...
....
.....
......
.......
........
Okay, okay, I'll temper that back. Your brass instrument doesn't need to be so perfectly clean that it's as if the horn has never been played. There is a middle ground, and doesn't take long at all. In fact, it will take less time per month than an a typical cartoon episode on tv, and will save you from having to run to a technician to deep clean it just so it will work again.
For cleaning a brass instrument, there are only a few things you need to know how to do. First, you need to know how to completely disassemble and reassemble your instrument. For any brass instrument, this should only take 2-3 minutes (Rotary valves, you are a different set of requirements, so don't worry about most of this, I'll talk about your instrument later) This includes bumper corks and felts on the valve. Being able to take your horn apart gives you the ability to also check on all the parts on their own to figure out what is going on with your brass.
For tools, all you will need for cleaning is soap, a tub of warm water, a rag, an old tooth brush, a 3 inch wide scrap of fabric and a towel. For soap, you need something that will degrease things well. I prefer Dawn dish soap. If it's strong and safe enough to remove crude oil spills from birds, it's perfect for your instrument. The bathtub is perfect for cleaning almost any instrument, as the entire thing can fit in it in pieces.
One of my favorite tools for cleaning is an old toothbrush I don't care about anymore. Put the soap directly on it, and go to town. For piston valves, it's great for cleaning the inside of the valve casings, and all of the valve itself. Don't try to use it inside slides it won't fit in, it'll get stuck and then you'll have to pay to get it removed. The rag can be used for larger sections that using the brush would take forever
Once it's clean, and rinsed, rinse it again. I'm serious. There's more grit left on those surfaces that you can't see. Now, use the dry towel to clean off all the slides, and use the fabric scrap to wipe down inside the casing and in hard to reach areas. Once it's dry, time for oil. Valves and valve casings need oil now, not just one. And get something on the slides. Any surfaces that move when you play need something to protect them.
The oil is there to slow down wear and tear, not to make things move. If there is too much oil or lots of old oil on things, it can slow things down as quickly as anything else. Using it to make things move is a recipe to have lots of work cleaning it off later.
Doing this should only take 20 minutes every month, unless things are bad. This should help to prolong your instruments life and will only need a deep cleaning annually at most. This is like brushing your teeth so your yearly trip to the dentist doesn't result in 20 cavities to be fixed.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Woodwinds tip #1: Ditch the Pad Saver
If you don't know the name, you know what it is by the description. It's a very soft and fluffy pipe cleaner, the length and shape of the bore of the instrument, usually with a plastic end on it. It's designed for woodwinds to swab out the interior of the instrument for moisture, and it's name indicates it's there to prolong the life of the pad.
Talk to a high level player or instructor, and the first thing they will tell you about it is to not use it. The way they are designed and how people are instructed to use them, they will do the opposite of their name.
Yes, they do soak up the moisture that accumulates on the bore of instrument, but then where does the moisture go? The instructions on the Pad Saver says that it is to be stored inside the instrument. That means all the moisture it soaked up is still inside the instrument, but now can't naturally evaporate away because all of the airspace in the bore is blocked up with this pipe cleaner on steroids. If anything, holding all the moisture next to the pads like that will decrease the life of the pads, and on clarinets could even cause the wood to crack from holding the moisture there
A better tool is to either buy or make a pull through swab. They are just as low cost as a pad saver, if you go that route. The moisture gets pulled off the bore of the instrument, and then the swab would ideally go into a different pocket or place in the case.
I've seen players go from needing pads replaced every few months to a year or more with this simple change, and these were not occasional players but were people that played their instrument every day for at least an hour.
Bottom line, a Pad Saver doesn't, and not using one at all would be better for your instrument than using it
Talk to a high level player or instructor, and the first thing they will tell you about it is to not use it. The way they are designed and how people are instructed to use them, they will do the opposite of their name.
Yes, they do soak up the moisture that accumulates on the bore of instrument, but then where does the moisture go? The instructions on the Pad Saver says that it is to be stored inside the instrument. That means all the moisture it soaked up is still inside the instrument, but now can't naturally evaporate away because all of the airspace in the bore is blocked up with this pipe cleaner on steroids. If anything, holding all the moisture next to the pads like that will decrease the life of the pads, and on clarinets could even cause the wood to crack from holding the moisture there
A better tool is to either buy or make a pull through swab. They are just as low cost as a pad saver, if you go that route. The moisture gets pulled off the bore of the instrument, and then the swab would ideally go into a different pocket or place in the case.
I've seen players go from needing pads replaced every few months to a year or more with this simple change, and these were not occasional players but were people that played their instrument every day for at least an hour.
Bottom line, a Pad Saver doesn't, and not using one at all would be better for your instrument than using it
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)