I saw a great TED talk from a guitar maker named Paul Reed Smith. He talked about how he designed guitars with the an acoustic concept that makes a lot of sense for all instruments. Every instrument, by its construction and materials, is subtracting from the maximum potential it has. This is true for wind instruments as well. What the instrument is made of? How are the parts shaped? How do they fit together? What is used to connect the parts? What are they made of? How is the interior surface finish? What is the exterior finish made ? It's a good subject for any musician to consider.
There are thousands of questions that could be asked, and they all have some affect on how efficiently the instrument functions. Taking a trumpet, covering it in dents, filling the bore with a layer of grease, and wrapping the entire bell in cloth will detract from the sound substantially more than one that is clean, dent free, and uninhibited. The less you do to detract from the sound capabilities, the better it will sound.
We've all seen the infamous ding from a stand, or heard a mouthpiece fall on the floor. We've seen the school tubas covered in dents or the saxophones with rubber bands to hold keys closed. All these things are fixable, and some of them need to be fixed
Sometimes, however, the damage is minor enough that fixing it won't really matter. If it's a student model instrument, for example, It's made with slightly thicker materials and with wider tolerances. The makers of these instruments have made a very wise decision. Knowing that the majority of people playing these instruments won't be as careful as a professional, they have sacrificed a small amount of tone for durability.
In those cases, and even up to some of the intermediate models, minor dents and scratches don't matter as much as on a pro level piece. In many cases, the wear and tear doesn't even affect the sound at all. I'm not saying that dents are okay, but if they are small enough that someone doesn't know they are there from more than 10 feet away, they aren't going to do much to inhibit the sound on a student model. Don't get me wrong. As a technician and a musician, I dislike dents and scratches on instruments, but sometimes it isn't worth getting upset about for long.
It reminds me of the mythbusters episode about driving a truck with the tailgate up or down, and they determined that the friction of the rubber tires on the road created more resistance than the difference in the tailgate had on performance.
With this in mind, there are things everyone should do to maximize the potential of the instrument. Keeping it clean is first and foremost. Any debris (dust, water, dried oils, food bits, etc) will detract from the instrument. When you have the instrument out of the case, try to protect your instrument from anything that could damage it. Small dents might not be much, but many of them can add up and effect things. Even being careful with the instrument in the case matters. The case doesn't make your instrument invulnerable. It can still be damaged through the case.
Some wear and tear on the instrument is inevitable, but knowing the difference between a small dent that is mainly unsightly, and the major damage that will affect how the horn plays is something that will save you from multiple trips to the shop
If you're interested in the TED talk, here's the link. I've watched it several times, and I think it's a good way to think of any instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNzJjlV1TOA
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