Masterclass

It’s a poor catcher who blames his glove. But in a different ballpark, the world of music, a badly maintained instrument can make even the best musician sound like a rookie.

Keeping a horn in tip-top shape takes little time and not much money. All it takes is an instrument case stocked with the right tools and supplies—and knowledge of how to use them. With care, a trumpet, trombone, horn or almost any instrument can last a lifetime.

Start by keeping the brass clean, free of corrosive deposits that can build up over time inside valves and tubes. After eating, brass musicians should rinse their mouths with water or brush their teeth. Bits of cheeseburger do nothing to improve the sound—or the life expectancy—of a trumpet, trombone or other brass instrument.

Every well-stocked instrument case should include a cleaning “snake”. Venture makes a good bore brush for tunneling through tubes to rub them clean. It costs $6 or less.

A stuck or slow valve can make a chump out of a musician, playing in a marching band or in a symphony hall. Avoid these pitfalls of the orchestra pit by keeping slide grease and valve oil at hand. Oil slides and valves daily. Trombones will gliss freely with the help of Trombotine cream, at about $11. Add a touch of water from a $3 spray bottle to accelerate the action of the slide. Another lubricant option: Slide-O-Mix, a two-part liquid preparation that’s lighter and easier to apply than the creams. Slide-O-Mix takes the guesswork out of oiling the way to a better performance. It sidesteps uneven slide movement and gumming up that can be a problem with creams. The price of Slide-O-Mix is about $17.

Piston valve instruments benefit from daily application of valve oils such as Al Cass (fast), Blue Juice or Pro Oil. These premium oils, which cost less than $6 a bottle, last longer and work better than cheaper alternatives. Use Space Filler tuning slide grease (green label), at about $3 a bottle, to keep slides from freezing. A small touch of STP oil treatment does the same job. Keep a cleaning rod, at $3, at your fingertips to clean out the casings with cheesecloth with lighter fluid.

No brass musician should be without a tool for removing a stuck mouthpiece. The Bob Cat, at $60, will pull virtually any stuck mouthpiece on any brass instrument. If you can’t afford to buy the Bob Cat, don’t try dislodging a jammed mouthpiece without help. Go to an instrument repair shop, where the mouthpiece can be dislodged for about $5—saving the musician time, effort, embarrassment and the prospect of damaging the instrument.

Rotary instruments, such as horn or tuba, should come stocked with Super Slick spindle oil (needle oiler), about $3.

To keep the outside of an instrument as bright as it sounds, polish lacquer finish horns using flannel and a touch of Pledge furniture polish. Silver-plated horns are best maintained with flannel and a dash of Tarnishield polish, at about $8.

Some maintenance problems are beyond the skills of the average musician, however. Go to a professional instrument repair shop to cope with:

• “Frozen” slides

• Soldering broken braces or other brass parts

• Pulling mouthpieces that won’t come out, even with the help of a mouthpiece puller

• Green buildup inside the slides requiring professional cleaning (at least once a year)

• Adjusting valves, applying pads and felts. Valves have to be measured for proper alignment.

Having a good ear makes for being a good musician. Having an eye for what an instrument needs keeps a player in concert with that goal.

[Editors Note: many of the products mentioned in this article can be found by accessing the ITG links hub at: www.trumpetguild.org/links/links.htm]

Bill Meyers, co-owner of St. Louis Woodwind and Brass, has been repairing, restoring and maintaining brass instruments for 30 years. A native of St. Louis, he holds a bachelor of music education degree from Central Methodist College. Bill’s email address is as follows: stlwwbr@earthlink.net.