Looking After Your Brass Instrument
About the brass instrument
Brass Instruments include: Trumpets/bugles, horns, euphoniums/baritones, trombones, and tubas. Brass instruments are unique from woodwinds in that they do not have pins and pads covering the tone holes. This means that they do not have to have the moisture swabbed from the instrument after playing.
Oiling the valves/roters/slides
Before you play your horn it is important to make sure that the valves/slides are moving smoothly and easily. If they are not, you should pull out the valve half way (removing the valve completely can damage the soft metal of the valve when you put it back inside the valve casing) and place valve oil on the valve. Use ONLY valve oil designed for brass instruments that you purchase at a music store.
Any other substance will gunk up your horn and cause it to play improperly. Put the valve back in and screw the caps on. Then vigorously shake the valves up and down to coat the entire valve and casing.
If you have a (French) horn then you have roters. To oil these roters you should take the circular caps off the tops of the valves. Drip a few drops of valve oil onto the screw mechanism and work the valves until they are moving smoothly. Replace the caps.
For slides on trombones and tuning slides on all brass instruments, you should use slide grease. Use ONLY slide grease designed for brass instruments. Any other substance (except for may valve oil in a pinch) will freeze up your slides and damage your instrument.
If greasing or oiling your valves does not make them move smoothly then they are most likely bent and will need to be unbent by a professional repair person.
Cleaning your instrument
Everyday you should empty the water from your water valves. Without emptying these your sound will become bubbly and unclear. Before playing your horn, you should make sure that you rinse your mouth out with water to remove any food debris that could become trapped inside. Trapped food will lead to an expensive overhaul to repair the instrument. Occasionally you can wash your horn in a bath ,use warm water and soap. Remove all slides and valves to wash them separately. Hot water can damage the laquor so be careful not to make your water too warm.
Music Stores sell plastic brushes to run through your slides to clean out any residue. Do not use wire brushes that could scratch the metal inside your horn. After air drying your instrument overnight, use slide grease on the slides and valve oil on the valves as you put it back together.
So in a few easy steps you have cleaned your brass instrument and you can get back to playing it again.
About the Author
Colin McDonald is writing on behalf of GoodfellowUSA.com -
Metals & Materials for Research & Industry
Sesame Street – Brass instruments
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