Clarinet Care
Grease your tenon corks lightly before assembly. This prevents the cork from drying out,
but more importantly makes it easier to assemble without excessive force. Remove any grease that is anywhere except on the cork.
Note: grease will not overcome the problems presented by a cork that is too fat.
Use a twisting and pushing motion to assemble the joints, this will prevent excessive mechanical stresses.
Don't use excessive force, you risk breaking or cracking your clarinet.
When assembling the center joint, hold the top joint ring key down to raise the
'bridge key' and do not hold the lower joint ring keys down. This will prevent damage to the 'bridge' connection.
Line the joints up using a slight twisting motion until the linkage is in line.
Always dry the clarinet bore and mortises after playing. A pull-through swab is preferred, but the so called
'pad savers' are better than not doing it.
Disassemble the clarinet after use, dry it and return it to it's case.
Wooden clarinets are sensitive to extremes and sudden changes in temperature. Avoid direct exposure to sunlight and other heat sources. Allow the clarinet to come to room temperature before playing. The forces of temperature difference are strong and rapid. Playing a wooden clarinet in air below 60 degrees is risking a crack.
All clarinets can be affected by heat. Cork grease will vaporize and condense on your key work, which will make it look dull and feel greasy.
It will also condense on the pads and make them sticky. This is more true for bladder skin than leather or synthetic.
Pads that are installed with shellac may loosen in extreme heat or cold. Avoid radiators and other heat sources.
Don't leave your clarinet in a hot or cold motor vehicle.
Avoid exposure to rain, especially wooden clarinets. The forces of humidity in wooden clarinets are slow and weak. If the wood's humidity is extremely low or high it may cause keywork to bind.
In a dry climate you may need to add some humidity to the case of a wooden clarinet, there are products availble for this and I
understand many use orange peels. As a rule of thumb, if the rings loosen enough to turn, you need to provide some moisture. This can
occur in any heated enviorment that is not humidified. Loose rings greatly increase the risk of cracks occurring durng assembly.
If a ring is loose enough to be removed, either have it professionally tightened or shim it yourself, before assembling it. Many use
paper for this, but I use heavy duty aluminum foil, 2 or 3 layers is usually enough. If you can replace the ring with only the pressure
of your fingers, it's not tight enough to actually compress the wood.
The bore of wooden clarinets may need to be oiled. When you look through the bore while holding it up to a light it should appear
shiny. If it doesn't it needs to be oiled. From a practical point of view, there is no difference between mineral and plant derived
oils, except that cooking oils will turn racid over time. Check this every couple of months. The barrel will require treatment more
frequently than the other parts. If you got your wooden clarinet from us the bore will be waxed and this treatment will last a long
time, often for years. Unfortunately, waxing can not be accomplished without removing the keywork. You can still wax the barrel. We use Butcher's orange floor wax.
More tips below.
Flute Care
Grasp the body and foot joint between your thumb and fingers to avoid placing any pressure on the keys.
Do not wrap your hand around it.
Use a twisting and pushing or pulling motion to assemble and disassemble the joints, this will prevent excessive mechanical stresses.
Joints should be snug, but don't use excessive force, you risk damaging your flute.
A small amount of cork grease can be used, if needed. If that doesn't work, have the joints adjusted.
This is a small job for a knowledgable person with the right tools.
Always dry the flute bore after playing. A swab is preferred, but the so called 'pad savers' are better than not doing it.
Disassemble the flute after use, dry it and return it to it's case. Do not lay it across a chair or on a sofa.
Clarinet & Flute Tips
Wipe the key work with a soft cloth, paper towel or similar. Once a week is good enough unless you have been sweating.
Use a dry soft bristled paint brush to gently remove dust from the key work, as needed.
If a pad seems to be sticking to the tone hole, use several thicknesses of dry paper towel to blot between the pad and tone hole.
A cotton swab can also be used, but wipe the surfaces gently.
If it still sticks, you can try a slightly moistened towel or swab, followed by a dry one.
If a key is responding slowly, a small amount of key oil applied between the key and post while assembled may work,
but the key must be removed to be properly cleaned and oiled.
If your instrument is silver or silver plated keep a 3M silver protector strip in the case and change it every 6 to 12 months.
Exposure to sulphides will tarnish the silver. Sulphides are what make an onion smell and are contained in rubber, including rubber bands.
There is a strong correlation between good players and instrument care. Maintaining your instrument may be rewarded by developing perfect pitch or a scholarship to Julliard. Good luck!
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