Whether you've just purchased a trumpet, or you're renting, you may be curious how you can help your instrument when issues arise. Most homes have tools in them, and if you're a regular patron of your local music store you probably have some items specific to trumpet maintenance on hand.
We asked our brass technicians what the dos and don'ts of at home trumpet repairs and maintenance are, and here's what they said:
Do
Regular Cleaning
Valve Oiling
Mouthpiece Cleaning
Don't
Dent Removal
Re-Attach Water Key
Pull a Stuck Slide
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Below we'll go in depth about why these are Dos and Don'ts and help familiarize you with some helpful techniques for taking care of your trumpet between visits to the repair shop.
DO
Regular Cleaning
Lay out a soft cloth like towel or a blanket to lower keep your trumpet safe from scratches or potential denting from a hard surface. Fill a bathtub or large sink with lukewarm water with a small amount of mild dish soap. Disassemble your trumpet keeping the valves and their caps off to the side to void wetting the felts. See valve oiling directions below. Submerge the trumpet body and slides in the soapy water and let them soak for 10-12 minutes to loosen up debris. Use a snake brush to clean through the tubing of the body and the slides, a valve brush to scrub the valve casings. Don't forget to clean your mouthpiece (see instructions below). Dry the components of your trumpet or let them air dry on your soft surface. Repeat every 1-2 months.
Valve Oiling
Routine oiling of your trumpet valves is simple to do, but there are some key things to remember. First unscrew the caps underneath the buttons on each valve, and carefully remove each of them making sure to take note of which valve goes in which casing. Wipe off any old oil or dirt with a link-free cloth and apply a few drops of valve oil to the length of each valve. Replace them in the correct casings matching the small guides near the springs with the notch in the casing. It will be easy to tell if you've accidentally put the wrong valve in the wrong casing because you'll be unable to play certain notes. If the holes in the valves don't align with the tubing from the rest of the horn it will block the airflow making some notes unplayable.
Mouthpiece Cleaning
If there's anything you should be cleaning often it's your mouthpiece. With your mouthpiece coming into contact with your mouth often it's a breeding ground for bacteria, build-up, and gunk. Rinse the mouthpiece under lukewarm warm water, then apply a drop or two of mild dish soap to a mouthpiece brush and scrub the inside of the mouthpiece thoroughly. Rinse the soap out and dry the mouthpiece with a soft cloth.
Trumpet Spiffy Kit
Everything necessary to keep your trumpet clean, consistent, and comfortable.
Includes: Valve oil, slide grease, snake brush, valve brush, mouthpiece brush, and lacquer polish cloth.
DON'T
Dent Removal
It may be tempting to try to hammer out a dent in your instrument yourself, but without the proper training and specialized tools a technician uses you run the risk of damaging the finish, stretching the metal, creating flat spots, or even cracks. These kinds of mistakes can be harder to reverse than the initial dent.
Re-Attach Water Key
Super glue or E6000 isn't going to cut it on this one. The process of re-attaching a water key often involves soldering and alignment of components like springs and corks. Re-installing this key incorrectly can lead to air leaks, or damage the water key itself.
Pull a Stuck Slide
Slides may seem simple as they glide against each other on your trumpet, but when a slide gets stuck it can be panic educing. Pulling hard on a slide may seem like it'll do the trick, but often dirt, grime, and other debris in the instrument have sealed the slide to the tubing, and someone with knowledge of the horn should be the one to dislodge it. We've seen many horns come in with the bracings that hold the parts of the horn together popped apart because someone tried to pull a slide at home. Save this one for the technicians.
Hopefully you now have more clarity on what you can do to make sure no unintentional damage comes to your trumpet. If something has come up that isn't listed here, it's always a good idea to consult with a professional brass technician.
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