Post 3: Maintain on a Yearly Basis

Maintenance is a part of our life.  No matter how you look at it there is something that you have to maintain on a daily basis.  Most of us have clothes that need to be washed, floors to be swept, children to bathe and dogs to walk.  Many of us maintain our bodies through diet and exercise.  Do you drive a car?  Regular oil changes will help maintain the overall drive-ability of your vehicle and help it last for many years.  We are maintenance men and women whether we like it or not!

Soooo, it also applies to the musical instruments we play on a daily basis.  Lets take away for a moment the end product of our oboes and clarinets – music.  What do we have left?  We have a fine wood which when translated into household items could be grandma’s antique coffee table.  We have pads that are squeezed everyday, which is not a problem until you look at what the pads are made from – cork and felt.  We have other corks throughout the instrument that are usually no thicker than .010″ (that’s ten thousands of an inch). I’m sure those wear out.  We have metal keys that are constantly pivoting on metal rods that hold them on the instrument.  We have our own spit that is constantly being applied to the inside of our instruments.  We have environmental factors like dust, reed shavings, dog and cat hair.  And most of all, we have ourselves – human beings that are not perfect.  We try to be careful, but things happen. Not major things, but minor things that add up and compound over time.

For oboists, we are always talking about having our oboes adjusted (which is a very important part of oboe maintenance), BUT when you have played your instrument for many months all the aspects of your instrument listed above start to change.  The pads go out of level because your natural finger pressure changes the orientation of where the pad makes contact with the tone hole.  The pads also go out of level because the metal keys pivot over and over on the metal rods which make the keys loose on the rod and loose between the posts.  As your spit moves through the inside of your instrument, dust collects in that moisture.  Yes, you may swab or use a feather, but this doesn’t get all the moisture out and does not clean up in the tone holes.  Tenon corks and adjustment corks wear out over time and have to be replaced.  All of these issues and many more are the reason you should have your instrument fully cleaned and serviced every year.

If someone comes to my shop to have a basic adjustment done, I usually do not charge.   I find it hard to charge for something that only takes 5 minutes and find it hard to charge when the adjustment may not make the instrument play any better due to all the factors listed above.  I am a firm believer in comprehensive repair and maintenance.  Most of my clients come to have the “Yearly Cleaning” and I don’t see them again for another year because this mostly eliminates all those last minute emergencies.  If your instrument hasn’t had a comprehensive cleaning and set-up in more than a year, give your favorite oboe repair person a call today!

“The best maintenance is preventative maintenance.”