Post 58: Maintenance starts with your Mouth

We get the opportunity to speak to oboists all the time about preventive maintenance.  There are several aspects of preventive maintenance that every oboist can do to prolong the life of their instruments.  Things like proper assembly, not squeezing keys, swabbing, proper storage, etc. are all good things to do when trying to minimize trips to the repair shop.

There is one more item that we feel is crucial to practice with regards to preventive maintenance and that item is cleaning your mouth before you play your oboe.

In today’s fast paced world, we have every conceivable convenience food and beverage available at our fingertips.  We typically consume these items on the go, between classes, lessons or even concerts.  If we take a moment to read the ingredients list for these convenience foods, we will find that many of the listed items are different variations of sugar and color die.

When we blow into our oboes, or any musical instrument for that matter, warm air and moisture from our mouths are blown into the instrument.  Anything that we have recently consumed before playing has the potential to also be blown into the instrument, most notably, SUGAR!

Through the years of repairing various woodwind musical instruments, we have noticed that sticky pads are a constant threat to the player.  There are many reasons this may happen, but the primary reason is build-up of sticky residues on the surface of the pad, which then sticks to the tone hole.  Oboe players have enough problems with sticky octaves, G#’s and C#’s without any self-inflicted help!

So what can we do to help prevent pads from sticking?  Clean out your mouth before playing! Maintenance starts with your mouth!  The first thing we recommend is to brush your teeth before playing.  We know this is not ideal in many situations like high school and middle school daily schedules.  However, with a little planning, it may be possible to duck into a bathroom and brush your teeth for 30 seconds plus a good rinse.  For those of us that are not on a super tight schedule, brushing your teeth should be an easy goal to accomplish with some planning.  We recommend carrying a travel toothbrush and toothpaste with you in your oboe bag so you are always prepared.  To assist our customers, we are including a complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste when you have your oboe serviced at Onks Woodwind Specialists!

If you truly cannot brush your teeth before you play, the next best thing is to thoroughly rinse out your mouth with water.  We recommend you carry a reusable water bottle with you for regular healthy hydration, but also to be ready at all times to rinse out your mouth.  Take a mouthful of water and swish around for several seconds.  Repeat this procedure several times to maximize its effectiveness.

Choosing one of these two options for cleaning your mouth will significantly help to prevent pad sticking and help prevent excessive build-up in the bore and tone holes.  Of course there is nothing that is 100%, so even with the best preventive measures we recommend a full service cleaning annually.

So, as you can see now, you do not have to have experience adjusting your oboe or disassembling your oboe to have great preventive maintenance habits.  You have the power and it starts with your mouth!

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.