Post 3: Maintain on a Yearly Basis

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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.”

Post 2: Sticky 1st Octave Pad

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There are many reasons your 1st octave pad could be sticking. There are mechanical problems like the key binding on the rod, which means the key will feel tight between the posts or tight on the rod.  To remedy these types of problems I will refer you to your favorite oboe repair person.

Your 1st octave pad may also stick due to a deep indention in the pad surface. Since the cork pad is a much softer material than the metal octave vent that the pad rests on, the pad will form an indention. Over time that indention will get deeper and deeper, and eventually start sticking to the octave vent.  Unfortunately, if this is the problem you are having you will probably not be able to fix this yourself. The only real solution is to see your favorite oboe repair person and have the pad replaced.

There are times when the pad sticks because the pad seat gets dirty. This is caused over time by the pad getting wet from your saliva.  Not only is your saliva wet, but it can also contain sugars from eating and/or drinking and once the pad is wet, dust particles settle in on the surface of the pad. Over time this process repeats itself.  Then, one day, voila! – your pad starts sticking. You can try to clean the pad by placing a clean paper towel under the pad, lightly press down on the key and pull the towel out. This process will pull some of the stickiness off of the pad and make it less sticky. You may need to repeat this process a couple times, but just keep in mind the pad will start sticking again.  (Cigarette paper could also be used instead of a paper towel.)

To help reduce stickiness due to moisture and saliva, always rinse your mouth out with water before playing your oboe.  Or even better, brush your teeth before playing followed by rinsing really well.  Brushing your teeth and rinsing your mouth will reduce the unwanted sugars from entering your oboe.

To help prevent your octave pads from getting deep indention’s in them, watch how you assemble your oboe.  Do not squeeze any keys when you assemble your oboe by holding your upper joint at the very top on the crown.  I have also seen people place a piece of cigarette paper under the octave pads when the oboe is not in use.  Doing so will reduce some of the direct pressure the pad receives from the metal octave vent.

You will hear me say a lot, “The best maintenance is preventative maintenance!”  Have your oboe serviced by your favorite oboe repair person at least once a year, and you will most likely NOT find yourself in a sticky situation.

Post 1: Be careful of your low B and Bb levers.

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When laying your oboe down be careful not to lay it on the left-hand side with your low B and Bb levers. Doing so can possibly bend the levers and will make your low B and Bb out of adjustment. This picture is an example of what NOT to do…