All About Instrument Repair
How do I know if my instrument needs to be fixed? How often should I get my instrument serviced? It’s easy to know when something is broken on your instrument.
When the valves on your trumpet are stuck or a key on your saxophone won’t return to its original position, you know your instrument needs professional service.
But did you know that there could be underlying issues that are making it more difficult to play your instrument? Routine use inevitably leads to worn out parts and a dirty interior. Very often, by the time your instrument reaches the repair shop to fix what’s broken, there are already a lot of other issues going on.
How Often Should I get my Instrument Serviced?
Generally speaking, an instrument that is played often will need maintenance about once a year. Taking your instrument in for repair twice a year can be even more beneficial, especially if you are playing for long periods of time every day. Even if nothing is bothering you or making it impossible to play right now, it is still essential to give your instrument regular maintenance.
What Does an Instrument Repair do?
1.) Provides Preventative Care
Every musician knows that there is nothing worse than realizing you need a repair on your instrument in the middle of a busy rehearsal season or, worse, the night before a performance.
Scheduling at least one trip to the repair shop per year helps you make sure your instrument is in tip-top shape for the rest of the year. Plus, targeting all the instrument’s issues with one repair prevents problems from piling up until the instrument is virtually unplayable.
Our musical instruments (especially those which are mouth blown) need to be cleaned at least once a year! You are depositing saliva and food particles inside of it every time you play.
This buildup can lead to sticky slides, valves, or pads. The outside of the instrument can also become dirty. Bringing your instrument into the shop gives the technicians a chance to clean the instrument.
Every instrument has parts which can wear out over time and will need to be replaced. Woodwinds need their pads (located under each key) and corks (on the keys and joints) replaced every few years.
Brass instruments can lose screws or need water key corks replaced. A trip to a repair shop enables technicians to evaluate your instrument.
To sum up, even an instrument which does not seem to have any obvious issues can be in need of a repair. It is best to bring your instrument to a professional repair shop at least once a year for regular maintenance. Taking preventative measures will make sure that your instrument is ready to play when you need it the most!
Enjoyed this post? You may also like …
How do you Clean Your Instrument?
How do you clean your instrument? We may know that our instruments need periodic maintenance, but how often should you clean your instrument?
How to Care for Your Woodwind Corks
What are woodwind corks? What is cork grease and how do you use it? This post will help you maintain and care for your woodwind tenon corks.
