Clarinet Care Tips

Assembly:

The correct way to apply cork grease is to gently wipe a film of cork grease around the tenon. Next gently hold the tenon joint between your thumb and fore finger. Carefully turn the instrument at least one revolution while carefully working the cork grease into the cork material. Too little cork grease and your cork will crack, split or break. Too much and you might need to wipe off the excess. Too much is better in our book! Too little often require a professional repair visit.

1. First assemble the bell to the lower joint. To do this hold onto the bell (anywhere), and hold onto the lower joint by holding the F/C and E/B pads closed (the lowest open keys). Your hand should wrap around so that you are holding up to two closed keys and two open keys (held in the closed position). This will keep your hand away from the key parts (mechanisms) that bend easily. Once the proper hand positions are determined, assemble using a slight twisting motion.
2. Next assemble the upper joint to the lower joint. Hold the lower joint as you did in the last step, then hold the upper joint at the very top, and you should then be holding only closed keys down and greatly reduce the risk of bending keys. Assemble again with a gentle twisting motion. To properly align the instrument please line up the center posts of the two joints (The Bb bridge key post to the F# ring key post). If you have an instrument that will not twist together without holding the bridge key down on the upper joint do your best to hold the instrument in near playing position when assembling the upper and lower joints. Be careful not to put pressure on any keys that will bend easily.
3. Now assemble the barrel to the upper joint, still holding the upper joint at the top, hold the barrel any way and twist gently to assemble.
4. Finally assemble the mouthpiece to the barrel. The flat part to the mouthpiece (the face) should line up with the register key. After the mouthpiece is on the instrument, put the reed and ligature on.

Maintenance

• Use cork grease as necessary. The cork will feel dry when needed. It will feel slippery when properly greased.
• Do NOT use Chap stick.
• Do not leave your reed on your mouthpiece. The reed can cement itself to your mouthpiece and collect many germs.
• Occasionally wiggle your thumb rest to see if it is loose, tighten if necessary. The thumb rest supports the whole instrument and it is very important that it remains snug to the body.

When a wooden instrument has loose socket rings it is an emergency. Do not attempt to assemble the instrument until they are repaired. You can crack your instrument by assembling it with loose rings.

Please do not use lotion silver polishes on your instrument. The lotion can make a mess and harm your instrument. If you use a treated polishing cloth for any finish make sure it is for the proper finish. For example, brass cloths can scratch and harm silver finished keys. One of the best ways to keep your instrument finish looking nice is to wipe off your fingerprints after every use. A clean non-treated cotton cloth works well for this.

It is recommended that an instrument is taken to a professional repair technician at least once a year for general maintenance and cleaning. Doing so may prevent costly repairs that arise from the lack of professional repair attention. A qualified technician can often discover a problem that you have learned how to overlook, play through or are not aware of.

Case

Make sure the case is secure. Check all the hinges, latches, and handles to see if they are solidly fastened to the case and they close the case securely. Make sure that the instrument does not move around inside the case.

Please do not sit, rest your feet on or apply pressure to the outside of an instrument case. This can damage your case so that it does not properly protect the instrument.

Carry the case so that if it does accidently open, it will open toward your body, not fall on the ground.

Emergencies:

Never use pliers or hammers on your instrument. Improper use of household tools is a common cause of unnecessary damage to an instrument.

The Final Word: