Care and Maintenance of Brass Instruments

Just about everyone knows that if you play a brass instrument, you need lubricants of some kind. But not everyone understands the importance of using the right kind of oil or grease.

First, let's start with piston-valve instruments. I'm sure that all of you student trumpet players out there have a bottle of valve oil in your case. And you probably use it whenever your valves are feeling a little sluggish, or whenever you want to irritate your director in rehearsal.

Most student players just don't use enough valve oil. We see the results in our shop all of the time, horns with enough cruddies built up inside to impede the flow of air through the instrument. You can't use too much valve oil. We realize that you can waste it, but is it really a waste? If you put lots of valve oil on your valves, any excess is going to either blow through the horn and come out when you blow out the water key, or it is going to run out the bottom of the valve casing. Ever wonder what that little hole in the bottom valve cap is for? You got it! A wonderful reason to keep a little hand towel draped over your knee when playing.

Here's what we recommend, based on the routine of several professional players we know:

Coat each valve in succession with valve oil. Use it freely, not just a few drops.

If you have Amado water keys, put a drop or two of valve oil in the little hole where the water comes out. Work the little piston several times.

Holding your instrument with the mouthpiece receiver pointing up, put one or two big squeezes of valve oil into the mouthpiece receiver and blow it through the horn, working the valves up and down while you blow. This will give the inside of your horn a protective coating and help wash away any little nasties in there.

Remember, the reason your director probably told you just to use a few drops of valve oil is that they didn't want a big mess in the music hall. Most professional players we know do this routine every day.

Also, valve instruments need grease. Any threaded fittings should have some slide grease, cork grease, or something rubbed into the threads at least once a month. Usually, the fittings that are the worst to corrode are the ones where you have two different kinds of metal in contact with one another. For instance, if you have monel valves and aluminum valve stems, the threaded connection needs to be well-lubricated. In our shop, we usually use a marine-lube of some kind. It repels water nicely, and is thick enough to stay where we put it.

Be sure and put grease, the same kind, on your slides at least once a month. Believe it or not, slides are actually made to move. If yours don't, take it to a repair shop. Do not try and get a slide un-stuck at home.The damage you will do to your instrument will be far more costly than simply getting a slide un-stuck. As a matter of fact, we often free up sticky slides for free on the spot. We are happy that the student did not try and do it themselves!

If you are a trumpet player, get some rotor oil for your third slide. If you have traditional water keys (spit valve), use a drop every now and then on the little rod that holds the water key on.

Next, we will discuss rotary-valve instruments. Mainly French horns and tubas, these instruments can be particularly troubling if you are having valve problems. Nine times out of ten, if one of your valve strings break, you have not been using enough oil. Your beginning band director probably taught you how to put just a drop on the rotor bearing under the valve cap, as well as a drop on the bearing where the string and stops are.

In addition to this treatment, please put a couple of squeezes of regular valve oil (like trumpet players use) into the leadpipe and blow it through the horn. Do this at the very least once a week. Just as for piston-valve instruments, it will help by coating the inside of your horn, and you will spend less money on clean-outs and valve string jobs.

And, please, grease all those slides at least once a month. We have seen lots of broken braces on French horns caused by someone trying to free a stuck slide to empty spit.

Rotary valve instruments also need grease on any threaded fitting, especially the threads of the valve caps.

We strongly encourage that all French horns be cleaned out at a competent repair shop every year. Stay away from the shops that use a “bright-dip” kind of cleaner. If they are not extremely careful, it will eat away some of the brass on the inside of your valve casings and soon they will leak, and the horn will play “stuffy”. Slides can get leaky, as well, and the worst shops shine the inside tubing of the slide by sanding. Never, never let anyone touch your instrument with sandpaper or grit. We see French horns with leaky valves and slides all the time in our shop, and often have the unfortunate job of informing the owner that their horn is basically ruined. Most of these problems are caused by bad repair techs. A properly cared-for French horn will stay tight for many years, even if it is played several hours a day.

Playing a valve instrument doesn't wear it out. Letting it get corroded, however, will cause the brass tubing to rot out from the inside. Johnny Paul has a trumpet on his bench right now that must have the leadpipe replaced because it has two big rotted cracks in it.