Essential Cleaning Supplies For Trumpet Players
Moderator's note (BB): This text provides a set of recommendations for working trumpets, not museum pieces. Drying the valves can end up leaving small traces of lint on the surface of the valve which can make them stick or slow down later on. Start by running the snake brush through the trumpet tubing. Clean the inside of every valve casing thoroughly. Blow some air through your instrument to check the valves are in the right way.
I have since visited a site which said that it is totally unnecessary to wash and clean the trumpet and that it could do more harm than good and that you should just lubricate the valves and slides. Scrub the valve casings with a valve casing brush. Gently immerse the trumpet, the slides, the bottom valve caps, and your mouthpiece.
Again, use soap and the wire brush to clean the caps. 15. The last components are the valve and tuning slides. Small particles of dust and sand readily stick to oiled parts like trombone slides and micro close tolerance piston valves. Take the valves out first and clean them seperately.
Use one hand to tug the mouthpiece away from the trumpet while you stabilize the body of the horn with your other hand. Oil your valves before reinserting them into your trumpet. A Taylor instrument needs no more attention to cleaning than any other trumpet or flugelhorn.
The third-valve slide does need to move easily, so a different, lighter lubricant (called key and rotor oil) is needed. B. Carefully unscrew the top valve cap, and partially remove the valve from the casing. The first slide is connected to the first valve casing and points toward the player.
Now that you know how to clean a trumpet, consider the last time that you took the time to clean your instrument. When finished, lightly tighten the rim into place and rinse the entire mouthpiece in water to wash off excess graphite. 4. Remove all the slides, valves and bottom caps and place your instrument and its slides, but not the valves, into a bath of lukewarm water with a mild detergent in it and let it soak for a few minutes.
You need to know that there are two main types of slides on your trumpet. Your town music store that keeps the local HS in euphoniums should be able to supply you with a genuine trumpet cleaning kit (it also works on cornets). Please oil weekly the spindle bearings on top (below stop arm) and at the bottom of the valve (you must remove the valve cap first).
4. Use the flexible snake to clean all the tuning slides. 3. Use the flexible snake to clean all the tubing on the body of the instrument. You will have to wipe off the valves and swab the valve casings every day to clean off metals that are wearing down due to friction.
If you oil your valves in a busy room, it's more likely that someone will bump into you, causing you to drop, dent, or otherwise damage the valves. Dip the snake brush into the soap surface. Rinse with cool water and leave to air-dry - no need to blow-dry. If air will not pass through the trumpet, rotate the valve 180°, and blow air through the instrument again to test proper alignment.
First remove the cap from your bottle of valve oil and place it nearby where you can reach it. Holding the trumpet in your left hand with your fingers wrapped around the valve casing, unscrew the top valve cap counter-clockwise and pull the valve out far enough so that you can see the actual valve itself.
If it's yellow and shiny (even partially) it was lacquered, and you want to avoid removing what's left of it. If it's yellow and dull the lacquer is gone, and if you have to resort to chemicals anything that won't dissolve the solder shouldn't do harm, just try warm, soapy water and a brush first.
