Caring for your Instrument

How can you care best for your Musical Instruments?

 

 

Sensitivity to dryness and heat

Be conscious of where you store your instrument! Keep your instruments away from radiators, air vents, and other sources of heat or dryness. Dry and/or hot air can cause your instrument to crack or warp.

 

Drum skins will temporarily tighten when exposed to dryness and/or heat. This can actually be a good gauge of humidity - if your drum has a natural skin (as opposed to synthetic), it will get very tight and high pitched in a dry environment. In extreme cases, or over a long period of time, this can wear out a skin or warp a lightweight drum shell. Leather pads on woodwinds like saxophone or flute are also sensitive to dryness - long term or extreme exposure may reduce the lifetime of your pads. Since repadding a woodwind is expensive, make sure to keep this in mind!

 

Sensitivity to Dampness

On the flipside, damp or wet conditions can warp or stain your instrument, and over time, cause the growth of mold. Get that instrument out of your garage or damp basement, or at least keep it elevated and off the ground! If you play accordion, woodwind, or a brass instrument, also keep in mind that humidity and get trapped in the instrument after playing, so make sure to empty those spit valves, and/or allow the instrument to get some air before long-term storage.

 

Measuring/controlling humidity

If you want to get fancy, use a hygrometer to measure the humidity, and a humidifier to increase the humidity (both can be found inexpensively online or in a hardware store). Generally speaking, homes get very dry in the winter, when the heat is continually running. If you live in a dry climate, this is also something to keep in mind.

 

Sensitivity to sunlight

Sunlight, over time, can bleach the finish on your insrument. Some people may not mind this, but if you store your instrument in direct sunlight, it will change color over time. Direct sunlight will also temporarily tighten natural skin.

 

Have your instrument serviced

The more aligned your instrument is, the more it will stay aligned! Check out our repairs page for more information on our specialty instrument repair service.