Music Instrument--Cleaning a Trumpet

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Cleaning a Trumpet

After a new trumpet student has selected a student model instrument, that particular trumpet will need to be cleaned periodically for optimum performance. In my experience, cleaning the student model trumpet once or twice per month in warm bath water should be sufficient.

First, gently take the trumpet apart and place the valves in a safe place to the side. I usually wrap the valves in a clean cotton cloth such as an old white tee-shirt. Keep the valves as scratch free as possible by wrapping them separate from one another. Next, run warm water through the slides and body of the trumpet as you fill the bath tub. Add a mild dish washing detergent to the warm water.

Let the trumpet soak in the warm soapy water for a couple of hours. When you are ready to complete your cleaning of the trumpet, again run warm water through all of the slides and the body of the trumpet. Dry each slide as well as any excess water from the body of the trumpet. Apply a high quality tuning slide grease to ALL of the slides as you gently push them back into the body of the trumpet. Wipe away any excess grease from the slides and body of the trumpet.

Wash the mouthpiece off with warm soapy water and utilize a special mouthpiece brush to gently scrub the inside of the mouthpiece. Rinse the mouthpiece with warm water and dry.

Gently wipe the valves off with a clean cotton cloth. Put several drops of valve oil on each valve and place them back into the body of the trumpet. It is very important that the valves are aligned exactly as they came out of the trumpet when putting them back in the body of the trumpet. Each valve should be marked with a number to indicate which valve slot it goes back into and also the direction the valve should be facing when screwed back into the body of the trumpet. After the valves and all slides have been correctly placed into the trumpet … turn the trumpet upside down and place a few more drops of oil into each valve port through the small hole located on the bottom of each valve port. Play test the trumpet to make sure the valves are screwed into the body correctly and place the trumpet back into the case.

Be aware of your spit valve corks and their need to be replaced after sufficient wear.

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