Basics in FLUTE Maintenance

Supplies:
• Cotton rod/handkerchief – A cleaning rod typically comes with the purchase or
rental of an instrument.

• “Cigarette” Paper-for younger students…they will not be able to purchase. Hand

out 2 or 3 sheets to each student. Tissue paper may also work. This is for sticky pads.
The idea being to pull the moisture away from the pads.

• Q-Tips

• Soft brush (makeup artist’s paint brush)

• NO SCREW DRIVERS!!

Daily Maintenance: (Students should)

• As you play moisture from your mouth is collected throughout the tube of the flute.
Cleaning is a must so that moisture does not accumulate on the pads. As to not
scratch the inside of the flute wrap a cloth (handkerchief or thin soft cotton material)
around the rod. Thread and twist material through the eye of the rod. Gently insert
into each of the joints, ie. Head joint, body, and foot.

• Use the cloth to wipe off tenon joints after each use. Grease and dirt accumulate
and will assist with ease of connecting joints.

• Using a Q-Tip, clean debris from the embouchure hole, and if students have an
open-hole key work.

Band Director Visual Checks: Headjoint cork, pads, tenon, springs, screws, and
body of instrument.

• The flute's headjoint cork must be set at 17 millimeters (piccolo = 7.5 mm.) from the center of the
blowhole. This marking is found on the cleaning rod. If the cork comes out of position it must be
corrected or the octaves will be out of tune. NEVER remove the cork from the top end of the
headjoint as it is parabolic (tapered) in design and to do so could seriously damage the headjoint.

• DO NOT pick up from the lip plate or key mechanism.

Gail B. Levinsky, 2005.

EBSCOhost 10/13/12 1:56 PM

Record: 1
Title: Jazz Sound for Classical Saxophonists.
Authors: Wetzel, Neil1
Source: Teaching Music; Apr2005, Vol. 12 Issue 5, p34-39, 6p, 3 Black and
White Photographs
Document Type: Article
Subject Terms: SAXOPHONISTS
INSTRUMENTALISTS
MUSIC -- Instruction & study
MIDDLE schools
JAZZ
AFRICAN Americans -- Music
POPULAR music & classical music
Abstract: In this article, the author presents suggestions to help student
saxophonists practice and perform both classical and jazz music.
Middle school and high school saxophonists will use a classical style
for concert band, but jazz band opens up a whole new realm of sound
and style that is often unfamiliar. Teachers can help students
understand the differences between classical and jazz performance
styles by sharing techniques and tips relating to sound production,
mouthpieces and reeds, phrasing, and articulation.
Author Affiliations: 1Assistant professor at Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
where he directs the jazz studies program and teaches saxophone.
Full Text Word Count: 2297
ISSN: 10697446
Accession Number: 16557274
Database: Music Index
Full Text Database: Section: Band
Jazz Sound for Classical Saxophonists
Young saxophonists often find themselves in a quandary over what to practice or how to learn the
various styles required for school ensembles. Middle school and high school saxophonists will use
a classical style for concert band, but jazz band opens up a whole new realm of sound and style
that is often unfamiliar. Teachers can help students understand the differences between classical
and jazz performance styles by sharing techniques and tips relating to sound production,
mouthpieces and reeds, phrasing, and articulation. The type of classical saxophone playing
http://web.ebscohost.com.libgateway.susqu.edu/ehost/delivery?sid=effdc02b-c198-401d-b68d-76ce89ea6a69%40sessionmgr115&vid=9&hid=113 Page 1 of 8
 CLARINET EQUIPMENT

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Selmer David Hite Mitchell Lurie 1.5 - 5

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YCL280 Selmer

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E10, E11, E12 Woodwind

C-12 Gigliotti

R-13 Greg Smith

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Conn
 Buying a CLARINET: What are you looking for?

• Price is not the only factor in a school situation.

New instruments come in 3 different qualities, student, intermediate and professional. The
question of what one should buy depends on how the level of student.

Used?

• There is always used instruments to buy. And, you will always have at least one student’s
whose grandparent played a particular instrument. Used instruments should generally
reconditioned or overhauled and will play as good as a new one assuming the wood is in good
condition

Why Plastic?

* For a beginning player just starting out or playing a year or so, a plastic or resonite clarinet can
certainly fit a student’s need. Resonite clarinets take the wear & tear a child will give it with no
problems. Generally you won't have to worry about it cracking, temperature changes, but if
mishandled a plastic instrument if dropped can chip or break. o

What about the sound?

* The sound a plastic clarinet produces is not quite as good as a wooden instrument but, the
student cannot get the full sound out of a wooden clarinet because the muscles to produce that
sound are not developed yet. To put it in another way: If Larry Combs (prin. Chicago Symphony
Orchestra clarinet section) played your child's clarinet, he would still sound like Larry Combs, but
if your child played Larry Combs’ clarinet, your child would not sound like Larry Combs.

Why Wood?

* For the more mature student (2 to 3 years), a wooden instrument is more appropriate. The use
and care of the clarinet are not a problem as they are with a beginner. At this point we are
concerned with the sound produced by the instrument, and the wood clarinet has the best sound.

Why does it cost so much?

* The plastic clarinet is less expensive than the wooden instrument, due to the lower cost of the
plastic. The wood used in making clarinets is called Grenadilla. It is a very dense wood and the
denser the wood the better the sound. In order to make the wood as dense as possible the wood
is cut into blocks and soaked in oil. The longer it soaks, the denser it gets. A large part of the cost
of the better wood clarinets is that someone has to pay for that block of wood sitting in a barrel of
oil for 3, 4 or 5 years. Another part of the cost is the grade of wood used as well as the type of
keys used, and of course the quality of the manufacturer.

Which Wood Clarinet?

* Wood clarinets come in beginner, intermediate and professional grades, of course you will
sound better on a better clarinet, but you don't need a Rolls Royce to go to the supermarket. The
choice depends on the use the instrument will eventually get. If the student is going to continue
to study music and plans to become a professional musician or a music teacher, then the choice
is to buy the best instrument you can afford. If the student just wants to play while in school and
maybe join an amateur group after school, an intermediate instrument would do fine. If the
student is just chugging along and likes to play, but not all that much a beginner clarinet is the
answer.