Video: Tips for Cleaning Trumpet Valves

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Cleaning your trumpet valves can prevent damage and ensure quality sound production; learn how with tips from our expert trumpet player and teacher in this free trumpet video music lesson on brass instruments.

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Video Transcript

So now you see a little drip there, it will drip as it drips down. A little excess is better than a little. We spin the valve clockwise once its in the chamber until we feel it click. It clicks and then we check to makes sure that the holes line up. Sometimes you will get it backwards and it won't click in and it will sound like this, it won't allow air to pass through. so you always have to make sure that your valve always clicks into spot, into its place, check that air is passing through and then slide the final sleeve over. Now you have a nice sleeve operating valve. And you do it similarly to all your valves regularly because when you find the more you play the more the oil will wear out so you are constantly making sure that your valves are ready to be played. That is basic trumpet maintenance. You can also use the same techniques for basics on baritones where the valves unscrew in the same manner. Up it goes; there are the big valves there. And the tubing is done the same way, with warm soapy water and my friend Kevin, the Tuba player, says that a chem. bath is always important. Particularly, if you have a horn that is worth a lot of money and believe you me some of these horns are a lot of money. So when you are starting out we can always say get yourself a reasonably priced instrument for yourself and for the level of player that you are. That's basic maintenance.

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Tips for Cleaning Trumpet Valves

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