Take care of your instrument

As most of you know, I am predominantly a sax player. I am also a pianist, a vocalist, and someone who dabbles in music production. Each of these "identities" as a musician require a different instrument —yes, the voice and music production software are also instruments. We know that, in order to do our job, we must take care of them, but many times, we are so busy that we end up neglecting them.

For example, a few months ago this year, I started noticing that some of the keys of my saxophone were sort of sticky. They answered slower than usual, and it made playing a bit awkward. Although I decided that the issue was above my basic maintenance knowledge, and that I should take my saxophone to a repair shop to get it solved, I thought it would be something small and simple. Imagine my surprise when they discovered that five pads, which are a leather-type material piece sitting under the cup of each key, were so worn out that they needed to be replaced!

One quote that stung in the wallet, another visit to the repair shop and two hours of work got my dear saxophone back to a pristine condition. The difference in how it sounds and performs is very noticeable to me! Although there is no way to completely prevent the pads from wearing down, as the moisture that gets inside the saxophone when I play it inevitably affects the material, checking the state of the whole instrument more frequently and carefully will allow me to keep it in better shape.

Keep an eye on your own instruments. Learn how they work, how to clean them and how to store them properly. Don't eat, drink or smoke anywhere near physical instruments and hardware. Avoid irritants and situations that can negatively affect your mouth and throat, if you are a singer. Take note of any changes and bring any and all questions/observations to an expert, be that a repairman, a technician or a doctor. Doing the simple things consistently will save you a lot of trouble!