Clean and Maintain a Clarinet

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When you are finished playing your clarinet, and you are ready to store it in the case, the clarinet should be properly cleaned. This removes saliva that gets inside the instrument from when it was used. It also keeps it shiny and clean. This is a delicate instrument, and if you want it to sound good, it has to be kept in good condition. Be careful when putting it back in the case.

Steps

  1. Remove the reed after playing and store it in a reed holder to dry. Put the rest of the clarinet in a safe place that is not too hot or too cold. Don't stand it on end, unless you have a clarinet stand (it holds your clarinet upright, and can usually be folded and stored in the bell), since it can fall over.
  2. Use your polishing cloth to wipe fingerprints off the ligature and keywork. Then, carefully place the cloth back in your case. Don't use any kind of metal polish (unless the clarinet is all metal, ie: silver) or other substance on your instrument, except for key oil and cork grease. Key oil makes the keys move more easily, and cork grease makes assembly go smoother and keeps the corks from drying out.
  3. Use your swab and drop the cloth's weight and string through the clarinet from the bell to the mouthpiece and pull it through. You may have to do this several times. Take the pieces apart and dry the tenons (these are the places where the joints of the horn fit together.) Then, let the swab dry before putting it in the case, otherwise your keys will be discolored.
  4. Get out some Grease the Corks on Your Clarinet. Grease the corks by rubbing cork grease on them with your fingers. Cork grease comes in many different forms, but the most common looks like lip balm. However, lip balm is not an appropriate substitute for cork grease, and cork grease can be poisonous if ingested, so do not confuse the two. You don't need to do this EACH time you take your clarinet apart, or even very often, as too much cork grease will weaken the corks and make them prone to breaking apart. Just examine your corks regularly and apply cork grease as needed depending upon the dryness or wear in the cork. You may need to grease them more often in the dry winter months. If the instrument is difficult to put together or take apart put cork grease on the corks.
  5. Take out your cleaning cloth and polish the keys to remove fingerprints and grime. Then you may, if necessary, take out your dusting stick. Dusting sticks are long, twisted, thin, wire, with a small, broom-like thing at one end, and a little thing that looks like a tooth cleaner at the other end. Gently clean between and under the keys with the mouthpiece-brush end, and brush the dust off with the broom end. Pay close attention to the tone holes that your fingers cover as they often collect gunk and grime from your fingers. You may wish to polish the instrument again after doing this. This would also be a good time to oil the keys, if necessary.
  6. You should also make sure to swab the insides of the clarinets joints, with or without cork, to get rid of the excess saliva there.
  7. Periodically use a q-tip and wipe it around the inside and outside of the mouthpiece to remove the gunk that will collect.
  8. Place the mouthpiece cap over the mouthpiece, then store the clarinet in its case. Put the case in a safe place. Also, if necessary, take just the mouthpiece itself, and run it under warm tap water then dry thoroughly.
  9. Finished.

Video

Tips

  • Purchase a clarinet stand. They are really great when you have to leave your clarinet alone, since you won't have any fear of it falling over and breaking. You won't have to hold it if you want to polish it; just stand it up and get to work! Some clarinet stands fold up and can be stored in the bell, which is even better.
  • Regular polishing, swabbing, dusting, and oiling will make your instrument last longer, but obsessive polishing and dusting will wear down the finish on your keywork.
  • You don't always have to grease the corks. If you do, they will rot and you will have to replace them.
  • If your case is not big enough to hold all of your cleaning supplies, you could purchase a pencil box to hold extra reeds, swabs, and other necessities.
  • Some people recommend swabbing each piece separately instead of the instrument as a whole.
  • Clarinet cases with shoulder straps are the best. They're much easier to carry, and it's harder to drop something that's hanging from your shoulder.
  • Use the pointed end of a tissue to absorb moisture in the mouthpiece, but not from within the window under the reed. You can also do this with a mouthpiece brush, which looks like a giant tooth cleaner (If you've ever had braces, you know what that is). Mouthpiece brushes are also not highly recommended as they slowly alter the inner dimensions of the mouthpiece.
  • For mouthpiece cleaning, it's a good idea to soak the mouthpiece in a cleaning solution every once in a while to dissolve calcium deposits. The easiest way to do this at home is to mix three parts lukewarm water and one part vinegar in a cup, and vertically place the mouthpiece in. Make sure it is not too deep, or else the cork part of the mouthpiece will get wet, which is not good.
  • Before you play any instrument make sure you do not have food in you mouth, this can make your instrument work improperly and get all sorts of disgusting little creatures (i.e. maggots <you don't wanna know>) to take up residence in your horn.
  • An alternative method to swabbing would be to purchase pad savers, which look like huge pipe cleaners. You just insert them and put the instrument in the case. They soak up the moisture from within, so you don't spend time swabbing. Pad savers also last for a long time, if handled carefully. You can get them for the upper and lower sections, and some stores also offer small ones for the mouthpiece. If the clarinet is really wet, you may want to swab, then insert the pad savers. However, pad savers swabs are not highly recommended for wooden clarinets because although they seemingly pull moisture away from the inner bore of the instrument, they also trap that moisture inside the swab which remains inside the instrument so the moisture cannot evaporate. That trapped moisture can cause more damage in the expansion and contraction of the wood than not swabbing the instrument at all!
  • Sometimes gunk will accumulate under the front and back keys (i.e. the low C chord) and you should occasionally take a cotton swab or pencil tip with no lead and wipe out gunk by running the cotton swab in a circular motion around the inside of the key hole. This will sometimes help with your tone and to minimize squeaking.
  • Every so often, you'll need to take your clarinet to the music store for a Know when It's Time to Clean Your Musical Instrument or COA (Cleaning, Oiling, Adjusting). Some stores may send you a reminder when it's time for one, but otherwise, every six months to a year, maybe 2 years is good, or sooner if you notice something wrong with your clarinet.
  • Be sure to screw in any and all loose screws with a tiny screwdriver.
  • If your clarinet is wooden, bore oil your clarinet every few weeks - Place a few drops of oil on a special swab just for oiling. Then, pull the swab through from the barrel to the bell (you may want to twist it while doing this to ensure even coverage). To oil in the joints, get a cotton bud, put a drop of oil on it and wipe it in the joints. Wipe of any excess with another cotton bud. Leave it out to dry overnight (preferably disassembled out of the case). Be careful not too use too much oil, as this can wreck the clarinet. Do NOT put bore oil on plastic or metal clarinets as this can be extremely harmful to your instrument!

Warnings

  • Woodwind instruments cannot get wet. If they get even a little moist, the pads that cover the holes will absorb the water and get big and puffy. Then they won't cover the holes correctly.
  • Be very careful when handling the reed. Reeds are paper-thin and easy to crack or chip. however, once they start to turn grey, it is time to get new ones.
  • Store your reeds in a humidity-proof case to protect them further.
  • If you get serious and start doubling on saxophone and play both on the same gig, invest in synthetic reeds. They resist warping and are usually good to go right away.
  • Don't use too much key oil-just a tiny drop in the needed place is plenty.
  • Don't use any kind of metal polish on your clarinet, it's bad for the keys.
  • Never put any part of the instrument except for the mouthpiece in your mouth. This may seem obvious, but many people like blowing into the holes, which leaves a greenish, crusty substance on the keys. If you need to dry your tone holes, use a soft cloth (eyeglasses cloth works well) or the broom end of the dusting stick.
  • If your swab gets stuck, Do Not try to pull it out. Take the clarinet to the nearest music store and get professional help.
  • Don't press down too hard when cleaning the keys, you could bend them.
  • Make sure you scrape the icky stuff off the end of mouthpiece often. See "Mouthpiece Cleaning" above for instructions.
  • Always unfold your cleaning swab completely, or it will get stuck in the clarinet.
  • Change your reed!
  • Do Not leave the reed on the mouthpiece. Removing the reed may seem like a waste of time, but if you don't let it dry after each use, it will get really gross and possibly stick to the mouthpiece. It can also cause the tip of the reed to warp, or bend, making it misalign with the mouthpiece tip which will cause your tone quality to suffer.
  • Try not to knock over or drop your case. The clarinet will almost definitely break or get damaged.
  • Rotate your reeds! This will make them last much longer and help them play better by giving them a chance to dry out. Get a reed case to put them in- they protect reeds much better than the slips they come in. I recommend the LaVoz- the Vandoren tends to be conducive to molding your reeds if you do not properly wring them out before putting them in it. (Wringing out reeds = wiping the flat side hard on your pants to force out spit that's inside the reed and get spit on the surface of the reed off. It can also be done on the flat part of the reed case if you wipe it off before you put the reed in.)
  • If your dusting stick doesn't fit in a space, don't force it. You could damage your instrument.
  • Don't open your case in a moving vehicle, because if the vehicle comes to a sudden stop, your clarinet will go flying through the windshield.
  • Never run a swab of any kind through your mouthpiece.

Things You'll Need

  • Clarinet
  • Reed(s)
  • Reed case/guard
  • Cork grease
  • Cleaning swab
  • Cleaning cloth
  • Dusting stick
  • Mouthpiece brush
  • Clarinet case
  • Mouthpiece cap (it always comes with the clarinet)
  • Shoulder strap (optional)
  • Clarinet Stand (optional)
  • Key oil (optional)
  • Bore oil

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