I try to clean the inside of my Oboe after every playing session...

pull through my sax after most concerts
but clean the outside any time I am not playing/counting rests...

i clean piano once a month maybe..

and for clarinet, every time after i play, i pull through..

I keep a feather duster on top of the piano and give it a tickle every time I play (it wakes it up) - so that's a few times a day - I really hate to see it dusty and I need to feel smooth keys too.

My flute gets cleaned when I put it away - that's once or twice a day.




Oh Dear, It does sound a bit OTT now I've come to write it down

Haha I'm the same, I clean my flute several times a day, dependent on how much I play it.

Otherwise it drips on me. Yuck.

My instrument gets cleaned about every fifty years or so.
There are approximately 1400 seperate removable parts which have to be individually cleaned.
Cleaning tools are :- large quantity of tea, pheasant primary feathers, more tea, long sticks with rags tied to the end, medium length and short sticks with etc., etc., Industrial vacuum cleaner, tea, lead lamps, ladders, tea, mobile phone, (to order the fish'n'chips), newspaper - two types - one to wrap parts together in sets, the other to read along with first item, bowls of slightly soapy water, animal glue, graphite grease, about fifty square yards of clear space, a relaxed attitude to occasional profanity, zinc paint, and a distressing amount of string and duct tape.

Takes about six weeks.
If it's eight weeks to Christmas - nine weeks
If the person who plays the instrument helps - ten weeks.
If the Diocesan Adviser involves himself - twelve weeks.
If there are fewer than 32 days in the month - 14 weeks


Chris B

In the nicest possible way, I think this is the most boring question I've EVER seen on the forums!!

It made me laugh though

I don't clean any of my instruments nearly enough :S :S

Says cheeble
In the nicest possible way, I think this is the most boring question I've EVER seen on the forums!!

Nah !
"What's your favourite instrument" .... beats this one to a pulp

Chris B

True... perhaps "mundane" is a better word than "boring" in this case - I agree that "what's your favourite instrument" sends me into a soporific haze every time I see it now!!

I spent ages last weekend polishing my friend's flute...

It is impossible for me to clean the piano properly as it has so much stuff piled on top of it. My oboe and Cor and mopped out each time I use them, and as for my voice, well its fully hydrated with water, given antioxidants in the form of tea then I allow myself a small quantity of red or white wine, or sherry. As for the vessel that contains it, well I think everyone would complain if I didn't pay attention to personal hygiene. I have regular showers and baths. (at least daily)

Jod!

Me, I mop them out every time I use them, then I also give them a polish every 6 weeks (In half term, when I have time) and the day before concerts/performances etc. Next month thats probably going to be every other day.......

I swab the Bore out with a silk thingy making sure I don't get the thing stuck in the top joint, I don't use mops, they can shed and get fluff under the pads or in the toneholes which would be a natural haven for moisture...I also just wipe the keywork down to remove the acid from my fingers, I gather that giving them a quick going over helps preserve the silver...I also have gold posts and rings and joints (well not me but my Oboe) but I gather they dont suffer as badly as sliver...so they get a curosry wipe down when practice is done for the day...

Being a cellist, I tend to give it a quick dust after every practice session/rehearsal/concert, cos the rosin can settle on the instrument, and the strings need to stay clean. A proper cleaning though, every couple of weeks normally.