Second Semester: Week 10

After working on play conditions for clarinet and flute we got saxophones to work on! We received our practice horns. We used these for our exploration and experiments. The first thing our instructor made us do was document how we disassembled it and then put it back together. We documented it because each saxophone is built a little different and needs to be disassembled in the order that works for that particular sax. My classmates and I traded saxophones so that we could see how the different horns needed to be taken apart. We have only started saxophones and next week we get to start padding!

My practice saxophone

Practice saxophone disassembled and keys everywhere

My saxophone screwboard that holds all of the saxophones screws and hinge rods

Second Semester: Week 9

Since we are halfway through the semester we switched over to woodwinds. This week was a test of what we all remembered from last semester. We reviewed key fitting, padding and learned about play conditioning. We got a practice clarinet first so that we could replace a few pads and corks. We also talked about the steps to take for a play conditioning and what you should do to be efficient. After the clarinet we received practice flutes where we got to practice padding and corking. It was definitely a good refresher since we have been working on brass for eight weeks.

My practice clarinet

Back to the world of shimming flute pads

Second Semester: Week 8

This was my last week on the brass side. I finished my project trombone early so I turned it in and had the opportunity to work on a customer cornet. The tag said chemical flush and rough out dents. The flush went quicker than the first time I cleaned an instrument. The dents were not too difficult. I gathered all of my acquired knowledge and went to work. It was fun removing the dents and aligning the bell. Since it was basically a playing condition job it was interesting to learn where to stop. Since the repair tag said rough out dents I started by working on all of the accessible dents but I had extra time so I did as many as I could reach with dent tools. I probably wouldn't have had to get out all of the ones I did but it was worth it in the end. I also had to resolder two of the casing to lead pipe braces because they were broken. It was a little nerve racking doing a customer horn but well worth the experience!

Customer cornet