Flute Care and Maintenance

Supplies needed to care for the flute:

1. Cleaning rod and a small piece of lint-free cloth or leather chamois, OR a Pad Saver

2. Clean cloth, preferably muslin

3. Thin key oil

4. Tiny brush (a clean paintbrush is fine) for removing dust under keys

Assembly: How to put your flute together

To put the flute together, hold the body of the flute where there are no keys and gently twist the head joint into place. Line up the tone hole in the head joint with the keys on the body. Gently twist the foot joint into place. The keys on the body should line up with the rod on the foot joint. Remember that the sections of the flute and meant to fit together without using any grease. If you have any difficulty fitting the sections together, clean all the tenons and the sockets that the tenons fit into. (A rough, dry paper towel works wonderfully!)

Tuning:

To tune the flute, adjust the length of the flute by moving the head joint in or out. If you need to lower your pitch, pull the head joint out, making the flute longer and the pitch lower. If you need to raise your pitch, push the head joint in. Don't touch the head joint cork because moving it changes the pitch of the entire instrument. The head joint cork should be adjusted only by your teacher or a repair person.

When you have finished playing:

Every time you finish playing your flute, swab it out before you put it away. Your flute comes with a cleaning rod. Thread a small piece of lint-free cloth or leather chamois through the slot in the cleaning rod, and twist the cloth over the end of the rod and around it. Cover as much of the rod as possible so it will not scratch the inside of the flute. Use the rod to swab out each section of your flute before you put it into its case. Push-through swabs (Pad-Savers) can also be used to swab out your flute. These are designed to be left inside the flute after you have swabbed it.

Always keep your flute in its case when you are not playing it. Never put anything in your case that it was not designed to hold. The pressure from papers of music in your case can bend the rods and keys. Several times a year, vacuum the inside of your flute case. Keeping the case dust-free will help to keep the dust out of your instrument.

Regular Maintenance:

About once a month, wash the head joint in lukewarm soapy water. Never use silver polish or any other cleaner on your flute. This can scratch the finish and ruin your pads.

Do not touch the key adjustment screws. These are for adjustments by your teacher or a repair person only,

Once or twice a year, apply a very small amount of thin key oil to all key joints and posts.

Under each key is a pad that seals the tone hole when the key closes. If the pads stick, they are dirty. To clean the pads, place a clean cloth (muslin works well) under the pad, close the key, and pull the cloth through. To keep pads clean, do not eat candy or chew gum before playing! Pads can and should be replaced after several years of use, but this is expensive, so make them last as long as possible.

Handling the flute:

The flute is a delicate and expensive instrument which must be handled carefully. Do not let anyone else but your teacher play your flute. If you must set it down during lessons or rehearsal, put it on a flat surface with keys up. Never leave your flute on a music stand. Be careful when playing the flute not to bang or bump it, as it will dent easily and these dents are difficult and expensive to remove.

It is important to assemble your flute carefully because the key mechanism on the flute can be easily bent. This causes the flute to go out of adjustment and produce a poor quality sound. When you play your flute, be sure your fingers are positioned in the center of the keys, because poor hand position can also cause the keys to bend.