Blog #4 - Instrument Maintenance
Maintenance of the Classical Guitar
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Nice things require good care. People, houses, cars, and musical instruments are some of the things that we must take care of every day. Just as you would not treat a person badly, or neglect your car (you have to get regular oil changes!), you must also take care of your guitar properly to keep it from drying out, cracking, getting scratched, and generally sounding bad.
Your classical guitar could last for 3 years or 30...you decide by treating it accordingly!
Choose one of these important questions and answer it in a comment below. Try not to answer the same question as someone else. And don't forget to reply to at least 2 other students' comments!
QUESTIONS:
- What's the best temperature for my instrument?
- What humidity does my guitar like? How do I control humidity?
- Do I need a chamois ("shammy")?
- How can I travel with my guitar? (How do I make sure it is safe when I travel?)
- How often should I change my strings?
- How do I take care of the strings I have on my guitar?
Here are some websites to help answer the questions:
https://www.guitarsint.com/article/Classical_Guitar_Care_and_Maintenance
https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/classical_guitar/maintenance/
https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/guitar-care-and-maintenance-guide/
https://breedlovemusic.com/acoustic-guitar-blog/5-must-know-tips-for-flying-with-your-guitar
Stringed instruments are picky when it comes to the amount of humidity it needs. I know from my personal experience, any sort of lack of humidity can lead to shrinkage and cracking and high amounts of humidity can lead to warping and swelling. Classical Guitar Care and Maintenance says that they require 45-55% humidity. Important things to have to help care for your guitar would be a humidity gauge and a way to keep moisture away and humidity up for your instrument. You could have a room humidifier, or a little two-way device that goes in your case. The old fashioned way for classical stringed instruments would be putting a wet sponge in a plastic bag in times where humidity and temperature may be low to help your instrument out. Not sure if that would be recommended.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so crazy the things we do to keep our instruments in working condition!
Deleteits crazy the things we do to keep our instruments from cracking! This is not only a problem for clarinet, but for most woden instruments.
DeleteTraveling with a guitar, or any instrument, can be tricky. You want to keep your instrument safe, but traveling can make that goal very challenging. However, here are some things you can do to make life just a little easier.
ReplyDelete1. Knowing the Airline Policies:
-Most Airlines actually have specific policies for carry on instruments. In most cases, a guitar can be considered a carry on if it can fit under the seat or in the overhead compartment at the time of boarding. This, however, is kind of sketchy, and it may be best to keep it with you. To make sure that is okay, make sure to call ahead to get a full understanding of the instrument policies.
2. Loosen The Strings
-When flying, it is possible that the air pressure and temperature can cause the strings to tighten on your guitar. This can cause damage to your neck by undesired pressure for a long time .
3. Get a Guitar Case
-There is no if, and or buts, you most likely need a guitar case. Having your guitar exposed on the day to day basis is already a risk, having on a plane where more things can happen is just not good.
4. Travel Guitar?
-It might be good to get a travel guitar if you are traveling a fair. Due to the smaller body, it makes it easier for the guitar to fit where you need it.
Traveling with a guitar is hard. I remember when I played bass regularly and had a soft case, it got mistaken for a shot gun frequently. It’s always better to have a hard case, less problems.
DeleteI always hate traveling with any instruments. It is always so much stress if I happen to run in to any problems, keeping it super close to me because someone will take it, trying to shove it in my carry on because checking it gets expensive and I know exactly where it is.
Delete1. So a guitar has to remain in a comfortable and consistent temperature. This would would be around 70 degrees. But the room must also maintain about 50% humidity. This is to prevent cracking in the guitar. It’s kind of like skin, the drier the air is, the drier the guitar will be.
ReplyDeleteIt's always strange and cool how differently you have to care for each individual instrument. For my flute, I really just have to try to keep and air around it as close to room temp as I can and if the humidity gets high, I need to stick a pad cleaner in between the keys.
DeleteA guitars strings should be changed out about once every six months. You should loosen your strings if you know you are not going to be playing for awhile to avoid unneeded tension in the strings and to help your strings last longer.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people that loosen their strings if they know they aren't going to be playing all the time. It really makes sense when you think about the physics behind it.
Deleteif your like me I had to look up what a chamois is and i got a baby goat and I didn't think it be right but after more research its partly right, what it is, is a large cloth is useful for wiping fingerprints off a guitar's finish and for placing between you and a guitar to help as a moisture barrier between you and your guitar when you play. in other words its a cleaning rag that get all the stuff off the guitar thats not spose to be there
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy having a nice shiny clean looking instrument but it is hard to keep all of the spots from your hands off of it. So glad people have thought of things like this!
DeleteHaving a way to get rid of fingerprints is nice, but I wish there was an easy way to deal with cracks and dents! Guitars just seem to be the one instrument that get beat up more than any other, and are easier to scratch than say a metal woodwind or brass instrument.
DeleteYou can clean your strings regularly to get rid of the oils left from your hands. Wiping them down every time after playing helps a lot to keep them in good condition. There is a special string cleaner you can use to clean them as well. Another thing you can do to help keep the strings cleaner is by washing your hands before you play. This helps reduce the amount of dirt and oil that was on your hands before playing.
ReplyDeleteI read the other day about someone using rubbing alcohol to clean guitar strings... This ses like a horrible idea to me, as rubbing alcohol is extremely corrosive, I would think it would make nylon strings become brittle and crack.
DeleteThe best humidity for guitar is 45% to 55% and the best temperature is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
ReplyDeleteIt can be difficult to keep a wooden instrument in the proper way for humidity. My hard cello case has a humidity gage, but even with keeping watch on that, my cello cracked down the front during a move to a new house. Guitars like 45-55% humidity, and to be kept at around 70 degrees. It is also best to avoid quick temperature changes, and make sure to bring it in from a car as quickly as possible when traveling with it.
ReplyDeleteits funny because the guitar is actually very similar to clarinet, while clarinet needs anything over 20%. so not totally the same, but very similar. Sorry to hear about your cello
DeleteGuitar strings are recommended to be changed every six months - in order to have constant set of fresh strings, and nice tone. You should also make sure you loosen the string if you are not going to be playing for a large amount of time.
ReplyDelete