Q: When I am playing my saxophone some notes won’t play and others sound “airy.” Is this something that can be fixed? What is going on? The saxophone is a complex instrument with many moving parts that must work uniformly in order for the horn to play well.  However, the premise on which a saxophone is based is quite simple.  Think of the horn ... Read More

Q: I have a French horn and the valves are very slow. What is causing that problem and what would that repair cost me? There could be a few reasons that would cause this to happen. Most often, though, slow rotor action is caused by slide grease that has been “washed” into the valve casing.  This is caused by the application of valve oil into the outer... Read More

I have a trombone. When I go beyond the 7th position it starts hanging up. What would be the cost to fix it?   If you go beyond the 7th position you have all of the weight of the “outer” slide tubes weighing down on the inner slide tubes, thus causing some binding. As you get closer to the crook of the outer slides the action moves more ... Read More

When I try to play certain notes on my flute, no sound comes out. I think the pad is bad. How much would it cost to replace that pad?   There are a variety of problems that could be responsible for your flute’s poor performance.  The pad may very well need to be replaced, although often there may be a pad, or pads either higher up the instrument,... Read More

When I push the third valve down on my trumpet, the air flow slows down and sometimes stops! What's causing the problem? Will I have to bring it in to be fixed?   There is a primary checklist that you can go through that may or may not be of any help when this is happening.           ... Read More