Is Your Family Ready To Adopt A Musical Instrument? Instrument Maintenance and Care

-James Brett Landrum

You see that look in your child’s face as she watches the neighbor’s family play with their new guitar. They take it on walks, to family gatherings, and sometimes let it stay in the bed at night.

You love the idea of musical family charm, but you worry that your child will not care for it like they swear they will. You don’t want the constant noise late at night, the mess of music all over the floor and in the carpet, or even finding picks in the laundry!

When you choose to adopt an instrument, you are picking up more than just a fun hobby, it is a responsibility to care for a fragile tool that does need maintenance, but thankfully not walks.

I’m primarily the guitar teacher here at Music SO Simple, and guitars require lots of maintenance, but most of it is simple and achievable. Here’s some things that apply to both guitars AND pianos that we should all be aware of:

• Most instruments are made of wood; this means treating them in a way you would treat other wooden things. They need to be kept in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment. This may mean using a dehumidifier in the long summer heat. DON’T leave your guitar in the car during school before your lesson. Humidity is the biggest long term threat to wooden instruments.
• Clean your instrument after use, or at least weekly, but don’t use harsh cleaning agents. Wood seals can react poorly to things like Lysol and bleach wipes. There are some gentler cleaning supplies to sanitize your piano keys, especially during flu season, but guitars just need a dry rag over the strings. 
• Dust can get in the inner parts of your instrument and damage it long term, so keeping the lid and keys open constantly isn’t ideal.
• Play it! If something sounds wrong on your instrument, it might be. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher for help or advice. Pianos especially need to be professionally tuned once or twice a year to be in good shape. This isn’t just for good sound, it also keeps it from aging poorly

Guitar specifically requires a few things pianos don’t:

• Change your strings. Often. It makes a MASSIVE difference. New strings are easier to play and require less pressure. You should change your strings every 2 or 3 months, and if it’s been 6 months your strings could be damaging the frets. Either take it to a guitar store at your convenience (you can bring in strings you bought elsewhere) or leave it with me for a week. It will probably cost $20-30 including strings to change them.
  
• Get your action adjusted. Action is the height of the strings off the neck. It can be made low so it’s even easier to play. Most guitars, especially ones purchased online, have terribly high action.
  
• Tune EVERY TIME you play. Playing out of tune strings can actually strain the neck of the guitar, and you also don’t develop your ear as well if you aren’t playing in tune.
  

Instruments today are all masterful pieces of skilled craftsmanship, their own pieces of art even without the sounds they make. If you want them to provide years of beautiful music, treat them just as good as you would Rover.