Percussion Maintenance & Care

It seems as I go around on the road that more and more people have a question about how to maintain and care for their percussion instruments and mallets. Below are a few quick tips and reminders to care for your percussion section.

1. Don't let students touch mallet heads, timpani felts, bass drum mallets, or pretty much anything that can gather dirt. The oil on their hands or face (yes, I've seen children rubbing the mallets on their face!) will make the mallet head dirty, eventually breaking it down and wearing the felt off.
2. Do not use timpani, marimbas or any percussion instrument as a table. They're not tables.
3. Have a dedicated storage area for small things like triangle beaters, gong/bass drum mallets, etc. These things tend to walk off without a home.
4. After rehearsal, while everyone else is putting their instruments in their cases, the percussion section needs to cover equipment and clean up. It won't happen after one day of telling them, but if you continually remind them and build a habit they will get better!
5. You should check tuning on bass drum, snare, and timpani heads every 6 months. Obviously, if you're using the instrument more frequently then that timeline changes for you. Rule of thumb: if it sounds bad, fix it!
6. Keep snare and cymbal stands put together and organized. Nothing is more frustrating as a player or director than having to hunt down all the pieces to your instrument stand.
7. Always travel with cases and covers. A lot of preventable damage occurs when transporting instruments.
8. If you don't have covers for your large instruments (timpani and keyboards), buy them or make them. I've seen non-percussionists and percussionists run their hands over the keyboards or hit timpani heads as they pass by. Covers won't stop that but they will at least protect the instruments. Also, some band rooms flood or have leaks in their ceilings, and it's almost always over the timpani or marimbas. You can save a lot of money with a cover!
9. Xylophone/Marimba string should last for years. If it is wearing out faster, watch your students when they're playing. Sometimes, when bored, students will use their mallets and rub on the string like their building a fire. This causes the string to breakdown and eventually fray. This can turn into a teaching moment of how to re-string a xylophone, but I think you'd rather be rehearsing!
10. Finally, make sure students are using the correct mallet or beater on the instrument they are playing. Many bars have been cracked on marimbas because of a student using a hard plastic mallet, and many drum heads have been sliced because of overzealous percussionists!