How to Care for Your Saxophone

If you are new to the saxophone, this article is for you!

This guide details how to care for your instrument. Most wind instruments contain numerous nooks and crannies where dust, mold, and bacteria can accumulate, and the saxophone is no exception. Cleaning your instrument is essential not only to maintain its appearance (and potentially its re-sale value) but also for your own health and well-being.

General tips for saxophone care

1. Brush your teeth before you play, especially if you’ve eaten anything sugary. Sugar can mix with the saliva in your mouth and form a solution that can accumulate on your pads and cause them to stick. If you go a few days without playing your instrument, you may notice a funky smell the next time you pick it up - this is usually due to old food and drink particles that have accumulated on the pads. Ew.
2. Always use both hands when moving your instrument in and out of its case. Do not hold your sax by the keys or by the neck. Having one hand on the bell, and the other on the body tube offers more support and avoids the bell/body becoming misaligned. It is advisable to keep your sax in its case when not in use. Anytime the saxophone is being stored (inside or outside the case) the end plug needs to be inserted to prevent damage to the octave mechanism.
3. Keep at least two reeds in rotation. You’ll go through them a lot less often.
4. Make sure to store your mouthpiece inside a padded mouthpiece pouch to keep it from being damaged. Don’t allow your mouthpieces to bounce around in the accessory compartment, especially if you’ve got a hard rubber mouthpiece.
5. Don't store the mouthpiece on the neck, and don’t store the neck on the saxophone
6. Never rely on your strap to hold your instrument safe. Always keep at least one hand on the saxophone.
7. Clean your saxophone every time you finish playing. Your pads will degrade if you leave moisture in the instrument. Properly cleaning your instrument will help avoid problems with sticky pads or sluggish keys.
8. A yearly checkup with your local saxophone repair technician is important for maintaining the adjustment of your instrument.

What is the proper way to clean your saxophone?

1. Clean the reed: Remove the reed from the mouthpiece, run it through lukewarm water to rinse it off, then wipe it dry. If desired, reeds can be soaked briefly in antibacterial liquids such as alcohol, mouthwash, or mild hydrogen peroxide, but this is definitely optional.  Allow the reed to dry before reusing. Once clean and dry, store your reed in a reed guard.
2. Clean the mouthpiece: Remove the mouthpiece from the neck. Use a soft, clean cloth to wipe the mouthpiece dry, then use a mouthpiece swab to remove the moisture built up during your session. Dirty mouthpieces can be rinsed in lukewarm later, and you can soak REALLY dirty mouthpieces in lukewarm water or malt vinegar before wiping and swabbing dry.
3. Clean the neck: Run a neck swab through the sax’s neck to remove any moisture.
4. Clean the body: Tip the sax upside down to let any collected saliva run out of the bell. Next, use a body swab to dry it out completely. Place the weighted part in the bell, tip the sax upside down, then grab it from the other end to pull the cloth through. Always swab your horn from the bell to the top. Swabbing from the bell, which is the driest part of the horn, minimizes unnecessarily spreading more moisture through the instrument.
5. Clean the octave key tone hole: This tone hole is crucial to the proper function of your horn. Clear out any gunk that has collected at the octave key tone hole with a tone hole cleaner. You can also use a cotton swab.
6. Optional: Use cleaning paper to soak up any moisture from the pads and tone hole key. Some players also like to use a pad saver to help draw out moisture. We do not recommend this. Unfortunately, we sometimes see players using a pad saver as a swab and then leaving it in the instrument when they pack it away. Do not leave your pad saver or swab in the instrument! The purpose of using a swab is to get rid of moisture. If you leave the swab in the saxophone, you are defeating the purpose of swabbing the moisture from your instrument.
7. Clean the outside: Before you put your saxophone back in its case, you should wipe it down with a clean, soft cloth to remove any oil residue and fingerprints. This will extend the life of your sax’s finish. Simply wipe the body and keys down with a clean, dry microfiber cloth, and you’re all set.  Avoid washcloths, paper towels, or any cleaning product not specifically made for brass instrument care. Please note: although there are lacquer polish cloths on the market that are OK to use from time to time, if you overuse them or aren’t careful, the wax on these cloths can lead to unsightly build-up. If you’re new to playing the saxophone or aren’t comfortable with it yet, it’s best to avoid these.
8. Don’t close the case immediately after you’ve placed your saxophone in after cleaning. There may be leftover moisture, even after swabbing and this will allow your instrument to air dry.

Congratulations! You've successfully cleaned your saxophone.

We hope your new instrument brings you many years of enjoyment! 

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need any advice or have questions!