How to grease & oil your horn: a guide to proper brass instrument lubrication

Hi there!
Most people get a very brief crash-course on how to care for their instruments in beginner class, but not many people get any kind of refresher course after that. Even professional players struggle with proper care and maintenance! This video is meant to be a deep-dive into the wonderful world of French horn care, but it is also relevant for anyone who is interested in brass instrument care and lubrication. These things can be applied to any member of the brass family: trumpets, horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, and any of the other freaky instruments I left out. :) I didn’t include anything about piston valves in this video, but if that is something you’d be interested in, please leave me a comment!
This video will explore the following topics:
- What products to use for slides, rotors, & bearings
- The difference between the various products marketed for brass instruments
- How to properly lubricate slides
- How to properly lubricate rotors & bearings
I will also talk about my personal favorite products: valve oil & rotor oil, tuning slide grease & slide gel, and my passionate love for Hetman lubricants!
Learning how to care for your brass instrument is super important, so I have attempted to make this video entertaining and to break it down into easy, bite-sized sections for you.
Also, I am just a SUPER NERD for all things repair and maintenance! I know, that’s probably really strange to some people, but hey! What can I say? I am a bit weird. :p
So, whether you are here for the low-down on French horn maintenance, an overview of the proper care of brass instruments in general, or want to majorly nerd out with me over Hetman rotor oil, WELCOME! And enjoy! :)
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Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:55 - What should I use on my slides?
2:06 - How to apply grease & gel…
4:26 - What should I use on my rotors?
9:10 - How to apply thin & thick oil…
12:45 - Takeaways (AKA) Why should you care?
13:46 - Bloops ;p
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Check out my website here:
www.katieriosmusic.com/
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Here are some great articles discussing valve/rotor oils:
www.schoolmusiconline.com/cen...
www.ultrapureoils.com/post/wh...
houghtonhorns.com/blogs/artic...
Here is the link to the Hetman website where they go into detail about their products:
www.hetman.com/products.html
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The following music tracks were provided courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Jules Gaia - “Doo Dat Wah”
Wendy Marcini - “The Cast”
Wendy Marcini - “Tomalo Con Calma”
Wendy Marcini - “The Scam”
Sven Karlsson - “Fight to Win”
Jules Gaia - “Clever Girl”
Wendy Marcini - “The Plan”
Jules Gaia - “Move Like This”
The Fly Guy Five - “Clumsy Chevalier”
The following music tracks were provided by UA-cam's Audio Library
Bad Snacks - “Kawaii!”
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[@jakub_1987]

Good job!

[@theoffbeatperformer7781]

Many thanks! :)

[@jonathon7109]

This is an incredibly comprehensive and well-edited video for how small your channel is!

[@theoffbeatperformer7781]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@artemi-music]

Love your video, really detailed and straight to the point, I think I've got all my questions answered! 🙏

[@theoffbeatperformer7781]

Thank you , I'm so glad it was helpful to you!

[@gusluna3]

What is the machine oil that you use? Also, great video!

[@theoffbeatperformer7781]

Thank you! The oil I use for under my caps is just a very basic machine oil. The 3-in-One brand multipurpose oil works really well. Highly recommend for bearings. However, I don't put it down my slides. I don't know how I'd feel about breathing in the fumes. Thanks again for watching. :)

[@gusluna3]

@@theoffbeatperformer7781 Haha yeah the fumes are horrible. Thank you so much!