Trumpet which valve goes where

Then pick the body of the trumpet up and swab out the valve casing once more, using a clean part of the cotton cloth. Now it's time to reassemble the horn, and we'll start with the slides. Rub a thin coat of slide grease on the inner slide tubes of the first slide and then push the slide onto the body of the horn, then do the same with the second, third and tuning slides.

Wipe off the little bit of excess grease that you'll find after you've pushed each slide in. Next, pick up the first valve and place it part way into the first valve casing and place a few drops of valve oil on the valve itself and then push it the rest of the way in and tighten the top valve cap. Then do the dame for the second and third valves. At this point pick up the trumpet and work all the valves up and down for a short time and see how they feel.

If they feel good then it's fine; if they feel a little slow then you'll have to take them out again and swab the valve casings out once more. Once you're happy with the way the valves feel, you can put the bottom valve caps back on. It's a good idea to put a small amount of slide grease on the threads of the bottom valve caps. Without the grease the caps could be hard to get off the next time you take the trumpet apart.

Cleaning and Polishing the Outside Just use a clean dry cloth to keep the outside of the instrument clean. There are lacquer polish cloths available that are okay to use which are treated with a wax that cleans and shines and won't hurt the finish of the trumpet. If the instrument is silver-plated instead of brass-lacquered, you can use a silver polish cloth to keep the outside shiny. Before you polish a silver horn, especially if you haven't given it a bath recently, take the time to wipe the outside off with a cloth lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol.

This removes the oils of the perspiration from your hands and any dirt that might be on the surface and makes the actual polishing go a lot quicker. Helpful Hints and Reminders Pliers and trumpets don't go together — ever! Depending on how stuck it is, using the pliers can scratch and damage the mouthpiece at the very least. In worse cases the mouthpiece won't free up but the mouthpipe will start to break away off the body of the trumpet. If and when the mouthpiece gets stuck, first ask your band director for help.

Most band directors have a tool called a mouthpiece puller that can remove a stuck mouthpiece quickly and easily without damaging the mouthpiece or the trumpet. If the band director cannot help you, then take your trumpet to your local band instrument store and ask for their help. Instead, place your little finger on top of the hook. In order to do this you have to raise your entire hand just a little bit, and what it does is gives your first, second and third fingers a better angle to push the valves down.

When your little finger is in the hook your other fingers are fairly flat when they touch the valves. It's hard to push the valves straight down in this position; instead they get pushed partly sideways at the same time they are being pressed down. When the little finger rests on top of the finger hook then the other fingers have some arch to them and can push the valves down straight every time.

This makes the valves work better and faster. So why is the finger hook there, you ask? You need to use the finger hook at times when you have to hold the trumpet with just your right hand. This could be when you need to keep playing while you turn a page of music, or it could be when you're playing and you need to put a mute in the trumpet or take one out.

With your little finger in the hook you can still work the valves while you hold the trumpet with just your right hand. When you are placing the horn back in the case do not store your band method book on top of the instrument. Most trumpets and trumpet cases are designed these days so that padded inside of the lid comes right down on top of the trumpet, leaving no room for a book.

It is very important that the valves are inserted in the proper order, as each is designed specifically to match the openings within the valve casings. On either side of each valve are small, usually plastic parts, located just under the stem. These parts, called valve guides, hold the valve in place inside the trumpet.

To ensure that your valves are aligned properly within each valve casing, line up the valve guides with each other, and make sure that each valve is facing the same direction as the others often, one valve guide is smaller than the other, allowing you to differentiate one side from the other.

In most cases, the valve guides face either side of the trumpet, away from both the bell and mouthpiece. Begin by removing all three valves from the trumpet. Repeat this process with the 2nd, and finally 1st valve. The rings on the first and third valve slides enable the player to further fine tune notes downward.

Some notes really need it. Valves make Trumpets longer. If the purpose of a valve is to make a Trumpet longer or not then it has only two positions: up and down. Pushing a valve down makes the instrument longer by the amount of tubing attached to it. Each valve has a simple tab and groove setup that should make sure that the valve can only go straight up and down. In some Trumpets the spring that pushes the valve back up is floating around free under the valve but nowadays most have the spring enclosed in a cage like the one in the photo below.

In the photo above you can see that the valves are attached to each other by two smaller solid braces and a short tube. If a valve is pushed down the air comes into it through a different hole which leads to its extra tubing then back through the valve and out to the next valve or to the bell.

It seems so simple but there were plenty of attempts to get it right. Other than the occasional major cleaning the valves require only regular oiling to remain functional. The valves in some new Trumpets might require breaking in but that mostly means daily oiling and using the valves a lot — a good recipe for plenty of practising!

You can simply add it from the bottom and work it in. My old Bb Trumpet has been treated that way for over 40 years and the valves are still good. The idea is to keep the valves in their very limited place, keep them free of dust particles and keep them oiled.

Use whatever Valve Oil you can find or read this other post. It also helps avoid the problems outlined below. Both the top and bottom caps should be removable, just not loose. If you hear a strange vibration on your Trumpet they can be the culprits. What there is to know? When number 1 valve is pressed the pitch is lowered one whole tone 2 semitones When number 2 valve is pressed the pitch is lowered half a tone 1 semitone When number 3 valve is pressed the pitch is lowered one and a half tones 3 semitones Valve combinations Please find the key below to help you understand the fingering chart, I know the valves are being the played with the wrong hand but this has been done to show the valve combinations clearly.

Click to enlarge. Thanks for reading I hope you found this interesting and learnt something new. If you have any questions please call the sales team on: or email: sales normans. Previous article Next article. Join Us Your email. Follow us.