Cleaning off an old flute

[Feo Takahari]

One of my characters owns a flute, but has kept it in a box in her house for several years. At the end of the story, she takes it out and plays it. What steps would she need to go through in order to render it fit to play? I just need a general idea--I'll probably cover this in one or two sentences. (I've found instructions on how to give a flute regular cleaning, but I'm not sure which of those apply if the flute hasn't been used in some time.)

The flute has been stored in a safe place, so it hasn't been damaged by water or temperature. It was properly disassembled before it was stored.

 

[Ireth]

I'm afraid I can't give you an answer beyond "it probably depends on what the flute is made of." Is it metal, wood, bone, or something else?

 

[Feo Takahari]

My first inclination is to say "metal", but I suppose it could be whatever wood makes the best flutes. (The protagonist's parents were members of a cheesy folk band that became popular among jaded hipsters for their irony value, and managed to turn that into a successful career and become incredibly rich. They'd buy the best for their daughter.)

 

[Kit]

The biggest issue is usually the pads, which harden or crack if the instrument isn't used and maintained regularly/well. If it's been sitting for a long time, it's likely that it would sound like a tomcat in a blender until you put new pads on it. For your purposes, you'll probably want to specify/describe a flute that does not have pads. This probably means it doesn't have keys either, which would be another common fail for an old instrument (sticking keys until they are cleaned and lubed).

If you have a simple flute that's basically a pipe with holes, as long as it was cleaned before it was put away and stored in a dry and temp-controlled place, it would probably play fine right out of the case.

 

[Butterfly]

Well my student flute has been in it's box for about ten years in my wardrobe. It's a basic metal Yamaha, (I upgraded see). It plays fine, a bit discolouration on the body from finger acid affecting the plating, (turns it green in patches) - your spittle will turn to acid after a while and cause some corrosion along the body tube and especially inside the head joint if its not cleaned out properly before placing it in its box. The pads are fine, could be better, can be helped by blowing on them, warms them up and creates a better seal for the notes.

Modern boxes are pretty much air tight and temperature resistant. So as long as it hasn't been placed in hot or cold conditions there should be no probs (e.g right next to a radiator, and never ever place any instrument in a plane's cargo hold - will cause lots of damage in freezing temps). She would still probably have to oil the mechanism and possibly tweak a few screws. Possibly, the joints might have become a bit dirty making them difficult to fit together, cork grease and a kitchen towel can be used to clean it... big dirty patches wipe off the joints.

You wouldn't need to disassemble a flute to store (I mean unscrew all the fiddly bots), just keep it in its box, comes apart in three pieces, the head joint, body tube, and foot joint (body longest, foot the shortest.

Wooden instruments need a lot more care and need regular playing. Without the playing the wood dries out, shrinks and cracks or splits and renders them unplayable even when stored in their boxes, sometimes they can be repaired but shouldn't then be played until someone qualified assesses it. They need slower warming up periods as well, especially with temperature changes because they are no so resistant to temp changes.

If it's a solid silver flute... it would probably be tarnished to some degree. Can't do anything about it, doesn't affect the sound, it just won't shine. Can't use silver polish on flutes, it gets in the mechanism and causes damage, silver polishing cloths are now known to affect the mechanism also.

For the first play in some time...

She'd put it together, test the keys without blowing to make sure there's is nothing clonking, or rattling, that the mech is free working (having the head joint close to her ear so she can listen for any metal taps and rattles), and that there's is no lost movement in the keys. The keys will make a noise as they are pressed, like putting your hand over a copper tube (only way I can think to describe it). If anything is worn, or if there are screws/pins loose she will hear it. Sometimes, the crown will have worked loose (it screws on to the end of the head joint), so she'd tighten it gently, it also adjusts the cork inside which can affect its tuning.

Adjust the alignment of the parts to fit her fingers, twisting the joints. Close all keys, and with her lips over the embouchure (the hole in the head that makes the noise) to make a seal blow down it without sound and with long blows to warm it up. Bunging up the end with all keys closed to bottom C will let her know if any of the keys are leaking. Comes out as a slight whistle and hiss of air if there are leaky pads. She should be able to blow out her cheeks and blow open the trill keys if the pads are fine.

Then she'd play a few scales (probably from f major) listening for any notes that won't play or seem to be missing. If there are, regulating screws will need to be adjusted with a jeweller's screwdriver. Some keys will move others and they need to work together. After a few scales she would play something, no doubt after rummaging round for a music book, nothing too difficult, like greensleeves..

Hope it helps.

 

[SeverinR]

What the flute is made of would be depending on time period you are shooting for and the wealth that the maker had.

Bone, metal and wood were used.

There are links on the net to make a PVC flute.
Make a pvc flute - Bing Videos I think this is the one I used.
My flute works with all holes blocked or lower three, the upper three fail, I believe the holes were too big.

Forgot to address the op question.
If metal it might tarnish, wood or bone might grow mold if stored in moist area, but there should be nothing to tune or adjust, just holes to cover. Ie cosmetic and hygenic cleaning.
Not sure when buttons came into use, but these would probably need oiled.