There is no doubt that school age children are our moral guardians when it comes to reminding us of the importance of protecting the planet. So, the fact that all pInstruments are carbon neutral will resonate with potential young brass students.
Now, The British Band Instrument Company (BBICO) and Warwick Music Group have collaborated using Edgware products to produce a cleaning kit that has the same high standard of environmental credentials, being fully compostable and biodegradable with recyclable packaging.
Couple that with the ‘new normal’ we live in these days, a cleaning kit that promises to kill 99.9999% of all germs is very welcome.
The kit is made up of a tube of tuning slide grease, a mouthpiece brush, a care cloth, and a bottle of sanitiser spray.
For pre-owned or hire instruments, I would normally have used medical wipes for sanitising mouthpieces, but we know that disposing of wipes is not environmentally friendly. The sanitiser spray is a much better option, however I would urge caution with any instrument sharing or re-use in the current pandemic. The spray can also be used on your hands, although these days there should be hand gel readily available in all music rooms.
The tube of grease (packaged in a 100% paper tube) works for any pInstrument's tuning slide and it is made in the UK from 100 per cent natural ingredients. The tube is designed like a lip balm stick for easy application straight to the slide. However, to smear the product evenly over the surface, fingers will have to be used and any excess wiped off.
One should not underestimate the value of a mouthpiece brush, and the claim is that the one supplied is built to last and shouldn't need replacing. It feels sturdy and the metal part has a plastic coating, which should ensure no scratching while cleaning.
The cloth is lint-free and soft to the touch, is fully washable and can be used after spraying with the sanitiser.
So, all that remains is to persuade our pupils to keep their instruments well maintained and clean, as, in my experience, kits can often get left unused in the instrument case.
pInstruments should theoretically need less maintenance than their brass equivalents, but in these difficult times, cleaning and infection control is simply the most important thing we can do.
