REPAIR TRAINING

Do you want to learn how to service your instrument?

We offer beginner courses and advanced repair tuition on brass and woodwind instruments tailored to fit any budding repairer. This can be booked as an in person one to one session, as a presentation for a larger group or as a online call tailored to your needs.

With one to one training and online mentoring we can teach you how to polish keywork, how to strip down any instrument, the importance of good tool use and the impact of quality materials. We will pull back the curtain on how regulations, pad seating, venting and spring tension come together to make your Instrument work at peak performance.

We also offer more general presentations which can be booked for groups of teachers, players and students to learn how to best maintain and store instruments, how to play test any woodwind or how to clean and set up brass instruments at home. This option is great for events or training days and can be a valuable investment for any band, school or music service.

Sun runs a regular course at Dawkes called Getting to know your Instrument, which is a perfect place to start for a player wanting to learn how to check for leaks and do small repairs on the go. This course is held in person at Dawkes in Maidenhead, typically on a Sunday, and can be booked through Ticket Tailor.

If you are interested in our workshops, the best place to start is to get in touch and tell us a bit about what you would like to learn, and we will help you find the best course forward. For larger presentations and workshops, please include the size of the group and if it is part of an event.

No further experience is required for any of our sessions, but an interest in mechanics, engineering, or general “tinkering” are all useful skills for learning instrument repair.

To book an online session, presentation or an in-person visit, please press the button below or visit our Contact us page in the navigation bar above. For more information, please scroll down.

Online and In-person Mentoring

Online and in person mentoring is a great way to gain advice and support on an ad hoc basis. We offer options below to suit every level, from beginners just finding their footing and looking for advise on where to start, specific sessions to cover a topic you would like to excel at, or practical in person sessions to get specific pointers and guidance on your work.

Sun can also be hired for in-person sessions worldwide, and have done training visits abroad several times. These sessions can be immensely valuable as we work together in your workshop and Sun can coach you through specific topics and tackle jobs alongside you. Travel and accommodation needs to be covered for the stay. Please get in touch for more information, POA.

Please get in touch to tell us what you are interested in booking and we can choose the topics to suit your needs. All online mentoring calls will be held on Microsoft Teams. Applicants must be proficient in English to attend the calls. If you find the language a barrier, please get in touch and we can discuss text based mentoring through translation programs. As we are based in the UK, these sessions will be held within UK working hours where possible, so please check your time zone if calling internationally. If you are looking to book an evening or weekend call, please get in touch for availability and prices. Sessions can also be held in Norwegian or Danish if you understand the language.

In person session in the SH Music workshop — POA - Guide price £75 per hour

These in person sessions are tailored to fit your skill level and need and can be built on as ongoing tutoring. We can start with a free 30 minute get to know your call over Teams to see what you would best benefit from booking. If an in-person session is booked, we will also cover what tools and set up needed before your visit and start your training plan.

Online Session — POA - Guide price £75 per hour

Are you at a crossroads in your career or are you just starting out in the trade and need to find your footing? Are you taking on a new technique and need some guidance? Do you want to expand your offerings as a repairer to take on a new instrument? Online sessions can either be about a specific topic or technique or an informal chat about the topics of your choosing. This can for instance be:

• “Where to start” when first interested in the trade

• What tools to get, tailored to your needs as a repairer

• What type of instrument to look out for when finding a practice instrument

• Workbench setup and organising tricks for your work space

• Guide to torch technique and safe tool use

• How to overcome challenges around a certain instrument

• How to manage time and set goals for your practice

• Dent work, both on woodwind and brass instruments

• Soft or hard soldering techniques

• Efficient polishing of silver and other materials

• Brass Instrument internal alignment and slide work

• Woodwind Instrument key fitting and tonehole work

• Spring replacement

• Techniques for woodwind pad seating

• Professional materials and how to use them

• Instrument specific servicing 

• Time keeping 

• Customer experience

Group Presentations and Workshops

Bands, music services, teachers, school classes or ensembles can all benefit from a group workshop. We can also do event bookings for specific topics.

Some examples of presentations available are:

• General maintenance

• What goes wrong: typical faults for specific instruments

• How to best store instruments for longer periods of time - what to check for when instruments go in to or come out of storage

• How to use a feeler gauge to assess Flutes/Clarinets/Oboes/Bassoons

• How to use a leak light on Saxophones

• Play testing to diagnose any Woodwind Instrument

• How to clean Brass instruments at home

• How to minimise cost of repairs on a tight budget

• How creative play testing can expand your playing practice

Tell us what session you think might suit your needs

Getting to know your Instrument courses

Working with Dawkes in Maidenhead we have developed a range of courses designed for musicians to tackle emergency repair. These are specific to the instruments Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon and Saxophone and is an one-day immersive course to cover history, sound production, simple acoustics, common faults to look out for and how to diagnose and do simple non-invasive emergency repairs. We teach how to best play test your instrument and how to spot faults before they affect the playing. You will be familiarised with the most common tools of the trade and take away a little goodie bag of accessories and helpful literature to keep handy.

For more information and to book please visit: Ticket Tailor

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