Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Be sure to order replacement parts before beginning any repair.

Materials:
– Naval jelly
– Paint brush
– Toothbrush
– Chrome polish
– Replacement drum head

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Hand Drum first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Be sure to order replacement parts before beginning any repair.

Materials:
– Naval jelly
– Paintbrush
– Toothbrush
– Rubber gloves
– Replacement drum head

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Timpani first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Be sure to order replacement parts before beginning any repair.

Materials:
– Replacement parts
– 5/16 nut driver
– Putty knife
– Razor blade
– Flashlight
– Rags
– Rubber gloves
– Old English scratch cover
– Liquid Gold wood cleaner
– Wood glue
– Straw
– Clamp
– Goo Gone

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Contrabass Bar first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Be sure to order replacement parts before beginning any repair.

Materials:
– Replacement drum head

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Kettle Drum first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Last fall we asked for your scariest Studio 49 instruments, and boy did you frighten us! We saw ghoulish glockenspiels, creepy chromatics, and mysterious metallophones. You unearthed many hair-raising relics from your instrument graveyards. But it was this vintage xylophone from Ridge Ranch Elementary School in Paramus, NJ that really made us shriek!

2016 Scary Instrument Contest Winner
Reita Powell, Ridge Ranch Elementary School

After years of neglect and exposure to the elements, this xylophone’s bars were seemingly damaged beyond repair. But Teaching With Orff’s own “Doctor Lissa” was ready at her Instrument Repair Hospital to resuscitate this critical patient. Below she shares her renovation process in the hopes that you can revitalize some of your own relics and return them to beautiful classroom condition!

Part One: The Resonator Box

Resonator Box Before

1. Remove old tubing.

2. Straighten bent pins gently with a pair of pliers.

3. Vacuum out the inside of the resonator box.

4. Clean the inside of the box with mild soap and water.

5. Polish the outside of the resonator box with Scott’s Liquid Gold furniture polish. It cleans the wood and minimizes any scratches.

6. Replace the old rubber tubing with new. Gently slide it over the pins.

Resonator Box After

Part 2: The Tone Bars

This poor instrument was kept in a closet that had a leak. Water damaged the finish on the bars. This was very unfortunate.

1. After consulting a furniture maker, a tiny bit of Lacquer Thinner was tested on the side of one bars. It seemed to remove the finish without raising the grain of the wood.  Each bar was treated with Lacquer Thinner very sparingly and the damaged finish was removed.

Lacquer Thinner to remove the damaged finish

2. Next Old English Scratch Cover for Light Wood was used to treat the bars. Normally, Old English Scratch Cover for Dark Wood can be used for these bars. But since the finish was removed it would have made the bars very, very dark. The lighter color helped to restore the bars. Next a coat of Tung Oil was applied. This helps to seal the wood.

3. Finally, use a fine tipped gold metallic Sharpie to redefine the letters.

4. TA DA! This instrument is no longer scary.  It looks and sounds great. Make sure you store your instruments is a safe, dry, place out of the sunlight and dripping water.

“Doctor Lissa” and her patient

The instrument has been returned to the classroom where it belongs, and Reita tells us her refurbished Studio 49 xylophone “is really lovely, and it is so great to have another instrument to add to the collection! We use it every day! Thank you so much for the time and effort that went in to repairing this instrument.”

Photo courtesy of Reita Powell, Ridge Ranch Elementary School

The post Scariest Instrument Restoration first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

In one such session, Lissa Ray (aka “Doctor Lissa”) guided her Instrument Repair Hospital interns through the basics of labeling, storing, maintaining and repairing Orff instruments.

With supplies found at the local hardware store and “Doctor Lissa’s” simple techniques, you can ensure that your Orff instruments continue to provide beautiful sound for years to come.

Did you miss this life-saving instrument healthcare training?

Download the session notes from “Doctor Lissa”

Download the Powerpoint presentation from “Doctor Lissa”

Do you have an instrument that needs medical attention?

Watch “Doctor Lissa” in our Instrument Repair Hospital video series.

Do you have a question for “Doctor Lissa” about a sick instrument?

Contact us. We are here to help!

The post Instrument Repair Hospital – AOSA 2015 first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Materials:
– Address Labels
– Permanent Marker
– Towels
– Bungee cords

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Labeling and Storage first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Materials:
– Wood glue
– Rag

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Buzzing first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

Take good care of your Studio 49 Orff Instruments for their long lasting health and great sound!

Be sure to order replacement parts before beginning any repair.

Materials:
– Furniture polish
– Goo Gone
– Turtle Wax chrome polish*
– Scissors
– Hammer
– Screwdriver
– Needle nose pliers
– Rag
– Vacuum cleaner

*Please note: in the original video Lissa uses Yamaha bore oil to polish and protect the glockenspiel bars. We’ve learned a lot more about instrument repair in the last 10 years. Bore oil used for woodwind instruments is not recommended. Lissa’s new preferred product to shine and protect the bars is Turtle Wax Chrome Polish.

The post Instrument Repair Hospital: Glockenspiels first appeared on Teaching With Orff.

The care of your Orff instruments is so important in preserving their sound quality and longevity. And if you’re just a little bit handy, you can repair many of them yourself.

Use the power point to inform the rest of your colleagues and open your own Instrument Hospital!

Instrument_Hospital_with__Dr.__Lissa

Instrument Repair Power Point

The post Instrument Hospital – AOSA 2014 first appeared on Teaching With Orff.