Hi,

I won't be much help with advice on how a library shares these instruments but, I can give some advice based on the fact that I was in a band ensemble for 8 years as a clarinet player.

1.) You can sanitize instruments but depending on the instrument, it can be a lengthy process. I would recommend buying additional mouthpieces for the wind instruments so you can always have a clean one available. When you play a wind instrument your spit can travel through the whole body of the instrument. Because of this cleaning a trumpet, for example, would be less time consuming to clean than a clarinet or flute because of the amount of keys that you would want to clean around. They have different cleaning products & brushes for each type of instrument based on the material the instrument is made of and you can find all of those usually online or at a music supply store.

2.) Reeds come in different levels of softness regarding the wood. So the reed you choose would depend on the experience of the musician. If you are a more experienced musician you would have a firmer wood for your reed versus a musician new to the instrument would want a softer wood, as it is easier to move air past the softer wood. You also cannot play a reed instrument with a dry reed. We were taught to hold the reed in our mouth to soften it with your saliva. Reeds can last for a good amount of time based on how you treat it and how often you play. You do not need a new reed everytime you play.

Based on the knowledge I have on wind instruments you could go about it in a couple different ways:

-You could have patrons purchase their own reeds or you could keep a variety of reeds that they can use but they would then keep their reed for a while and bring it in with them when they want to play an instrument.

-You can purchase separate pieces for instruments. If you are worried about patrons sharing a mouthpiece despite being sanitized you could have patrons bring in their own mouth pieces and then you only have to worry about sanitizing the body of the instrument between patron use.

I think it is do-able to share instruments between patrons but it also depends on how much time or money you would want to dedicate to the care and keeping of the instruments. I hope any of this is of help to you and feel free to reach out if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer based on my knowledge. Good luck!

On Mon, Jul 17, 2023 at 1:37 PM BillieJo Bluemer via Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:

If your library includes musical instruments, not just ukulele, but flute, trumpet, and more as part of your Library of Things could you share some information? We will be receiving a donation of assorted instruments from a family in memory of a long term board trustee.

 

We have concerns and questions about safely checking out these instruments especially woodwind/brass.

1. How do you keep the instruments clean/sanitized? Is it even possible?
2. If the instruments require a ‘reed’ to be played, do you provide it or have the patron get that on their own?
3. Do you even think it’s possible to have a “library of things” that includes instruments?

 

At this time, we’re thinking of just accepting percussion/string instruments. Any advice and guidance is appreciated.

 

BillieJo Bluemer

Director

Rauchholz Memorial Library

1140 N Hemlock Rd

Hemlock MI 48626

989-642-8621

 

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