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Hello, friends,

Beside the instrument, I'm sure that we all need and use various pieces of equipment in our musical endeavours. Would you have a "musical tool bag" to keep such items in? What are its contents?

I'll tell you what I've got going. You'll never see me with my tuba without my music backpack. In it, I have:

- sheet music (in the forms of etude books, solo pieces, church binder, etc.)
- tuba playing stand
- small towel (for the tuba's liquid waste)
- bandana (for wiping mouthpiece)
- metronome
- Victorinox Explorer (for adjusting the tuba stand)
- Hetman's #1
- band-aids (do they make "orchestra-aids"?)

I'd be interested in hearing what you guys have!

Toothbrush and toothpaste. I never play without brushing first.

Viola adjusting tool.


Conductor adjusting tool.


Tubist adjusting tool.

Thanks for the entertaining posts, guys. Made me chuckle.
It sounds like your list is a good start, and you're thinking along the right line. I would suggest:
- A clamp for those %&$#@* stands that always shrink while you're playing. An electrical 'ground clamp', modified with wing nuts for easy use, is a must have.
- I've got two very old music clips, (like clothes pins, except they're about 10" long and one arm is made of plexiglas,) that I've had since I was a kid and I "don't leave home" without. You'll really appreciate them when the wind kicks up.
- A digital tuner.
- Blistex, (cream, not stick.)
- You should also have a tool for every fastener on your horn. This will probably include hex wrenches, most likely metric, and properly fitted screwdrivers. (Never, NEVER use your swiss army knife on your horn's screws.)
- Valve oil, of course, but I also keep a small syringe (1cc) for putting the drops of oil EXACTLY where they need to go.
- A mouthpiece brush is good to have, 'cuz someday you may look inside yours. Ugh.
I keep most of this small stuff in a small (2"x 4") tackle box in the pocket of my gig bag. If you can identify the screws and stuff that hold your axe together, a spare or two in the box may keep you playing. Although if you don't know exactly what you're doing you should probably just pack it in and get your axe to a knowledgable repairman.
I also keep a disposable razor with my stuff, because I've gotten caught playing some long days and the stubble that grew back during the day was causing me grief for the evening gig.
A couple wire ties are good to throw in, too. And Alka-seltzer. And a small role of electrical tape.

Additions from me;

* Always have a pencil (with rubber) to make notes on music (but I have that clipped to my tuba).
* Tuba resting stand, as well as playing stand (I hate standing tuba on its bell).
* Reading glasses for playing music (in recent years)
* Bottle of water (I get dry playing, so never go out without bottle)

Stuff I carry with me:

In the gig bag with the instrument:

- Music
- Valve oil
- Slide oil (my slides fit properly. Those that use grease can get greased at home, so no need to carry it.)
- Towel (black)
- BBC stand (no tools required for adjustment, and it fits down the bell)
- DEG stand bag (so it doesn't cause damage when it's in the bell)
- Spare mouthpiece
- iPhone (which includes tuner, metronome, and gig details)
- Clothespins, but they are often borrowed permanently and have to be replaced

In the easy-to-reach toolkit at home:

- small rawhide mallet
- small smooth-jawed pliers
- appropriate screwdrivers
- polish
- slide grease
- cleaning brushes (I run a brass-saver snake brush through the valve body and valves every few months to wipe out the green slime between chem-cleans)
- metronome
- tuner (my favorite for home use is still the Korg AT-12, and I still have mine)

In the used-only-when-necessary toolkit in the basement or garage:

- a few key dent tools, including rolling-pin thingies and a small collection of dent balls and rods.
- a magnetic dent remover kit (easily the most dangerous tool I own, with the danger really being posed to the instrument)
- bench with vise
- anvil
- torch
- general tools

The home toolkit is sufficient to disassemble rotary valves for routine maintenance, and if routine maintenance is done they should never be needed with the instrument. The only time I've ever wished I had those tools at a gig was when someone else needed them. The occasional exception is the small rawhide mallet, which is amazingly useful in emergencies, but I've never been prevented from playing because I didn't have it.

The when-necessary tools are there, but the objective of "when" is "never", except when screwing around with a junk instrument for fun.

The stuff I take with me only needs its own case when I'm toting only the Yamaha 621, whose hard case has no outside storage pocket.

Rick "who usually keeps a folding stand in the car, too" Denney

I couldn't tell you what's in my bag, but if I'm caught without something, I get it as soon as the gig is over, and keep it in my backpack from then on.

Someone mentioned mouthpiece brush. I keep one of these in each of my mouthpieces:



You never have to worry about brushing it out again, until it's time to give the horn a bath. The bonus to it is, if the piece is ever dropped, the plastic back protects the throat from denting. I'm really surprised more music stores don't carry these, and most have never heard of this.

Nick

I have a sort of check-list before I walk out the door, I don't depend on them being in my case...

Mouthpiece & spare (maybe I'm paranoid, I've never needed an extra one, but I have a bunch, so why not?)
Ear plugs (el cheapos, but I've needed them too often)
Music (if previously provided)
Tuba (the 500 lb elephant in the room... )
Oil (done before I leave, too, but who knows what might hang up on the rotors)
Beer money (for after, not before)

I always carry a black bowtie. I have never needed it; but if I had been charging those I have lent it to, I would be rich.

Besides many of the items mentioned above, I always have a pair of small Crescent® wrenches in my bag.

Seems no matter how many ensembles I participate in during the year (several likely), they all have one problem in common:

music stands with loose "desks" or legs......and no wrenches available to tighten them.

bloke wrote:You're supposed to just swap out your wobbly stand for the back-row viola stand - when that viola player is off flirting with the 3rd horn player.

Actually, since no trumpet has ever arrived before me, I usually swap out a bad stand with the trumpet's. That way I don't have to walk so far.

Mark wrote:I always carry a black bowtie. I have never needed it; but if I had been charging those I have lent it to, I would be rich.

Cuff links is another good one to keep spare in the car. I have turned up for a gig and found I have forgotten for my dress shirt

Music

Valve oil

2 Pencils

Kobo eReader (useful when counting all those rests)

bloke wrote:You're supposed to just swap out your wobbly stand for the back-row viola stand - when that viola player is off flirting with the 3rd horn player.

Mark wrote:since no trumpet has ever arrived before me, I usually swap out a bad stand with the trumpet's. That way I don't have to walk so far.

What I generally do, sometime when I've arrived early, is check and tighten _all_ the stands.....legs and desks so that _nobody_ has to play "musical stands".......

Once or twice per season is usually often enough to ensure I never have a "wobbly".

Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone. - Walt Kowalski

That one only is for the hardware and the roadies.

Player and personal staff deserve better:

I should have added that the stuff in my gig bag STAYS in my gig bag. I have duplicates that stay at home next to my practice spot. If it never comes out of the gig bag at home, it never is forgotten when leaving for a gig. And I always use the gig bag--I need the handle.

I should have mentioned my music glasses, for which I also have a gig-bag-only version. But I only have one set for one gig bag, and a couple of times I've forgotten those glasses when going to a gig with just the F tuba.

Rick "who has had pros ask to borrow several of the items on his gig-bag list on a number of occasions" Denney

Neptune wrote:

Mark wrote:I always carry a black bowtie. I have never needed it; but if I had been charging those I have lent it to, I would be rich.

Cuff links is another good one to keep spare in the car. I have turned up for a gig and found I have forgotten for my dress shirt

My son the trombone player once played an All-State concert wearing a tux over a grey tee-shirt. His tie was "tie-your-own", so he might actually have worn the tie, too.

Mark wrote:I always carry a black bowtie. I have never needed it; but if I had been charging those I have lent it to, I would be rich.

Any tuba player worth his clef can always quickly make an "emergency" white one out of paper towels or a black one from gaffer's tape (not that I have ever needed to... )

Among the stuff already mentioned, I included a stubby 9 led flashlight (black) from Harbor Freight Tools. There's usually a coupon for a free one around the store or a coupon for 2 at $2.99. Runs on AAA batteries (included). It's about 3 1/2 inches long by 1 1/4 inches in diameter. That came about when the idiot in the lighting booth decided to kill all the on stage and back stage lights while we were packing up. You can also use the beam to keep trumpet players distracted while moving the light spot around the stage.