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Friends,
I am the Tuba Head Section Leader for the Kansas State University Marching Band and we're prepping for our last home game next Saturday where it will likely be VERY cold. We have 30 tuba players and we're constantly putting them on or pulling them off in the stands so keeping warm air through the horn is very difficult. Any northerners have tips for keeping the valves from sticking?? Any magical valve oil or solution we could use?

Thanks!
- Xan

You can get a more even and sustained ethanol application if you DRINK the vodka in preparation for the gig...

Heat is the solution...not magic valve oil...

Look, even if you happen to keep the valves free of water and well lubricated and even if you use Antifreeze(I wouldn't) the valves will still be sluggish as it gets below 30 F.

What you want to do is keep the valves warm. Portable hand warmers are cheap and will keep your valves warm enough. It probably the cheapest way to get 30 players horns warmed up.

http://www.amazon.com/Grabber-Hand-Warm ... nd+warmers" target="_blank

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Also, ensure all horns are really clean so that slides can be emptied during breaks so condensation doesn't freeze. And put on new valve oil before the game. Older horns with worn valves (not sure if this is relevant) often end up accumulating more water and will still work even if there is no valve oil. (resulting in players being lazy with regular oilings)

Blow the water out of the spit valves more often than usual - the water is what freezes. Try Blue Juice; it seems to be better in cold temperatures. I stopped leaving horns in the car overnight a long time ago because of the oil getting gummed up by low temps.

Also - get yourselves some plastic rimmed mouthpieces. Remember the tongue on the flagpole in A Christmas Story? It's no joke.

Marching Band's like playing the circus - no heroes, only survivors!

Good luck!

Mark Heter

Joe beat me to it. We used exothermic hand warmers on campouts. Any camping, sporting goods, WalMart or other store should have them. There are several brands. You can peruse them here:
http://handdwarmers.com/" target="_blank