Musical tool bag?

[Wyvern]

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

[Kory101]

Music

Valve oil

2 Pencils

Kobo eReader (useful when counting all those rests)

[mammoth2ba]

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.

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".

[MileMarkerZero]

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

[imperialbari]

That one only is for the hardware and the roadies.

Player and personal staff deserve better:

[Rick Denney]

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

[sloan]

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.

[windshieldbug]

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... )

[Randy Beschorner]

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.

[Casey Tucker]

My personal kit includes:

-La Tromba valve oil.
-Slide grease (nothing specific).
-Tuner.
-Metronome.
-Mpc brush.
-Mpc truer.
-Toothbrush.
-Music.
-Clothes pins.
-Shelf liner (great to keep the horn in my lap).
-Black towel.

These are the things that I keep in both of my gig bags. As for the other essentials that stay in my car are:

-Black and white bow ties.
-Wire stand.
-Screw drivers and hex wrenches.
-Back up essentials to the list above.

I've made sure to double up on the first list for both my F and CC since most gigs I don't need both horns and I'd rather have what I need then get to the gig or rehearsal and not have something. I try to keep the things in my gig bags as minimal as possible. Even though I have cronkhite bags I still worry of bumping into something and having at ton of stuff to push into the horn. just my .02

-CT

[The Jackson]

...What percentage of the time do you spend (at rehearsals or performances) fiddling with any items past the five listed above ?

I probably fiddle with the bandana no more than a handful of times during a 1-1/2 hour rehearsal, but I sure am glad that it's there. I've probably never used the Swiss Army Knife at a rehearsal or performance, but I am very happy that it's there for the day that I forget to throw a Leatherman tool in my pocket and my tuba stand needs adjusting.

I probably should have mentioned this in my first post, but the purpose of my bag is to have all of my music/tuba gear in one place so that I can easily and automatically grab everything that I'll need. Because of that, my bag has all of my stuff for rehearsals, performances, and home practice (except the music stand). It adds weight, bulk, and complexity, but I have too often forgotten important things because I failed to pack them with me.

[Paul Scott]

I also carry toothpaste, a toothbrush and the aforementioned duct-tape. I once had the spit-valve on the main slide pop-off completely during a wedding, (not just the cork but the whole assembly!). I could've just played the horn covering the hole using my left hand but a little tape would have been quite helpful. Luckily I actually had a spare main slide (I have two main slides: one long and one short for the ever varying pitch centers/temperatures that occur from gig to gig).