Once you’ve owned a trumpet or another similar brass instrument for a while, the time will come where the water key gets stuck.
The water key is sometimes referred to as a water valve or a water tap since key and valve are words that can be used when describing other parts of the brass instrument.
You’ll find them near the main tuning slide or the hand slide, depending on which instrument you play, but you should be familiar with where it is if you’ve learned the layout of your instrument.
Today we’re going to talk you through what water keys are, what they do, and how to keep them clear and clean.
What Is A Water Key?
So, water keys, or valves/taps, are also sometimes called spit valves. This isn’t exactly because the key gathers spit, it’s more complicated than that. Think about it, when you’re playing the trumpet and buzzing your lips, that mouthpiece on your brass instrument gets covered in spittle.
It’s inevitable that some spit will make its way deeper into the instrument, along with moisture-heavy breaths that condense. The amount of water you can expect to build will be different depending on how large your instrument is, but you can count on one thing, it will build up.
So, it’s not spit by technicality, but it’s about as close as you can get. If that wasn’t enough for you to want to loosen that stuck water key, then maybe the practical concerns with having an instrument full of water will convince you.
Having too much moisture in your brass instrument isn’t great for the sound and it’s even possible to hear watery noises if there’s enough in your brass tubes.
You remove this water by turning your instrument upside down and triggering the water key, any fluids in the instrument will trickle out.
If you’re concerned with water stuck inside the valves of your trumpet, you’ll also want to press them down to expel any liquid trapped there, and of course, having watery valves makes them stickier and much harder to play with.
Types Of Water Keys
Water keys come in three main types that you’ll find. The first is for woodwind instruments, which is a lever key that uses a cork to properly seal the key against the hollow cylinder of your woodwind’s hollow cylinder.
By pressing the end of the key that’s closer to the cup, the key’s valve mechanism opens and clears the woodwind of offending moisture.
For brass instruments, however, you’ll usually be working with an Amado water key or a Saturn key.
The Amado Water Key
The Amado water key is a short and hollow cylinder that should be visible on the side of your instrument. On one side is a button that controls the stopper valve, with the other having a hole to drain liquids.
Amado keys require some manual operation to clear, namely you having to press a button and blow through your horn to drain the water out of this now-open valve.
Amado keys tend to look more aesthetic since they’re smaller though they’re not the most popular valve type since practicality trumps how pretty your instrument looks.
The Saturn Water Key
On the other hand, the Saturn key is an attempted improvement to the Amado key by simplifying the liquid evacuation process. The stopper valve is ball-shaped this time, and that ball has a small ring around it to ensure it seals properly, and yes, this is where the Saturn name comes from.
A smaller steel ball keeps the valve sealed but, by pushing the ring in either direction, that ball slides away and the fluid can be disposed of. Since springs are used, it snaps back into place when you’re not pressing it.
How To Loosen
As one, and sometimes the only, mechanical part of your brass or woodwind instrument, the water key can have its own problems with its spring or the seal that keeps the draining hole shut when it’s not being used.
This is important to know since any problems will degrade your instrument’s sound and cause more liquid buildup which, you guessed it, contributes even more to unsatisfying sound.
To check the seal of your water key, you need to find the stopper. This is usually made from cork but can be made from other materials too.
Otherwise, the second most common problem is that the water key has a kink in it, or the spring that allows the water key to function has broken. Once you’ve identified the problem, you’ll need to have it fixed.
If you’re a fiend for DIY and know what you’re doing, you can replace the cork yourself.
Methods of removing the old one will change depending on the instrument but you’ll either be prying it off with a screwdriver or loosening the cork from the surrounding metal with the slight application of heat from a lighter.
If you’re not confident that you know what you’re doing, don’t do this.
The same goes for the spring but buying a new water key spring can often cost just as much as an expert’s repair cost. You can take your instrument to your instructor or other qualified repair people to either show you the process or do it for you.
They can also direct you to specialized tools that you can use to perform repairs and maintenance without damaging your instrument.
Another Tip
While you’re looking at the water valve on your instrument, it might be worth it to check on any note valves at the same time if you’re playing in the brass section.
First, make sure that the valves are in order. Yes, it’s a common enough problem in trumpeter beginners that we need to tell you to check if they’re numbered right.
The first goes closest to the mouthpiece and the third (or maybe fourth) is closest to the bell. You should be able to work out where the second one goes.
Second, valve oil exists to properly lubricate the valves, if them getting stuck is your only problem. If valve oil still fails, it may be debris that’s physically blocking the moving action of brass valves, at which point you’ll want to run water through them.
Make sure you leave the trumpet to dry well before trying anything else and don’t force them to move if they won’t budge naturally.
