Does your flute or piccolo 
need work?
The answer to this question is: Probably.
I find that the majority of flute players never have their instruments worked on until there's a crisis.
No matter how little or how much you've paid for your instrument, you can't expect it to play its best if you don't give it some care. Here are the services for flutes and piccolos that I perform:
COA - (Clean, Oil, Adjust).
You should have your instruments given a COA every year or two, depending on how much you play them, to keep them in the best possible playing condition.
If your tone sounds airy, or if some notes don't come out as easily as they used to, (losing the lower notes, for example) or if you hear "squawks," don't blame yourself, it's probably your instrument that is at fault. Lots of players end up pressing the keys harder to make the instrument play better. This will slow down your technique in no time! Nothing is more discouraging than an instrument that doesn't respond properly. Keep your flute and piccolo in great playing condition and it will make a world of difference in your playing enjoyment. For a complete description of what I do for a COA, see the section to the right of this.
In addition, you should have your flute cleaned and oiled regularly for the same reason you change the oil in your car regularly. When metal pieces rub against each other without any oil protecting them the friction starts to make the metal deteriorate and wear away, resulting in side to side or front to back excess motion, or metal parts that jam together and freeze up.
REPAD
Traditional felt pads such as are found in most flutes and piccolos will last between 4-6 years.
If the pads on your instrument are ripped, shredding, eaten by mites (no kidding), or if the skins are old and dried out, you need the pads replaced. Sometimes pads will look ok, but if the instrument has been sitting for years without being played, the skins will probably have dried out and will start cracking when you start to play the instrument again. Once the skins on the pads are open in any way, the pad begins to leak and must be replaced.
The pad skins should look fresh, unwrinkled, and without deep seats. Sometimes tarnish will get on the pads from the tone holes but that doesn't matter too much if the pad looks fresh and are in good condition.
A good repad makes an incredible difference in the way an instrument sounds, plays and responds. When I repad an instrument I also do a complete COA. I like to keep an instrument for a couple of weeks when I repad it, to make sure it is absolutely stable before I send it out. Contact me if you want to ask about a repad for your flute or piccolo.
OVERHAUL
About once every 8-10 years you should have your instrument overhauled. This service consists of stripping the instrument of pads, felts, corks, and papers down to the bare metal. Metal instruments are hand polished and any lost motion is removed from the mechanism. Wood instruments are oiled. The instrument is repadded and all corks, felts and paper adjustments are replaced. All in all, this is like getting a new flute or piccolo!
This service takes a couple of weeks to perform. Once again, it is usually the padding which takes the largest amount of time.
