If you take exit 420 south off I-20 between Weatherford and Ft. Worth, you will find the town of Aledo, Texas. Aledo is well known for many outstanding ISD programs, including the respected Aledo High School Band.

Just outside of the city limits, in the shadow of Aledo’s football stadium, is an unassuming metal building with a simple sign. However, inside this building, some of the highest quality band repair in Texas is taking place. This is the home of Johnny Paul’s Music Shop, which became the newest location of N-Tune Music and Sound on June 1, 2017.

Johnny Paul’s Music Shop was founded by Johnny and Jeanan Paul in January of 2003. Both had been trained to do repair, and gained a following for the quality of the repair, by Ed Wiese. And, although the store has grown to include rentals and a school Education Rep calling on local ISD’s, repair is still the strength of this fun little shop. If you stop by the store on any given day, you will still find Jeanan Paul working at her bench and making sure the standard that has been set still holds.

Like your local repair shop, the focus the last several months has been getting school horns in for repair, put in top playing condition, and then returned to you for this next year. I asked Jeanan Paul if she could offer some tips from her experience to help you keep your instruments, that you just spent a good chunk of your repair budget fixing, in top playing condition for as long as possible.

6 Tips from a Local Music Store
(N-Tune Music & Sound)

1.    Aledo has the low brass section carry a towel out to the practice field so they can lay their horns on it instead of scratchy concrete or asphalt. This also seems to make the kids aware that the horns need to be taken care of.  Never allow them to pick up the instruments by the leadpipes or slide sections.  With the advent of digital cameras, many directors are taking pics of the instruments before they check them out to the students, so that they can hold the students accountable for the dents that happen in their care.

2.    Never allow your saxophones to hang their instrument by the neckstrap…Neckstraps, no matter how good quality, break.  Keep the instruments in your hands all the time. General rule is, if it is not in your hands, it needs to be in the case.  #1 is the exception to this rule.

3.    Most damage to saxophones actually happens while the instrument is in the case.  When the case is set down hard, the weight of the bell actually bends the body of the sax.  Remind the players to set the case down gently.

4.    Got caught in the rain?  Have the repair technician give you a bottle of oil and oil the keys on all the woodwinds.  This will prevent frozen rods and keys later.

5.    No sousa juggling (yeah. it’s a thing.  look it up on youtube) or flute twirling. Looks cool, but is job security for your repair technician.

6.    NEVER put tubas and euphoniums down on the bell. Lay them flat with the leadpipe facing the ground.

There are times, now matter how careful, or how many precautions are taken, when a problem happens. Jeanan did have one thought to help you and your student get the issue corrected as quickly as possible.

“If a part falls off your instrument, *please* pick it up and bring it in.  Many times parts are no longer available for that instrument, or are very hard to obtain.  We can almost always fix a brokenpart, but we can’t always replace it.”

Remember, although having to fix an instrument isn’t necessarily what you want to do, a good repair shop is on your team, we want to keep your group performing at their very best with your instruments in the best playing condition they can be.

Best wishes for a successful fall, and if you need us, we’ll be ready!

Special thanks to N-Tune Music & Sound, a nationally recognized instrument repair facility with 4 locations in Texas, for providing this article. N-Tune Music & Sound is a business partner for BandDirectorsTalkShop.com and supports music education and band directors in many ways. Their dedication to student musicians and music educators is unmatched, as is their instrument repair quality and customer service.

N-Tune Music and Sound has have over 200 years of hands on experience with a crew of young technicians learning from the master technicians everyday. If you have instruments that need quality overhauls, contact them at  repair@ntunemusic.com. They also have a booth each year at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Related Reading:
How to Keep Your School Owned Instruments in Top Condition
Teaching Students Proper Instrument Care

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