No, this isn’t yet another post on whistle condensation. I’m wondering if anyone else out there experiences an uncomfortable build up of saliva in the mouth when playing a long set. This is starting to drive me crazy when I’m playing for the Morris kids…by the third time through the tune, I’m desperate to either spit or swallow and, since I’m the only musician, I can’t take a discreet “break” to take care of the problem. I tried today to throw in an extra “breath” pause to take care of things, but found I can’t swallow fast enough…in short, I started choking and that brought things to a rather ignominious halt.
Please tell me I’m not the only one this happens to!
It happens to me plenty. I think that it’s the worst on faster pieces on whistle. Sometimes it happens to me during a (Boehm) flute etude, but that’s usually when I’m trying to work through something and I’m not paying attention to my breath.
It happens to me, too. If I make a very conscious effort to swallow everything in my mouth before I start, though, it doesn’t seem to happen, or hasn’t yet. It seems to happen only whan I’m not conscious beforehand of whether I’ve got a build up of saliva in my mouth. So I think starting out as dry as possible helps.
It happens to me and I’m convinced its a Pavlovian response to me playing the saxophone before and trying to keep the reed wet…or just that my mouth is a wet place…either one…you decide…
Could very well be. Putting an object in your mouth will trigger salivation. I’ve found that I salivate more if I put the fipple further in my mouth. If I barely rest the fipple on my lips, I don’t salivate much at all. Unless I can smell the cookies my wife is baking.
I’ve had this happen, too. I think that probably most whistlers have at least occasionally.
I’ve found different whistles cause saliva to build up at different rates, I think maybe because of the shape of the mouthpiece, or of how much of it actually goes between your lips.
Also I think when you are very nervous, as in playing in public or even onstage, you will tend to either have a very dry mouth or to salivate like crazy.
Things that help avoid this for me is to grip the whistle with the lips only moderately tightly, not to put too much of the fipple between my lips, and to try to stay relaxed and focus my mind on the music I’m playing.
For me, it’s all linked to how recently I’ve eaten. You know those times when you get together with friends, and all the mandolin and guitar and fiddle players keep getting up to graze, then sit down to join in again as soon as the tune changes? Me, I start on a snack or a sip of something, and invariably the next tune is one I really like and want to play. Then it’s spit city. NOT FAIR!
No solutions from me. Just quit putting other things in my mouth.
I have this problem as well but when I think to dry my mouth before playing it only induces saliva production, go figure. Either that or I notice it more because it is on my mind.
The best cure I’ve come up with is choking in the middle of a tune.
I have more trouble with this if I hold the whistle more vertically. If I hold it out straight, I almost never have a problem with saliva. Also, the puddle has to get deeper to hit the airway.
Take up pot smoking. That’ll dry the old mucus membranes.
this message is intended for entertainment only. Flying Cursor is not intending to encourage illegal activity. “Pot” is illegal and evil and people who smoke it are going to prison and then to hell.
Speaking of herbs and as a herbalist (yes, a herbalist) trained in the anglo-american tradition, may I suggest taking sage (salvia officinalis) tea before playing. Please check it out for yourself on one of the many googlable sites or any good herbal guide. If you dont like the tea, you can use it in cooking. apparently epileptics and pregnant women should avoid it. Sage is supposed to decrease excessive salivation.
Gives a whole new meaning to “potty mouth”!
