I had the chef add extra jalapenos to my quesadillas at a recent session, but when I tried to play my flute after eating, my mouth was still salivating. It was a struggle to play my flute, although I’m not sure exactly how to describe the problem. I’ve experienced this on previous days but it wasn’t as bad then, so I suspect that it was the extra jalapenos that made it particularly worse this time.
I’ve also heard an annecdote that the mere smell of popcorn is enough to cause problems for a flute player. When I was playing near people who were eating popcorn, I think I imagined what it would taste/feel like, which then caused a problematic sensation.
Does anyone here have experience with foods that have detrimental effects on playing the flute? Care to elaborate on it?
When I was learning classical flute, growing up, I was always told not to eat or drink (water excepted) before or while playing. In fact, for years, I brushed my teeth every time before playing the flute.
Then I fell into the dark world of Irish music and threw caution to the wind. Now, I even use my flute as a straw to drink beer during tunes I don’t know. Not really, but I’m much less fastidious. I haven’t noticed anything of major concern, although sometimes a bit of gunk forms on the far side of the embouchure hole.
However, while eating and drinking are often a part of sessions, I try to keep clean when I’m playing at home.
Dale shares a related anecdote about the Clarke Sweetone on the main C&F site:
Norman Dannatt, with Clarke, wrote me a fascinating and entertaining letter that includes the history of this whistle. It was intended to be marketed for children (thus the colors). “What we needed was an inexpensive whistle especially for children,” Norman writes, “It also needed to be one without a wooden fipple as children tend not to take care of their instruments…Nothing ruins the wooden fipple more than being blown soon after eating burgers or drinking coke.”
Chocolate makes me salivate so I avoid that while playing. Potato chips (crisps to those on the other side of the Atlantic) are another thing to avoid, famously…see here:
Sparkling water and other beverages can cause funny effects when the gas says hello again…the tuning can sink significantly when you burp while playing
Crisps are also a no-go for me when playing the flute.
I try not to eat while I am playing so this has never been a problem for me, but there is something that does affect my playing. Mouthwash, if I try to play the Flute after 30 seconds with some Listerine (usually what I use) it hurts my mouth to play. It doesn’t really affect the sound, but it sure does make it harder to play.
Up here in the People’s Republic, most of the sessions seem to take place in coffeehouses. I had the BEST iced coffee ever yesterday in Montpelier, but for the first hour of the session I kept over-salivating Most unpleasant.
There’s an old story (17th or 18th century I think) set in England. A composer is working in his office at the front of his downtown house, when a busking band sets up outside his window, their rough music making it impossible to concentrate on his own work. Noting that the band is lead by a flute-player, the composer pays a small street urchin to stand right in front of the flute player and noisily suck on a lemon. The flute player’s embouchure dries up and within a few minutes, the band has moved on.
There’s a nice period engraving of the story somewhere, showing the composer arguing with the street musicians through his open window.
Apple cider and red wine are my weak points. Love 'em, but find their tartness badly affects my embouchure. Fortunately, Guinness and Whiskey are reliable standbys with no (immediate) side effects.
I avoid eating anything of significance less than two hours prior to playing in a session. At the most, I might have a banana within an hour. It has mostly to do with not wanting that bloated feeling. It makes working the diaphragm fairly unpleasant.
I never eat while playing. It’s just impossible to get food in with a focused embouchure and all that air coming out.
The cook at our pub, who sometimes sits in with us, brought a bowl of jalapenos to the pub as his plants were producing way more than he needed. So I ate one to see how they were. Nice and hot with good flavor but I could only play a measure or two between swallows for 40 minutes. Doh!
Other than that, I can eat some fries or such as long as I wash it down with Guiness or something before I try to play. I have a harder time playimg whistle after eating. More direct contact I guess.
Similar to the comment above regarding carbonated beverages, a highland piper once mentioned that belching into the bag is a big no-no as you will play flat for some time afterwards.
During my years of earning my keep with live performances, I never ate anything for at least 3 hours prior to showtime - drinking only water before and during.
However when I go fluting for pleasure on the mountainsides these days, I love to nibble on some nice jerked & dried ammoniated cat; which I share with the mouse in me pocket. Eek-eek! Yuuumm! Now that’s good eatin’.
Most unpleasant.