How to avoid being a wet blower

Whistle
1

I have realized that I’m probably what some call a “wet blower” or “wet player”. For a while I’ve noticed a slight buzzing sound in my MK Low D which is most audible in the two bottom notes. If I clear out the window then it sounds fine but towards the end of a tune it starts to have that slight buzz. It also happens with other whistles.

I searched the forums and found a few solutions for the clogging problem, such as dish soap or anticondens. But I haven’t found anything that would explain why someone is a wet blower and if it’s something that can be corrected.

Is there anything I can do to reduce the amount of moisture I’m putting into my whistles? Or is this just a characteristic of my breath?

I plan to try the soap & anticondens ideas - will try soap first while I wait for a bottle of anticondens. But If there’s anything I can do to avoid the moisture in the first place I’d like to give that a try.

Thanks for your feedback.

2

The “Why?” is/are fairly simple. There are two sources of moisture to clog the windway- condensation and saliva. They are two different problems and call for different solutions.

The condensation things is fairly straight forward to address for the most part. It’s a matter of physical conditions. And in the Northern Hemisphere the weather is becoming cooler each day this time of year. Blowing body temperature air through an all metal mouthpiece will certainly cause condensation if the mouthpiece is cold. Anti-condensation solutions will help move things along (into the body). Warming the whistle is the only real solution to lessen the condensation where it causes difficulty. Aluminum warms quickly. You’ve probably read all the various techniques used to warm the mouthpiece. Dfficulty is that aluminum cools just as quickly. So managing and clearing the condensation becomes a part of playing for many of us in cooler conditions. Pick your favorite method to clear the moisture and learn to do it along with breathing and blowing. I wouldn’t suggest another type of whistle. The MK sounds terrific. And you should play whatever whistle you like. But it is true that some whistle materials and designs are less prone to forming condensation and becoming clogged.

Saliva is a concern for some, mostly for beginning whistlers. The “why” seems to tied to the fact that we are conditioned to salivate when we place something in our mouths from a young age. But it is a learned response and you should be able to un-learn that response when you pick up a whistle. Don’t eat while you play whistle would be one suggestion. Again learn how to clear the clog and carry on.

Feadoggie

3

Yeah, warm the mouthpiece or entire whistle beforehand. All methods of making air coming from your lungs drier have really unfortunate side effects, so you’re going to have to learn to live with condensation.

4

How long have you been playing? I could cause ankle deep flooding when I first started whistling. That’s all behind me now.

5

You may find as time goes on, that this actually becomes less of a problem, I think. Learning to keep a constant, focused stream of air moving through the windway as much as possible, will help to resolve moisture build-up issues. If you have a tendency to use a lot of tonguing for example, this can contribute to moisture build-up in the windway, and especially to clogging issues. I think that as your breath control and ornamentation techniques improve, this issue will also show some improvement. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will go away… on the low D, I have developed a tendency to suck the moisture from the windway periodically, if the opportunity presents itself - whether it seems to need it or not. I also had some minor moisture issues with my MK until it had been played for several minutes. The Goldie is even more pronounced in this respect. With continued practice, you will learn to manage moisture build-up in each particular whistle you play. I do not treat my whistles with any type of surfacant, although there are others who swear by this tip. I don’t want to put anything into the windway which could, over time, contribute to any type of solid build-up. I do however, keep them clean. Aluminum likes isopropyl alcohol, so don’t be afraid to clean it out regularly. Sometimes keeping the whistle clean is all you need to do to alleviate moisture problems. :thumbsup:

6

piano

7

Thanks for the tips everyone. I should have specified in my post that I was getting the condensation issues even after playing for 10+ minutes, so I do not believe it’s an issue of warming up. And on the MK it never clogs, it just results in a slight gurgling / buzzing sound. :wink:

How long have you been playing? I could cause ankle deep flooding when I first started whistling. That’s all behind me now.

Whistle almost 1 year, Low Whistle 3 months.

I think you might be on to something.. yesterday I noticed I got more condensation playing a hornpipe than I do on the slow airs. I may be tonguing too much.

On a hornpipe were we want a “ta tata tata” swing feel (to borrow a jazz term), do we have to use the tongue? I’m working on higgin’s hornpipe.

http://abcnotation.com/tunePage?a=music.gordfisch.net/oregans/assets/abc/oneills1001/0900

Now that I think about it, tonguing every note is probably too much.

8

PS: I’ve noticed this condensation while playing native american flute and my WX5 wind controller. The WX5 I can understand as it’s like a saxophone and more of the mouthpiece is in the mouth, but on the NAF it’s more likely condensation than saliva.

So I don’t think it’s an issue with any particular instrument but rather with me.

9

pipes

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Mandolin

11

Two things to possibly avoid that I had read elsewhere on this Forum in the past:

  • some insert too much of the mouthpiece into their mouth,

  • some tongue the tip of the mouthpiece rather than tonguing the roof of their mouth.

12

Holding your head vertical can also help, for obvious reasons.

13

I did a lot of research on this and will share my results:

I just mixed some dish soap & water and then took a business card and cut it to the width of the airway and dipped the card in the soapy water and then put it in the whistle several times, turning the whistle on each side (upside down etc.) to make sure it’s everywhere. Then let it dry.

I found a webpage that said 50/50 water/dish soap with a tiny bit of alcohol. So I made up a solution of that for next time. Dish soap is good because we know it’s not toxic. Makes sense. My first batch was maybe 10 soap 90 water so 50/50 is a lot stronger. Should work better.

Also I saw one can hold the whistle like this:

http://www.flute-a-bec.com/anticondens.jpg

plug the window with your finger, and just fill up the windway with the solution and then take your finger off and let it run out. That seems easier/better. I’ll do this next time. Here are the instructions translated to English:

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flute-a-bec.com%2Fmodemp.html&act=url

The other thing I read was here:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ffluteirlandaise.space-forums.com%2Fla-temperature-de-l-instrument-t33.html

It says if you blow air on your hand while your mouth is wide open and say “AHHH” it feels warm and is 31C. If you make a small hole and blow it’s cool at 23-24C. So maybe I was unintentionally blowing hot air into my whistle? For the saxophone it’s desirable to have a big open relaxed throat to get better sound.

So I did the soap and tried to think of blowing as if I was blowing through a really small hole and I had less condensation problems!! I’m going to keep experimenting and if needed redo the soap treatment with the stronger 50/50 mix. But so far so good!

I know Anticondens is an option, I may try a bottle of that.

The other advice in this thread on tonguing and putting very little of the whistle in the mouth is very useful as well.

Cheers.

PS: I also held the whistle a bit lower, I usually do about 25 degrees but holding it below 45 degrees can help the water to drain lower.

14

I am not so sure about the dish soaps as these often contain salts and most metals do not like salts and can get stains from it. We use liquid hand soap when washing the whistles, just thought I might add this.

Greetings
Brigitte

15

I’ve a theory. Raindrops form on dust particles, thus moisture beads form on what particles may accumulate in a windway. It’s the beads that block. I use Gum Soft-Picks to assure clean windways. And use all the other tricks mentioned as well since vapor is a constant companion.
Mack

16

Atmospheric moisture condenses on dust because up there there’s a shortage of nice cool aluminum to attach itself to.

17

Two things that help me:
Making sure I breathe through my mouth (helps keep mouth dry)
Drinking tea before playing (tends to dry my mouth)

18

You don’t say what type of music you are playing. Tonguing can add a litttle saliva every time you use it. I play Irish trad. I may tongue maybe a dozen or less times in a 3 hour session. I get no moisture build-up in an MK. Other styles of music may require more tonguing. If that is the case, you might try glotteral stops rather than tonguing.

19

I’m playing ITM. Your statement about tonguing a dozen times in 3 hours tells me I may be doing way too much. One of the tunes I’m working on is Higgins Hornpipe and I thought one needed to use the tongue to get that uneven “swing” feel. I can do it without tonguing but it just doesn’t sound the same.

I’m learning this tune from Eammon Dillon’s CD Storm the Kettle. Here is a link to a preview of the Higgins tune:

http://www.amazon.com/Higgins-Hornpipe/dp/B006CIJHQM

I thought he was using his tongue on this, but now I suspect that’s not the case. i’d love to get your opinion on this. Thanks.

20

And if I told you I’m frequently tonguing more than that per tune?

I thought he was using his tongue on this, but now I suspect that’s not the case.

I’d be amazed if he’s not! And also don’t see why tonguing should be causing saliva problems when many styles of wind playing treat it as the default rather than the exception…