RE: [Harp-L] Dry mouth on fast tunes - remedies?

["james conway" <harp3333@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Winslow,
As you know, I too play a lot of fast fiddle tunes. I usually don't have a 
problem with maintaining a normal amount of moisture in the mouth and on the 
harp, but when things do get a little dry during a fast tune, I will pull my 
head a little bit away left of the harp and in a reptillian-like fashion 
push my tongue back and forth to get some moisture. Of course the tricky 
part is to keep the rhythm of the tune going and not omit any essential 
notes of the melody while you're doing this. Being a tin whistle player and 
having a need to take fast breaths during a tune, made it relatively easy 
for me to  learn this on the harp. Actually, I always take these little 
breaks whether I need air/moisture or not. I find that well-placed rests in 
the fiddle tunes can really jack up the swing or lift as much as the notes.
James

> From: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Dry mouth on fast tunes - remedies?
> Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005 14:16:14 -0700 (PDT)
>
> When playing fast fiddle tunes I get dry mouth, and I'm wondering if
> anyone has proposed solutions.
>
> These kinds of  tunes tend to be wall-to-wall 8th notes that go about
> 400 notes per minute.
>
> There is no time to take a drink of water or any other beverage. There
> isn't even time to lick my lips.
>
> I'm wondering if anyone knows a way to salivate at will, for instance,
> perhaps through auto-suggestion.
>
> Or perhaps there are subtle ways to do something with the mouth,
> tongue, or instrument, that make wind drying less likely.
>
> I'm sure the situation of being out front as a soloist and experiencing
> a surge of fight-or-flight adrenaline doesn't help, and maybe some kind
> of meditation to deal with that might also help.
>
> All suggestions welcome, with noted exceptions.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Winslow
>
>
>
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