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

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

I am with James and Tony.  Keep a glass/bottle of water with you to
rehydrate between tunes and locate places in tunes where you may be
able to quickly do the reptilian thing over the harmonica very
quickly.  You may even consider placing breaks in the performance of a
tune where someone else plays (like when we trade breaks in bluegrass)
so that you have a planned spot in a tune where you can take care of
any minor problem, like re-wetting your harp.  Here in Texas, when the
humidity and temperature rises and you are playing a bluegrass
festival (outdoors), your harmonica can get very dry very quickly. 
Regular rehydration is a must.  I, actually, will wet the entire
playing area of the harmonica I am about to play right before I need
to play so that I will have the best chance of keeping it moist during
play.  Since I am a dry player to begin with, I need every advantage
to limit the possibility that I might become 'stuck' to the instrument
during play.

The bit on the 'exercises' was interesting.  I have always done
something similar to what was described, but I never considered them
to be exercises.  I just do it to get saliva to the parts of my mouth
that seem to go dry over time.

As to size/weight being a factor, I don't know.  I am a dry player, as
I said before, but I am far from thin.  I carry perhaps an extra 50
pounds and have a skeletal frame that runs right off the high end of
the charts for females.  (Men's bracelets fit.  Women's do not.)  So
thin would not be an accurate description.  Ultra-stocky might be more
appropriate (sort of like a relative to the clydesdale horse).  (Yes,
I have Scottish/Germanic roots and am built like some of my
ancestors.)  So, if size mattered, my harmonicas should never go dry.

I hope you are able to find a solution amongst these posts that helps
you, Winslow.

Cara Cooke
Austin, Tx. 
www.cyberharp.isonfire.com