[Harp-L] Re: saliva

["Jonathan Metts" <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think saliva is a problem for all harp players at some point.  One thing 
that will help you a lot is playing more softly; I find that things get 
gummy a lot faster when I'm playing fast and hard (too hard) on the low end. 
I've also heard (from Jason R, I think?) that drinking water between songs 
helps, even though that seems counter-intuitive to me.  The number one thing 
you can do is to bang out the spit between every song so it doesn't build up 
over time!  You should do that anyway to make your harps last longer, so it 
kills (at least) two birds.

There's also an element of experience working here, in that your mouth will 
eventually stop producing as much saliva when you play once you've been 
playing for enough months or years.  It's kinda like how guitar players 
build up calluses on their fingertips.  If you're a new player or just don't 
play often enough (like me), it's hard to build up that resistance, and the 
instrument will continue to be difficult to play.  So, play harp more often 
and your body should learn better eventually.  Now I'm off to take my own 
advice.

Jonathan Metts