[Harp-L] Excessive salivating (yuck)

[dennis moriarty <dmoriarty@xxxxxxxxxx>]

         I took a minute to go back in time in the archives (I picked  
the month/year my daughter was born: 06/94) to see what people were  
posting back in the cave-man days. I saw a couple of (because of the  
subject:tentative and apologetically toned) posts about controlling  
salivation while playing....... I have always had the problem of  
saliva accumulation when playing a lot on stage. I mention the stage  
part because (yea I know it's not good form) I tend to play my  
diatonics hard when soloing. Anyway sometimes I'm up there with people  
who require an extended solo from me. And there I am: "In the pocket",  
"spitting fire'' "flowing towards an effusive crescendo",  and one of  
my reeds chokes and sticks. I can't slap it out on my thigh during my  
solo so I just play around the unfriendly reed until I can trade the  
key out for a backup (I always have one because of such problems).  
Decades ago I began using Golden Melody's because salivation  
invariably swelled the wooden combs up. Inclining my head helps a  
little mechanically but when your moving to your music that's hard to  
sustain. Any specific suggestions on reducing saliva accumulation  
while playing long solos. p.s. I'm a health professional and would  
never utilize an anticholinergic (dries you out) so I don't need that  
suggestion anymore than I need platitudes about not playing so hard.  
After all blowing out reeds keeps Hohner in business. Like I said:  
"yuck". d
http://www.myspace.com/blowintheblues