Subject: [Harp-L] sticky lips

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Jonathan:
 
I've always used a little dab of either Blistex (in the little round blue  
jar) or my newer find (likely recommended by another harp-l'er), the tiny  
plastic 'jars' of Vaseline which most drug stores carry mounted on a card. 
They  look exactly like the big jars but are extremely tiny--easily carried in 
any  pocket. There are two types: one has the addition of cocoa butter 
which  I won't use because of its taste, preferring the plain type to  apply to 
my lips before a long session of playing. It's also good protection  for 
cold weather. I make sure not to leave my lips 'goopy'. You  want them 
moistened but no possibility of any gunk getting into the harp.  As well, drink as 
much water as you can both before and during--a sip or  two from a bottle is 
usually easy enough to manage between songs. If you  watch videos of harp 
players--most do just that..keep bottles of water handy and  sip from them.
 
I've no idea of your age but it's fact that as we get older the texture of  
our saliva changes, becoming stickier. Several kinds of medication can  
cause this as well--something that isn't particularly noticeable until  playing 
an instrument such as a harmonica. 
 
Cleaning your harp after playing removes any built-up  detritus--and I'm 
one for keeping a super clean (and polished) harmonica (I play  chromatics). 
So it makes it much easier to 'glide' on the mouthpiece the next  time out.
 
Hope this helps a wee bit.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2014 09:06:13 -0700
From: Jonathan Churcher  <jonathanchurcher@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] sticky lips
To:  "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>

Any hints on how to avoid  getting your mouth stuck on the metal plates? In 
a long passage, I move say, to  the left along the harmonica, and my mouth 
does not  follow.
Jonathan"