Choking on spit

[Casey Tucker]

Hey y'all,
When playing long sections of music I tend to accumulate spit in the back corners of my mouth. (molars/wisdom teeth location) When I try to take a quick breath, I inhale my spit and start coughing mid-performance. Any advice? Thanks!

-CT

[imperialbari]

Reads like a huge appetite on delicious food.

Klaus

[peter birch]

Hey y'all,
When playing long sections of music I tend to accumulate spit in the back corners of my mouth. (molars/wisdom teeth location) When I try to take a quick breath, I inhale my spit and start coughing mid-performance. Any advice? Thanks!

-CT

I've experienced that too, especially when I'm the only tuba player in a band, the only thing to do is not to be too macho about playing long phrases, breathe more often and quickly swallow your saliva, after all, that is what we all do when we are talking.

[tbn.al]

This post may actually fall under the "Don't ask, don't tell" dictum.

[Wyvern]

I too have had this problem on occasions. I think Peter Birch's advice sounds sensible.

Despite some comic answers, I think this is a good question which I do not remember ever being discussed here previously. It would be interesting to hear advice from those at the top of this game

[jamsav]

deep breath in thru nose, or centered thru mouth- it can be tricky without changing embouchure position - keep a spitoon off to the side, " what happens in the back row, stays in the back row..."

[Toobist]

I wonder if it is the angle of the jaw/face while playing.

To the OP: Do you play with an underbite? Is there a way to angle the mouthpiece/horn so your face is tilted down just a little more?

I would definately experiment with tuba rests or an alternate angle or position of the horn so gravity would do its job and help get that spit into the horn where it belongs! Seriously though, I'd much rather pull slides and dump spit than choke on it while trying to play.

If experimentation with angle helps and the posture/position is do-able, then problem solved. I'd suggest trying out different tuba rests or as a last resort (and after being 100 percent sure that it's an angle issue) I'd bring my horn to my favourite tech (bless all of you techs out there!) and talk about repositioning my leadpipe to better suit the desirable angle of approach to the mouthpiece.

[peter birch]

I would definately experiment with tuba rests or an alternate angle or position of the horn so gravity would do its job and help get that spit into the horn where it belongs! Seriously though, I'd much rather pull slides and dump spit than choke on it while trying to play.

you shouldn't be blowing too much spit into the instrument, most of the liquid that drains into the slides is condensation and moisture from warm breath coming into contact with cooler metal, and is actually mostly water rather than saliva. It is air that drives that drives the tuba, not spit.

[Toobist]

I would definately experiment with tuba rests or an alternate angle or position of the horn so gravity would do its job and help get that spit into the horn where it belongs! Seriously though, I'd much rather pull slides and dump spit than choke on it while trying to play.

you shouldn't be blowing too much spit into the instrument, most of the liquid that drains into the slides is condensation and moisture from warm breath coming into contact with cooler metal, and is actually mostly water rather than saliva. It is air that drives that drives the tuba, not spit.

I'm fully aware of this. If the choice is a) spitting into my horn or b)choking on the spit, I pick A.

[Rick Denney]

Hey y'all,
When playing long sections of music I tend to accumulate spit in the back corners of my mouth. (molars/wisdom teeth location) When I try to take a quick breath, I inhale my spit and start coughing mid-performance. Any advice? Thanks!

-CT

Swallow more often.

Rick "for whom this has been an occasional problem also" Denney

[djwesp]

Too much saliva, although funny to most, is perhaps a sign of a real problem.

Go see a dentist. How long has it been since your last dentist visit? This can be caused by tons of medical conditions. just to list a few...

1. Gingovitis/Gum Disease- Yeah, that scary word they use in the commercials. Why? Because we get older, neglect our teeth, get more and more infrequent cleanings, and we develop this condition. Over salivation is generally caused by this.

2. Parkinson's- One of the early indicators of Parkinson's comes from over salivation.

3. Rabies- Very improbable, but a symptom of the "dumb" version of rabies is over salivation, NOT frothing at the mouth (a symptom of the "mad" strain)

4. Gastro problems- Ulcers, caused by stress, and acid reflux syndrome/disease also cause over salivation.

5. Respiratory/Glandular/Other Infections- Cause over salivation.

6. Erupting wisdom teeth/dry socket/pocket infection/teeth abcess/removal issues- These can be other in mouth issues that cause over salivation.

7. Medication- many medications have over salivation as a side effect.


I just listed a few of the things off hand that were discussed by myself and my dentist when having big issues with this choking over salivation issue on the horn. Any time you produce too much of a fluid tears,saliva,sweat see a professional. Don't listen to clowns on the internet, go see a doctor.


Wes "no problems after a special gum cleaning and some work on a wisdom tooth removal scar" pendergrass

[Casey Tucker]

hey y'all,
Great advice! I'm gonna play around with horn angles today and see if that works. unfortunately i can't breathe through my nose (knowingly) when i'm playing; it's a habit. if all else fails i'll ask my dentist. it's been 3-4 months since i last saw him. thanks!

-CT

[eupher61]

I've had a problem with lots of saliva from day 1 of playing. Or, at least, from within the first few months.

I tried putting cotton rolls into my mouth to absorb the spit. It did, was messy and gross, and I couldn't play due to having such horrible dry mouth.

As the joke goes, it's a natural bodily function. Some people just naturally have more salivary activity than others. It could be symptomatic of something, but just as likely it isn't.

[MaryAnn]

Well, I haven't seen this one: don't eat close to when you have to play. When I was in the brass band, rehearsals were at 7 PM and I'd eat dinner just before I went over there. The first hour, I'd have spit running down my chin. The second hour, I had no problem.

MA