Spitty student
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It is the embouchure. Tell her to suck in the spit during rests in a song. There is nothing that annoys me more than the sound of a spitty player. Tell her to swallow her spit more often too.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! 
(sorry, the title made me laugh)
Could it be that the student is blowing a bit too much and breathing a bit too little when putting air through the instrument? I mean, spit doesn't usually come shooting out of people's mouths when they breathe (although there could be exceptions ). Perhaps he finds the reed tasty and has a tendency to salivate when there's one in his mouth. Let him eat a couple b4 the lesson gets started. (sorry, thatwas an attempt at humour)I would also teach the student to "clear" the reed when it starts to "bubble". And to swallow, I suppose, when there is a break in the music/piece/impro.
(sorry, the title made me laugh)
Could it be that the student is blowing a bit too much and breathing a bit too little when putting air through the instrument? I mean, spit doesn't usually come shooting out of people's mouths when they breathe (although there could be exceptions
). Perhaps he finds the reed tasty and has a tendency to salivate when there's one in his mouth. Let him eat a couple b4 the lesson gets started. (sorry, thatwas an attempt at humour)I would also teach the student to "clear" the reed when it starts to "bubble". And to swallow, I suppose, when there is a break in the music/piece/impro.
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27,454 Posts
Some of the responses are a bit condescending and don't really get to the bottom of what it could be. I've been having that problem for several months now and I sure wish I could find a solution.
One thing that has worked somewhat is to rub the under-side of the reed numerous times on a piece of rough paper to seal the fibres. Another is to put some cork grease on the inside of the mpc and neck to make the surface slipperier for the saliva to scoot on past. But I don't like either very much because sometimes they help but they don't really address the problem.
Another factor, is that it just might not be saliva as much as condensation - so what does one do about that? :scratch:
One thing that has worked somewhat is to rub the under-side of the reed numerous times on a piece of rough paper to seal the fibres. Another is to put some cork grease on the inside of the mpc and neck to make the surface slipperier for the saliva to scoot on past. But I don't like either very much because sometimes they help but they don't really address the problem.
Another factor, is that it just might not be saliva as much as condensation - so what does one do about that? :scratch:
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I have that problem on occasion, I know how frustrating it can be. One thing I`ve found that can exacerbate the problem, especially if its someone in the early stages of learning, is not tonguing properly (or at all). What happens is, the mouth becomes dry because of the action of blowing and the movement of the jaw which tricks the brain into thinking you`re eating, so on comes saliva, which builds up excessively - because youre not actually eating. If you focus on articulating more with the tip of the tongue, the rest of your mouth and your jaw will work less and your autonomous system won`t be triggered to produce too much saliva.
Another tip is to make sure you play with your chin up so the saliva drains backwards instead of into your mouthpiece. As for condensation, that should only happen when there is a big enough temperature difference between the metal and your breath. So.... keep a warm sax
Another tip is to make sure you play with your chin up so the saliva drains backwards instead of into your mouthpiece. As for condensation, that should only happen when there is a big enough temperature difference between the metal and your breath. So.... keep a warm sax
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