Soooo,
I know that saliva and breath operated musical instruments go hand in hand. I can deal with that.
But my instrument (bagpipe) requires saliva EVERYWHERE. You lick the reeds to get them pliable, the joints are hemped (not corked) and those need to be moistened, breath moisture condenses in the bag, and your mouth is on the blowpipe, obviously.
So when I started taking lessons and my instructor would moisten things to make the instrument function, or demonstrate something and then hand it back to me to repeat, I just figured that exposure to someone else's saliva was part of woodwind culture and I should just get over it.
So my question is: Is this a part of woodwind culture, or is it just gross?
I know that saliva and breath operated musical instruments go hand in hand. I can deal with that.
But my instrument (bagpipe) requires saliva EVERYWHERE. You lick the reeds to get them pliable, the joints are hemped (not corked) and those need to be moistened, breath moisture condenses in the bag, and your mouth is on the blowpipe, obviously.
So when I started taking lessons and my instructor would moisten things to make the instrument function, or demonstrate something and then hand it back to me to repeat, I just figured that exposure to someone else's saliva was part of woodwind culture and I should just get over it.
So my question is: Is this a part of woodwind culture, or is it just gross?
Last edited by a moderator: