Many times, we are faced with difficult conditions when performing under pressure and one of these conditions is dry mouth. A trumpet player with dry mouth is like a fish without water. Both conditions will result in a very bad situation.
Common Causes of Dry mouth
Dry mouth is not always related to an underlying condition. It may be caused by:
- Not drinking adequate water
- Nervousness
- Stress
- Certain medications
- Aging
- Cancer therapy (radiation/chemotherapy)
- Smoking
- Methamphetamine use
- Injury or surgery
- Tobacco
- Exercising or playing in the heat
Take note of conditions 2 (nervousness) and 3 (stress). These two are generally the cause of dry mouth when performing. Performances can be stressful, especially if the performer is not fully confident of his/her solo material and preparation. In my case, I have found that being under prepared is the most often cause of dry mouth. If you know your material fully, there is no reason you should be nervous. Some may argue that they were prepared and still suffered from dry mouth. To that challenge I would ask, “were you prepared enough to play your solo in front of your best friend 10 times in a row without making any errors? This would be a simple test to see if you were prepared and I’m confident that you could not pass this test. True confidence in yourself will make all the difference as to how nervous you will be at the time of your performance. Now that my sermon is over, we will look at two possible solutions for those who still need help with dry mouth.
During my senior year in high school (1960), we were fortunate to host the University of Iowa’s Concert Band perform a concert in our auditorium. On that program was a very gifted trombone player by the name of Gordon Hallburg. Gordon eventually became a good friend and for a short time taught at the University of Northern Iowa where I taught. He later joined the Boston Symphony.
I believe he was featured on that program performing “The Blue Bells of Scotland”. During one of the infrequent rest periods in this number, Gordon removed something from his pocket and began to chew on it. Seconds before his next entrance, he removed the object and placed it again in his pocket. Most people in the audience had the same thought running through their mind, “what was in his pocket, why did he choose to chew on it during his performance and why did his return it to his pocket. Upon questioning him later that day, he told me that he sometimes suffers from dry mouth and solves the problem by chewing on something (a rubber band) to get the saliva back in his mouth. Apparently, this worked for Gordon although I have not tried it under fire myself.
Lately I have been faced with dry mouth condition because of reason #4 from our list above. This condition has not affected my playing but after explaining my morning discomfort to one of my many doctors, it was suggested that I swish Biotene Mouth Wash around in my mouth for a full minute before retiring for the day. I did as I was instructed and found no relief the next morning, but it did generate extra moisture in my mouth for about an hour.
Before you decide to preface a swig of mouth wash minutes before your next performance, try it to make sure it gives you the relief you are expecting. Never try something different before a performance as I did years ago “the worst performance” – Trumpet Blog (thetrumpetblog.com)
And here are some additional posts on Dry Mouth-
What Causes Stage Fright and How Can it be Overcome? – Trumpet Blog (thetrumpetblog.com)
Controlling Your Nerves Part 2 – Trumpet Blog (thetrumpetblog.com)
