In this Flute Q&A #37, you'll hear someone else's personal experience on how to reduce dribbling when you play.

I've never personally had this issue, but occasionally I get asked for advice on this, and I've never really had a great answer. So thank you Jacques! He wrote:

"Thank you Jane for all your free tips. A while ago, a question about reducing spit went unanswered. Here is my input..."

How to reduce spit when playing flute

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Faster progress on the flute through learning proper technique

Welcome to Flute Q and A number 37. This question is about dribbling when you play the flute and how to stop it. So my name is Jane. I teach the flute, probably obviously I teach the flute, maybe obviously also I'm Australian. My business is teaching people how to get faster progress on the flute through learning proper technique.

Micro improvements on the flute

It makes so much difference to learn proper flute technique. One little step at a time instantly improves your flute playing. No kidding. I've got an example for you about how to do that at the end of this video.

How to reduce spit when playing the flute

Okay, so this question comes from, actually it's not a question. It's a statement and answer from Jacque. So Jacque says, Thank you Jane for all your free tips. A while ago, a question about reducing spit went unanswered. So here's my input - that's what he says, not me.

Dribble when playing flute

Food with high tannin content dries your mouth out like cinnamon, unripe fruits and unsweetened tea. Oh yeah, I know that taste or lemon juice in water without sweeteners. So what Jacque is referring to is someone in a Flute Q and A, a number of months ago said I tend to dribble when I play.

So what they're saying is that they play or whatever they're playing and they tend to spit out of their mouth and they wanted to know what stops it.

Saliva in mouth is good oral health

Now I then had a dentist appointment with my dentist, who is actually a semi-professional clarinet player, and I asked her about this. She said, I have no idea how to stop dribbling when you play because my job as a dentist is to make sure that people have enough spit because that's good for their dental health.

So she said, I'm sorry, I can't help you. And I went, mm dunno what to do about that. So Jacque has written in and he has suggested his tips, which is really interesting. So hopefully that will help anyone who is having problems dribbling too much when they play.

Improving flute tone and technique

So there is another point to add about this. Sometimes when you are dribbling when you play the flute or just salivating too much, it affects your tone, but sometimes it's not actually the salivating that's affecting your tone, it's actually that your tone in general needs or could be improved. It could become clearer, it could become stronger and more solid sounding.

Free three day mini course on flute tone

So if you have unclear tone, fluffy sound and you would like it clear up regardless of what your dribble is doing, I would suggest that you come and do the free 3day minicourse at www.flute.school. Sign up there. It's a free minicourse and it takes you through the 3 very strategic tweaks to make to your embouchure that instantly improves your sound.

Improving flute tone

No kidding. It will instantly improve your sound and it's free. So I'll see you there www.flute.school. Hope this helped anyone who is dribbling or anyone who would like a clearer sound. Bye.