Wow, Is That All Your Spit?!

  Going along with yesterday's post of emptying your horn, today we're going to answer the question that plagues everyone.

Ew! Is that really spit dripping out of your instrument?

  I am very thankful to say, no, it isn't. After a good hour of practicing I'll have an entire puddle of water under me. If I really spit into my horn that much I'd probably collapse of dehydration.
  What's really happening is easy to explain if you think about fogging a window. When you blow hot air on a cold window condensation forms on the window. Now did you just spit on that window? Exactly, and blowing warm air into colder tubes has the same effect.

Result of an all-nighter for a brass choir

  Now is it all water? No, tiny amounts of oil are bound to get mixed in with the water and I hate to admit it, but it is plausible that maybe 1% of what comes out might be a little spit. So you've got nothing to worry about if you see that puddle, or lake if you've got a tuba, left by a brass player.