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Solo tryout Fail...



 
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Does salty food affect upper-register performance
Yes
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 50%  [ 12 ]
No
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Total Votes : 24

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pandawee
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:08 am    Post subject: Solo tryout Fail... Reply with quote

The backstory: for our marching band, we have a trumpet solo, which, obviously, I was stoked to try out for. We were told that the tryouts would be right after school, so, not caring before school, I ate some salted ham roughly 20 minutes before school, because I was hungry and needed something else to eat. Well, it turns out, auditions were during class, FIRST period. So basically I ate a really salty food 20 minutes before the audition, and my lip flexibility seemed to be gone, not to mention my mouth was extremely dry and no amount of water could keep it from being insufferably dry. So, naturally, during the audition, I hit the lower notes fine, with good tone, but the higher range (from a D-F directly above the staff) came out terrible sounding or did not come out at all, because by that time my mouth was extremely dry.

To sum it up, the first 20 seconds of the auditions went fine, but the latter half of it went terribly because of the dry mouth.

Now, before I potentially ask for a redo later today, once my mouth returns to normal-feeling (probably 2-3 hours or so after I eat), I want to ask you guys on whether or not eating ham impacted the performance, so I can judge whether or not I have a legitimate claim to ask for a redo.

I know this was a very rambly-rant post, but if someone could reply ASAP so I can have some more time to think (I hope to ask at about 2:20 pm, 4 hours from now), or reply to any questions. Thanks in advance.
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mafields627
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Salt removes moisture, so sure it's can affect your playing. Once, in college, I ate a box of popcorn after halftime and it immediately caused me to lose range.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

On days where I perform I make sure to avoid sodium and spicy food. They do terrible things to the chops. I also avoid too much caffeine right before the gig.

Eat bland and drink beer! Get through your gigs like a champ!
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ohnecael
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
Eat bland and drink beer! Get through your gigs like a champ!


You mind if i take that and put it on a shirt? It'll be a best seller I promise!
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ohnecael wrote:
Turkle wrote:
Eat bland and drink beer! Get through your gigs like a champ!


You mind if i take that and put it on a shirt? It'll be a best seller I promise!


Haha yeah - take 'em to ITG, leave a millionaire
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Richard III
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you were just nervous. No amount of what I eat or don't eat affects my playing.
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Eating many different things can throw off my playing. I've not noticed salt being of particular concern. Sweet things like fruit and juice I avoid. No joke, I find beer to no problem, and way better than sweet mixed drinks.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also don't pay attention to salt or much of anything like that. But what I do is to just eat carbs, maybe spaghetti Alfredo, lightly, before a gig. But if other things are offered to the band, I usually don't refuse.

I would play it conservatively, if you're so inclined, but I do think too much internet chatter can get us to look progressively into things that, if ignored, tend to take care of themselves.
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Last edited by kehaulani on Tue Sep 18, 2018 5:41 pm; edited 2 times in total
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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Richard III wrote:
I think you were just nervous.

Agreed. If your mouth was dry, it's more likely that you were nervous.

In an otherwise healthy person, it is unlikely that salty food will impact your playing by drying your mouth. If you're not sure, then eat something more bland before future performances.

Mike
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Sharkbaitboi
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At interlochen, we'd order pizza before every concert. never had a problem. probably wouldnt do it now though
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Dennis78
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I’m going to get personal.
Was there marijuana or alcohol involved?
I was in HS once and still indulge to this day. Been in a lot of bands (bass guitar) where these issues became s problem. Mostly what gets me these days is indigestion/heartburn. Bacon, turkey and manufactured meats kill me, as does to much indulgence.
If you know your going to perform, don’t be stupid! Lay off of anything you think may hamper your abilities. Sometimes-well every time to much coffee in the day can have a negative impact on my playing
Plenty of water, rest, and preliminary shedding go a long way. Know your part and don’t do anything that may or may not stand in the way
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Salty foods definitely effect my mouth and lips but I’ve never had it actually be a problem, just a distraction. There are countless variables effecting how we feel day to day and we can’t allow these distractions to negatively impact our music making.

Dehydration is bad too and if you combine them it can be pretty uncomfortable. Drink plenty of water all the time to prevent dehydration because it takes time to catch up to normal.

I would be surprised if your “salty ham” was actually salty enough to make that much of a difference, though.

Nerves definitely cause dry mouth. Rub your tongue on the roof of your mouth and across your upper front teeth to promote salivation. This is also a great distraction from your other symptoms of nervousness.
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twestervelt
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Much ado about almost nothing.

Stay hydrated.
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trumpet_cop
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 5:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sodium is in most everything we eat. As others have said it is probably a long term issue such as dehydration coupled with nerves and being under-prepared. Unless you salted the bejesus out of your ham on top of what it already was, I wouldn't blame the other white meat.
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