Ok, how does a spit valve work, and where does the spit go? Does it have to be drained (yuck) periodically?
Oh, and are they 100% effective?
I see every marching band followed by “The Spitooners”!
- Jinx
Back in the day, we had two types of spit valves. One was a simple lever with a spring-loaded plug that kept the hole closed. Push the other end of the lever against the tube, and the hole opened up. The other type was a sideways thing, like those spring-loaded drawstring holders you find on sweats. The hole in the side of the springloaded thing went against the side of the tube, and if you pushed the slider sideways, it lined the hole in the slider up with the holes in the tube.
Yes, they need to be drained from time to time–that’s what they’re for–draining spit.
No, they aren’t 100% effective.
Jinx:
On the floor or ground, in the plants, in the garbage can, in your friend’s hair, etc. Careful though, you can stain stuff with the valve oil, mildew, dirt, and tarnish mixed in there.
Oh, and it’s not spit, it’s condesation
Oh, and just so you know…the way it works is that you open the valve and blow hard, thus shooting the condensation out of the horn and onto whatever the horn happens to be hovering above. If you don’t do this periodically, the instrument gets a sort of “rattly,” fluid-on-the-lungs sound to it. Plus, it can mold or otherwise turn yucky in there and wreak havoc with your nice instrument.
-L
All a spit valve (in polite company, “water key”) is is a hole in the horn, suitably covered over except when it’s being used. Ethilrist nicely described the two most common setups for providing (a) a good seal over the hole and (b) quick opening and closing.
When warm, moist air is blown through a tube, the cooler walls of the tube cause some of the moisture to condense out. This stuff will flow downward and pool at the bottom of bends in the tubing, and can eventually start to impede the airway. You start hearing bubbling/popping noises when the horn’s being played.
This is Bad. Spit valves are built on horns in locations where water buildup is likely, and they provide a real quick way to drain the collected fluid.
Like Strainger said, it’s largely condensation as opposed to saliva. Still, it’s pretty nasty to watch somebody drink the stuff…
Oh yuck, when have you seen that? Given the nastiness mixed in with that condensation, I think I’d rather drink actual spit.
I recall it quite vividly… :shudder:
It was at the summer band camp at Texas Tech, sometime between '87 and '89. One of the participants in the talent show was this trombone player whose main act was playing while working the slide with his foot.
That was harmless enough, but at the end of his set he turned his horn so that all of the liquid would run up into the tuning slide, which he then removed and drained into his mouth.
Yuck. Valve oil, spit, water, and whatever lovely flavor that the green buildup inside the brass tubing imparts must be quite the elixir.
If you play an upright tuba, it frequently goes on the leg of your pants. Man, is that embarassing.
–Cliffy
brad_d, so that guy is evidently the Alice Cooper of trombone performance.
I have to go puke now.
On most horns, it’s mostly condensation, but trombones specifically can get a good bit of genuine spit in there, too. With the long, straight tubing, anything that comes out of your mouth is going to end up down at the bend.
Don’t worry, Cliffy, you’ll develop better aim with practice.
I haven’t played in years. But back in junior high I mostly had to practice on Sousies while we played our concerts on some nice uprights so I was never used to where the spit valve emptied.
–Cliffy, who never would have gotten laid if it weren’t for band
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by brad_d *
**
In college, you meet some nutty people with nutty habits. I knew a guy who’d collect his spit in (emptied) whiskey bottles. Don’t know what his story was…weird!
Reminds me of that old Jim Croce tune…
“If I could save spit in a bottle…”
- Jinx
Spit happens! 
And this is why, when the concert is over, you can always tell where the low brass was sitting. Just look around on the floor. See, over there, the corner that looks like a herd of incontinent Chihuahuas stopped for a rest? That’s the one.
signed,
flodnak, trombonist.
You mean, “one time, at band camp . . .”?
I play the clarinet. No spit valves there–the spit, or rather “condensation” falls on the floor, my knee, or my shoes. Or, it flings in my face if I take my instrument apart too quickly (it collects between the joints). That’s what the swab is for–since my instrument is wood, any sort of growth in there would be bad. I sometimes get spit buildup on certain pads on the keys–which makes those notes sound bad.