Hot Weather Performing

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Byll
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Hot Weather Performing

Post by Byll »

One type of instrument I play in our band is whistles - low D to high E. We do lots of outdoor concerts in the summer: Celtic and other types of festivals, parks, community band shells, historic sites, etc. All our summer concerts are shaded, because of the two hammer dulcimers in the group. However the heat and humidity are still there. (Praise be to the venues that have fans.) Even though we are in the shade, the humidity causes me a lot of grief with performing on my metal whistles. I have not heard this discussed on the board, nor has the search engine helped me.

Heat and humidity = wet hands at times, and trying to hold on to the instrument, while making the infinitesimally small finger movements necessary to cover the tone holes, perform cuts, taps, rolls, etc. - at speed, while one's hands are wet, can mean real issues. This screams havoc while performing on the whistle (and for me also, on the melodion). It is kind of amusing in a way, but not while in front of an audience. I have had thoughts concerning baby or talcum powder, etc. Nah. If things go wrong, they could go very wrong...

If any of the denizens of C&F have found a solution to this problem, and will share it, I will be truly grateful. Heck, maybe I am the only person to have ever experienced this anomaly, but I figure others understand, and may have a solution.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by Sirchronique »

An interesting topic when we are 1/3 of the way through December. :lol:

I haven’t personally noticed any issues or challenges with holding onto a whistle in such conditions. That being said, I am a bit obsessive about keeping my hands clean and dry before playing stringed instruments (strings are expensive and I can’t stand for them to feel slippery!), and I’ve found something that helps my hands stay dry.

I always wash my hands with hot water, followed by a rinse with water that is as cold as possible, followed by a thorough drying. It seems that the cold water rinse causes my hands to stay dry for much longer, and I don’t think this is only due to the cooling effect, because my hands seem to produce less moisture even after I’ve been overly warm for a good while. Maybe it is closing pores in the skin so less moisture is released. Regardless of the reason, my hands stay totally dry for about twice as long this way. I’m also very intolerant of heat and I sweat more than most, so if it works for me it should help anyone.

However, you may not be playing near a sink, or this might not be convenient when you’re halfway through a performance. The best solution might be the simplest- Keep some sort of towel nearby and wipe off your hands and your whistle during every possible break when you can do so. That in conjunction with a small portable fan might be your best set of options in that sort of scenario. :thumbsup:
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by GreenWood »

On flute I have not had difficulty with sweated hands so far, even in hot weather, beyond wiping between tunes sometimes. Some people do sweat more than others though. Usually the moisture that catches me out is build up inside the flute that then finds its way to fingertips, still playable but the grip on the instrument is often very slightly balanced on contact at toneholes, so it is not an easy feeling. Usually just wiping hands is all that is needed for that.

I know on flutes seal or shark skin have been used in the more distant past (just small pads I think). Lining the whole flute or whistle with much of anything will probably detract from sound. I don't know, textured surfaces can be made with thin layer of say epoxy with "grit" (not gravel, just finest of sands and even sugar or salt work apparently etc. ) of appropriate size sieved on. I suppose the adhesive backed strips sometimes used on steps as grip could be tried as removable to see if that would work. I'm not advising this, it is just what I might try, or some other surface with more friction.
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Byll
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by Byll »

Thanks to those who have replied. The largest issue is not with fear of dropping the whistle. It is the stickiness of the fingers to the brass whistle, which can make performing very difficult. The ease and normal smoothness of moving fingers around the instrument is hampered to a degree, by the stickiness and slight adherence of the fingers to the instrument. I have tried keeping a towel handy, etc., but in much of our sweltering weather, it does not really help. Again, any ideas will be appreciated.

I did not explain the issue very well in the original post. My bad.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by an seanduine »

Byll, there are people who suffer from Palmar Hyperhidrosis which is a nine-dollar term for ´very sweaty hands´. There are some over the counter anti-perspirants available to help counteract this condition. Two products are Carpe Max and Dry Hands. Might these help?

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Byll
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by Byll »

Thanks, Bob. I am an old guy. Only sweaty hands issue I ever have is with a metal whistle on a humid day, 85-95 degrees F. I did not know such products exist. Thank you, Sir. You can be assured I will give them a try.

Cheers.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by GreenWood »

There is a discussion on just that here

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoar ... 6&t=454027
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Byll
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by Byll »

Very interesting... Thank you, Greenwood. Seems I am truly not the only person to have experienced this situation.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by david_h »

Is the moisture actually sticky? Even with clean water surface tension will slightly resist some surfaces being pulled apart - we can lift some light things up with a clean wet finger. i wonder if soap would help.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by GreenWood »

I can definitely relate to what you are saying, I think just about everyone who plays will have picked up an instrument at some point and found some stickiness to the playing, but usually that will have been from having handled something beforehand, or from something on the instrument (linseed oil will feel sticky at a certain point of drying for example).

In that conversation the OP seems to change his mind about sanitiser at the end, and there are different suggestions, so I guess it will be trial and error to find what works. Even teflon coating or something like that might do if all else fails.
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by pancelticpiper »

I've not experienced sticky hands with whistle or flute, but I've often experienced it with Highland pipes when performing at hot summer outdoor festivals.

We're often playing in direct sunlight, which isn't good for us or for the pipes! This is offset by the short time Pipe Bands are in competition, because our competition sets are only around 5 minutes long.

Since we don't have the heat+humidity thing here, but just heat, in my experience the stickiness comes from

1) the tape used on the chanter to fine-tune each note

2) sunblock

3) food and/or drinks

4) not having a convenient place to wash hands with soap and water.

There have been many, many times I've had to compete with fingers sticking to the chanter!
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Re: Hot Weather Performing

Post by Alaskamike »

I don't know if this will help or not, but telescopes should be placed outside long before using to allow them to adjust to ambient temperature. This is about making sure the lenses don't fog up, etc., but maybe letting your whistles warm up before playing would reduce some of the water/condensation issues?

I also switch from a brass whistle to plastic when it gets cold because the brass cools down after a few minutes. Maybe another material might be better suited on a hot day?
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