How often do you find yourself eating in a rush before rehearsal, keeping your trusty daily coffee/tea/other beverage next to you on stage, or realizing you forgot to brush your teeth AGAIN before your lesson? Trust me, we’ve all been there! It goes without saying, but the better care you can take of your mouth before you play, the better your flute will stay–and the better you will play, as well!
If you do anything to make sure you are taking care of both your mouth and your instrument, try to be diligent about at least rinsing your mouth out before you play if you have eaten a meal recently. Food particles and sugar remnants (and we know how much sugar is sneaked into foods sometimes) will inevitably make their way through the tube of the instrument, coating the metal tubing as well as harming the pads. Even with swabbing out the instrument after playing, these particles can linger. Over time, they will build up and start to cause problems such as erosion and leaks. Best case scenario: carry a travel toothbrush and toothpaste set in your case for a more thorough cleaning.
Did you know, though, that the instrument is not the only thing affected by the foods you eat before you play? And I’m not just talking about your teeth, either!–though I suppose those are pretty important too! Interestingly enough, the small muscles in your face that affect your embochure are actually quite affected by foods you eat in the hours before you pick up your instrument. Sugary foods actually slow down the response time and the strength of the small muscle groups around your lips and jaw! So if you have a big performance coming up, it’s probably best to lay off the sweet tea and other sugary foods. Thus proving once again–you are what you eat!