How to Keep Your Native American Flute from “Wetting Out” – 10 Tips

10 Ways to Prevent Wetout for as Long as Possible

#1) Don't eat excessively sweet, salty, or sour foods right before playing

Saliva production is at its highest when you're eating and then begins to decrease after you've finished. 

Because of this, it makes sense not to eat right before playing. You don't want a lot of saliva production when playing because then there will be a greater chance that some of that saliva could end up dripping its way through the mouthpiece. Not only this, but a wetter mouth could mean wetter breath.

That said, if you do find the need to eat right before playing, try to avoid foods that are very salty, sweet, or sour.

Eating salty, sweet, or sour foods increases saliva production to an even greater extent. This doesn't mean you have to eat nothing but bland and boring food before playing, but it does mean that it's probably best to avoid eating those candies or salt & vinegar potato chips.

Carbonated drinks have also been found to increase saliva production a good bit. So, avoid the soda. Not only is it carbonated, but it's also excessively sweet.

From what I've found out, it's the sodium in the salt that attracts your saliva to create balance.

When looking into excessively sugary foods, I found a study that measured saliva production when eating cookies with different levels of sugar (sucrose) and fat. It was found that:

(1) The cookie highest in sucrose produced a significantly higher [saliva] flow rate during chewing, and (2) the fat-free cookie, which was hard to chew, elicited an elevated [saliva] flow rate up to two min.

Interesting. What's curious here is that the fat-free cookie made the body increase saliva production more than others as well. So, maybe if you are going to be eating before playing try to get some healthy fats too..?

And as for acidic foods, additional saliva is produced by the body, at least in part, as a protective measure to dilute potentially harmful acids that may damage the digestive system and/or cause dental damage (sour foods are very acidic).

#2) Don't drink and/or eat while playing

A little swig of water may be beneficial if you find your mouth getting excessively dry for some reason. It's all about balance here. NAF flutists do need to maintain some wetness inside their mouths if they want to, for example, roll their tongues more easily while playing.

But, generally speaking, you probably want to avoid eating/drinking. In fact, I can't really think of any beneficial reason you'd want to eat during your playing unless you are absolutely starving I suppose and your stomach growling is affecting your playing. But be careful with this. What's worse than having your flute wet out may be having a tiny piece of food lodged in it somewhere.

This said, a swig of water could be beneficial in some scenarios.

• #2.5) Don't even think about food while playing

One thing we've learned from Pavlov's dog study is that the thought of food alone can cause salivation.

Now, I am aware that there have been some studies that suggest the thought of food doesn't actually cause increased salivation in humans - we're not dogs after all. From one such study, according to the lead author Guy Carpenter:

"We are not like dogs -- in particular, we're not like Pavlov's dogs -- and don't have conditioned salivary reflexes," says lead author Guy Carpenter

But, from my own personal experience, I think that the thought of food certainly can. And I know many others would agree.

So, I think it's best to find a balance here. It's better not to eat right before playing, but at the same time you probably don't want to be playing when you are extremely hungry because then you might be constantly distracted with the thoughts of food and this could cause increased salivation.

*They say that the smell of food can cause increased saliva production more strongly.

#3) Try to keep your flute nice and warm

I'm sure you've noticed how that nice cold glass of whatever you like to drink often gets wet on the outside and leaves a little puddle underneath. Or, maybe how a cold window is more likely to fog up and have droplets of water running down it.

This is because cold objects decrease the capacity air has to hold water vapor, and as we've already discussed, your breath is quite humid.

It all has to do with what's called the "dew point", which is: 

the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to achieve a relative humidity (RH) of 100%

What happens when you have air with high humidity blowing through your flute in cold temperatures is that the cold flute is cold enough to cool the air below the dew point and because of this, it loses the ability to hold onto all that water vapor. Thus, the water condenses.

With this in mind, one little trick that can help you keep your flute from wetting out for as long as possible is to simply try to keep it warm if you are playing in cold environments. 

Before playing as well as when you have breaks during your playing, maybe tuck it underneath your arm or hold it around the SAC area - most important area to keep warm is the SAC and flue area. 

#4) Forcefully blow through the flute with finger in front of block

If you notice that your flute is starting to wet-out, one thing you can do to ward it off for as long as possible is to forcefully blow through the flute using air pressure to force the water built up in the flue to exit. 

When doing this, it's best to put your finger in front of the block so that it doesn't make a mind-numbing screeching noise.

Another tip is to rotate the flute upside-down, with the block on the bottom, as you blow. This way gravity works in your favor.

#5) Give it a good swing

Another option you have at your disposal is to grab the flute by the tail end and give it a few quick and forceful swings. With this method, you can hopefully force some of that water out through good old centripetal force.

It goes without saying that you should be careful with this method. Make sure you don't wack anything and damage your flute or an innocent bystander. You should also be careful so that you don't sling the water where you don't want to.

#6) The duster option

This is an idea I learned from BlueBearFlutes although I've never actually tried it myself.

You can pick up a can of duster, which is commonly used to dust off electronics and whatnot, at your local supermarket.

That said, I don't think I'll be using this method anytime soon because these duster products are often harmful to breathe in, and with the flute being a windblown instrument... it just doesn't sound like a great idea to me.

However, the benefit to using a can of duster to blow out the flute rather than just forcefully blowing with your own mouth is that the duster can is going to forcefully blow it out with dry air, as compared to the moist air that would be coming from your mouth.

This method could be used during any short break that is long enough to do so.

*Do your own due diligence before using duster like this.

#7) Keep your head level while playing

This tip should be obvious, but of course, you are not going to want to angle your head down too much when playing.

Gravity.

It will pull your saliva downwards and if your head is angled down too much, this could mean that your saliva ends up entering through the mouthpiece.

#8) Swallow often 

Going along with the topic of gravity pulling your saliva into your flute, another quite obvious practice that all flute players should have is to swallow often to prevent too much saliva from building up too much.

What you can do is allow the saliva to puddle up just behind your bottom lip and then quickly swallow it when you get a pause.  

This is something you should likely make a habit of doing, with you readying the saliva in the right spot so that you can swallow it as quickly as possible when the time arises. 

#9) Suck between phrases

Something else you can do if you start to feel your flute beginning to wet-out, which can put it off a bit longer so that you can hopefully finish that song you're playing, is to perform quick and powerful sucks in between phrases.

The process is simple, when you have a short pause you can simply suck the air from the flute back into your mouth in a quick and powerful motion. This can help remove some of the humidity that's sitting in the SAC as well water that may be building up in the flue. 

This is a quick act that can be performed with minimal time, whereas doing something like forcefully blowing out your flute (#4) would take more time.

#10) Proper embouchure is important

Embouchure is a fancy-sounding word that just means the way in which you apply your mouth to the mouthpiece of the flute.

Achieving proper embouchure with the Native American flute is about as easy as it gets. However, mistakes can still be made.

What you don't want want to do is put your mouth around the mouthpiece of the flute too much. Not only will this likely lead to worse flute playing, but it will also increase the chances of saliva traveling from the mouth into the flute.

Proper embouchure that reduces the quickness of wet-out would be pursing your lips and placing them against the front of the flute mouthpiece more instead of completely engulfing it. 

With proper embouchure such as this, your lips will be more curled up and this can both: 1) prevent saliva from running out and, 2) allow you to apply the same amount of air pressure into your flute but by blowing less air.

less air = less humid breath = slower to wet-out

4 Reasons One Flute Might Wet Out Faster than Another

Besides just going over some measures you can take to prevent your flute from wetting out and becoming unplayable for as long as possible, I think it's also important to talk about some reasons why some flutes will wet out faster than others.

Not all flutes are created equally, and if you're going to be playing in an environment prone to early wet-out, then you might want to pick the right flute for the job.

In no particular order, here are reasons one flute could wet-out faster than another even when being played in the same conditions...

#1) It has a narrow flue

Using the picture from earlier, you can see that the flue is the small air passage directly beneath the block where the air flows from the SAC to the splitting edge and sound chamber.

If the size of the tracking of this flue is more narrow, it is quite obvious that it can become blocked faster when water begins to build up.

So, the wider the flue the longer your flute should last without becoming wetted-out.

But, there are more variables than just one at play here. Another reason is that...

#2) Its construction doesn't absorb much water

Some woods are more absorbent than others. For example, take a look at the absorption rate of different woods in this chart...

You can see red cedar is in the chart with a fairly high absorption rate compared to many woods.

Red cedar happens to be one of the most commonly used woods for NAFs. But, even if you have two cedar flutes, one could be coated more with water-resistant oil than another.

Flute makers can find themselves in somewhat of a conundrum here.

On one hand, leaving the inside of the SAC of a flute unfinished can be good in the way that it can absorb moisture from the air and keep water from beading up in the flue for longer, which can delay wet-out. 

On the other hand, flute makers don't want their flutes to absorb too much water because this can lead to damage - cracking in the worst case.

Not only this, but a flute that is able to absorb moisture can also become saturated to the point where you can't just blow it out quickly and continue playing, whereas a flute that is well finished and doesn't absorb moisture may wet-out faster but can also be blown out more effectively for further playing.

The block of the flute is also important in this regard.

The blocks may or may not have a water-resistant coating. Some flute makers leave the bottoms of their blocks unfinished, which means, just as mentioned above, the wood has the ability to absorb moisture whereas if the block is finished on the bottom it will be water-resistant.

*Note: Just because your flute has a water-resistant coating doesn't mean that it will completely keep water from absorbing.

#3) Dense material

Another factor at play here is the density of your flute's construction. 

The denser the wood, plastic, or whatever the construction is, the longer time it will take to adjust to a different temperature. 

So, for example, it will take a denser wooden flute longer to warm up than a lesser dense one, which means that your humid breath will likely condense more inside the denser flute, thus possibly leading to faster wet-out.

4) The flue is rough

Something else dealing with the flue that could contribute to faster wet-out is if this area is rough, as in it's not sanded down and finished nice and smooth. 

A rough area here can lead to the water vapor and/or droplets becoming more easily trapped in this important area. Even if you have two flutes, both not completely resistent to water, the one with a rougher flue will be more prone to water absorption than the one with a smooth sanded finish.

This can be an easy fix with a flat needle file and some fine sandpaper, but it's not something I'd really recommend unless you know what you're doing. If you've read my About Me page then you'll already know that I damaged my very first flute using a needle file.

5) The flue is long

If your flute has a long flue this can also make it more prone to quicker wet-out. This is because the air you blow has to travel a longer distance along this area -  more surface area for water to build up on and longer distance for this water to travel - more opportunity for it to become a real problem.

6) The ramp angle is sharp

Something else that isn't commonly talked about is the angle of the ramp.

There's a ramp where the air exits the SAC before entering the flue. If this has a sharp angle it can make it more difficult for the smooth flow of water to exit your flute.

This is something that I'm not really sure how big of a difference it actually makes, but it is a factor to consider nonetheless.

What to Do After Your Flute Has Wetted Out

Once it comes to the point where you can no longer keep pushing off the inevitable with the methods discussed above, it's time to set your flute down and give it a break.

You're going to want to untie the block, forcefully blow out the flute as best you can (remember to rotate it upside-down to let gravity help you out), wipe off what water you are able to on the outside, and then let it sit around in a dry shaded place that doesn't have extreme temperatures.

There are some people that will insert cloth into the SAC to try to absorb water this way, but unless you know what you're doing I'd recommend against it. The last thing you want to happen is for something to get stuck inside there.

Quick Recap & Conclusion

Your flutes going to wet-out. It's something you'll have to face. But, hopefully, some of these methods and tips will help you play better for longer.

Try some out next time and see what you think. See how much longer that good quality sound lasts without snacking on those salt & vinegar chips beforehand, or maybe try mastering the quick sucking method you can perform between phrases of a song. And if one flute wets out faster than another in your collection, see if you can figure out what factor is causing this.

That's all I have for you. I hope you've found this post helpful! If you have any other helpful tips let me know in the comment section below. I'm always interested in what knowledge other flute players have.