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Try eating at least half an apple if you problems with excess saliva while singing (is this not a gross topic? But one that is problematic for singers)....tried it, it works!

I also have a neat link that answers questions singers' problems and questions that is quite interested. I never knew having your tonsils out can affect how you sing, for example:

http://www.answerbag.com/c_view/3360#17167

I have a problem with dry mouth when I get up to sing....any suggestions on that one?  Bad part, is water doesn't seem to always help. - Tonya

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Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Psalm 100:1

Never stand in front of me when I sing. I cant help it and and apple does help a bit

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Dry mouth/throat is a much more common problem than excess saliva for me.  Water doesn't seem to help at the time I'm singing, although probably part of the problem is that I'm not hydrated enough before I start.  I wonder if cough drops or hard candy might help, but I'd have to remove them before a song, so I don't know if that's an ideal solution.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

one thing i do know about dry mouth and coughdrops/candy..... use sugar-free ones... the kind with sugar make it worse! (they also make your breath worse)

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Allegedly, drinking something citric--they claim lemonade works great--increase the saliva production in the mouth...I'd assume anything tart would have that effect, even those candy "Sweet Tart" thingies....

nuthin works like a glass of milk for me (but ya gotta make sure you don't have a cold, cuz then ya get all phlegmy.....eww!)

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This is a good topic. I have had all the problems above. ^
some nights I feel the need to warn the audience because things are
flying out of my mouth.  LMAO

The thing I hate most is when I get a tickle in the back of my throat.
I'm trying to finish the song and my eyes are watering from trying to hold down the
cough.

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Awww, just ask the bartender to make you a spitoon cup and take it up on stage with ya. Nothing eliminates excess saliva like spitting does.  LOL   (just kidding)

I've had dry throat, LOTS of times, ciggy smoke in the air does that. I guess I only drool when I'm drinking. (or... when a cute cowboy is up singing... but then, I'm not on stage, so no worries)  :D



Babs, I've had that happen.... singing and not singing. One of those tickles that NO amount of water or coughing will get rid of. I hate that. Not very often, and never had that happen too severly singing.... but other times, yeah.


.

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1 shot of rum to two shots of stones green ginger wine soothes the throat and settles the tickle. Gargle then swallow

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I read that whole thread twice but no one was able to say if they ever got their high notes back. I saw them mention a few times that they got their low notes back and better than before. I could handle that. I may have to get that surgery because of all the problems I have had with my throat. I have even had times where I couldn't swallow for a few hours.

Sorry if that's TMI.

I know it sounds rough, but if you have a problem with dry mouth, take a shot of tequilla a few minutes before you sing. As long as you don't toss your cookies, it helps your mouth salivate.

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REDUCING saliva?  Funny, I usually wrestle with the other problem, dry mouth.

For dry mouth, there is a physiological, anatomical reason for it.  Most of us get pumped up about singing, or audience nerves, or audience rush, or whatever.  That releases adrenaline, and adrenaline production makes your body respond by taking all the moisture out of everywhere in your body, your mouth- sometimes eyes, and it puts all that water right in your bladder.  (Probably this is a survival mechanism tied to fight and flight response)  This creates the sensation of having to pee urgently, and dry mouth.

For this problem, I find the best thing I can do is keep myself hydrated well.  Also, pre-performance, I try not to pee and let out my excess water.  For those of you who have experienced this "gotta pee desert mouth" sensation, you can probably attest that when you start singing, you forget that you have to pee, and the dry mouth goes away a little into your song or song set.  That's because eventually the body will put the water back where it belongs.

One other thing you can do to speed recovery from dry mouth is to chew very lightly on the sides of your tongue near the back.  DON'T HURT YOURSELF!!!  It's more like massaging the back edges of your tongue with your molars.  This stimulates the saliva glands to produce more saliva, and should fix dry mouth.  You can also drink water.  (Sometimes saliva feels too thick to swallow quickly).

As for too much saliva, I have had that problem, too, but not as often as dry mouth.  For excess saliva, I have had to check my vocal technique.  I find that as my mouth fills with saliva, I go into a panic mode.  I start to think about choking, drowning, trying to breathe and sucking that little bit of saliva into the wrong pipe and getting that awful stingy hurty throat feeling- even now I'm tensing up just writing about it.

Physically, it's hard not to panic, having been there, and when we panic, we lock our jaw muscles and tongue, probably to keep the water from going down our throats.  In reality, though, I find this tense jaw/tongue actually causes the saliva to pool in my mouth, because it can't disperse freely and naturally.  Naturally, you have quite a large reservoir for saliva under your tongue, even while making room to sing.

Too much saliva:  The foods listed all sound good, and probably work.  But it's always best to test before a performance day to see if the food will sit well or cause phlegm or anything like that.  Try also relaxing your tongue, and seeing if it helps with saliva.

I'd be very interested to hear of other people's experience with this, and if it works for them.  Spit is something I'm always learning about.  If only we had a valve like brass instruments!!!  Though, I guess I'm messy enough as it is....

For me (maybe I'm a freak) but this excess salivation production  annoys me when producing the sibilant sounds (esse's) and sounding slobbery on mic always makes me wince! Ugh!!!!

I'm a non-drinker so I would probably need help to the stage after this one  LOL

What about those songs that go really fast...you barely have time to grab a breath...and you just feel an uncontrollable urge to swallow?  Not necessarily because of saliva either...I've had that happen and it drives me nuts!  It's like trying not to blink...lmao!

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For a dry mouth/throat relief, I sometimes use the Listerine Mints, those wafer thin cool mints available in supermarkets..  I find they really help to clear up my throat for a while