TromboneChat

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 11:17 am**

Hey everybody,

I'm a newbie here on the forums but had a question. Whilst I'm practicing at home, my fiance basically wants me to run out the front door every time i need to empty the spit from my instrument

How has others solved this issue? When I'm my lesson, we usually put a towel down onto the floor and spit into that, but my fiance thinks its disgusting and won't let me do that...

Am I only ever going to be confined to running out the front door to empty my trombone?

Thanks
AJ

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 11:53 am**

Get a couple of ash trays or saucers at a local yard sale and empty into those. Or evict her from the bathroom and empty into the toilet

You might also mention to your fiance that the stuff you are dumping is mostly water condensing from the breath. Few of us actually spit in the trombone.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 12:00 pm**

Its only condensation not a huge buildup of saliva.

Use a garbage can if she remains adamant. Should be a pretty easy compromise. An open-lid one in the room used solely for that and other non-rotting trash should be perfect.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 4:15 pm**

I went to a carpet store and got a bunch of their samples that they use for displays.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 4:28 pm**

This kid got it figured out.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 5:48 pm**

jthomas105 wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 4:28 pm This kid got it figured out.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 5:49 pm**

I use an inverted frisbee; it's just the right size, and it's easy to clean and store.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:48 pm**

Change fiances

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:55 pm**

I bought a spittoon and filled it with small pebbles. Does the job and looks cool too. Can't take credit for the idea though, got it from Tyrone Breuninger when I studied with him.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:59 pm**

Stoffer's makes a lasagna entry that you find in the frozen food section at the grocery store. The container it is in and that you cook it in is a flexible plastic thing about 8 inches by 6 inches and about 2 inches deep. It is PERFECT for use to dump your spit valves and slides. We clean them out after eating the lasagna, and I now have 2-3 to use. I put the container on a bigger maybe 12x14 inches pad so that nothing gets on the floor. When I am not using the container, I slide it under a piece of furniture in my room and it is gone. I also empty it frequently so that it does not get gross. Works perfectly. Wife happy. Me happy. Life is good.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:35 pm**

Put a piece of newspaper on the floor and throw it away when you're done. Why get a perfectly good towel dirty?

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:35 pm**

mfellows821 wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:48 pm Change fiances

I was avoiding going there

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:54 pm**

Doug Elliott wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:35 pm
mfellows821 wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:48 pm Change fiances
I was avoiding going there

But we were all thinking it.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:31 pm**

mfellows821 wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:48 pm Change fiances

If she lets you practice trombone in the house, she's a keeper!

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:37 pm**

Get a potted plant and discharge into that.
It'll absorb all the condensate you can give it.

Posted: **Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:29 pm**

I use a microfiber dish drying mat, purchased at the Dollar Store for $1.00-$2.00 depending on size. Very absorbent, no bleed through. Thicker and more effective than a towel. Dries quickly; throw it in the clothes washer weekly. Clean and sanitary - and keeps the floor dry under your feet. I wrap it around my trombone stand for transport (in a tripod case), and take it on stage with me when I rehearse and perform so no one slips on the floor around my area.

Posted: **Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:36 am**

Area rug under the chair and music stand.

Posted: **Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:39 pm**

A dog comes in handy. Just empty on his back or let him lick it up.

Posted: **Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:34 pm**

Mikebmiller wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:39 pm A dog comes in handy. Just empty on his back or let him lick it up.

Posted: **Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:20 pm**

Drain when she's not looking!! Or behind the TV/refrigerator/desk , etc....

Posted: **Mon Jun 10, 2019 12:29 am**

Mikebmiller wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:39 pm A dog comes in handy. Just empty on his back

this kills me

Posted: **Mon Jun 10, 2019 2:36 am**

Bonearzt wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:20 pm Drain when she's not looking!! Or behind the TV/refrigerator/desk , etc....

LOL, Eric.

Posted: **Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:00 am**

I bought a 1 gallon paint can, and put a super fluffy yellow sponge inside it.

Posted: **Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:32 am**

I would suggest letter her know now that you plan on wearing the pants...
Also the potted plant works very well.. Perhaps finding a way to explain that it is in fact water vapor from your breath could help also..

Posted: **Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:03 pm**

ajcroteau wrote: Sat Jun 08, 2019 11:17 am Hey everybody,

I'm a newbie here on the forums but had a question. Whilst I'm practicing at home, my fiance basically wants me to run out the front door every time i need to empty the spit from my instrument

Seriously... this does not bode well for your future together.

Am I only ever going to be confined to running out the front door to empty my trombone? Yes.

Thanks
AJ

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:12 am**

I remember seeing a water key that was built into the end pin of the slide. Anyone remember the name? I know it wasn’t the Joy Key or Saturn water key. Maybe something like that could be used to drain silently into a carpet square or frisbee (I like that one) might be helpful. I’m guessing she’s repulsed by the sound of the force you’re using to blow spit out of the slide.

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:47 am**

Time to re-think your love life!

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:25 am**

RUN AWAY.

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 12:11 pm**

AlexMcMahon wrote: Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:12 am I remember seeing a water key that was built into the end pin of the slide. Anyone remember the name? I know it wasn’t the Joy Key or Saturn water key. Maybe something like that could be used to drain silently into a carpet square or frisbee (I like that one) might be helpful. I’m guessing she’s repulsed by the sound of the force you’re using to blow spit out of the slide.

It didn't have a name, but many German trombones were built that way.

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 12:38 pm**

Newell Sheridan used to sell those "automatic spit valves." As a tech and player, I love the Pollard keys; they don't have plastic parts and they don't leak. I think Harrelson Trumpets make them now.

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:04 pm**

Mikebmiller wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:39 pm A dog comes in handy. Just empty on his back or let him lick it up.

IMG_0654.JPG

Posted: **Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:23 pm**

I don't think I ever blow water out and make a noise. I press the valve and it drains. So you could avoid being noticed by doing it quietly.

However. I don't want to overanalyze, but sometimes what they complain about is not the real problem. If you're spending a huge amount of time playing an instrument (nobody else would care about), meanwhile ignoring she who must be worshipped, then the spit could just be the focal point but not the issue. If that's the case either you have to ensure that sufficient attention is paid to keep her happy, or accept that this one may not last.

FWIW, I've started using the lid from a jar of peanuts.

Posted: **Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:08 pm**

Just throw a towel on the floor and wash it once or twice a year.

Posted: **Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:29 am**

Mikebmiller wrote: Wed Jun 12, 2019 12:08 pm Just throw a towel on the floor and wash it once or twice a year.

I would wash it every 3 years.

Posted: **Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:29 am**

Hey Girls, please chime in.

Posted: **Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:39 am**

(sigh)
Some issues never go away. My first wife objected to me practicing the piano when the baby was asleep. The baby was ALWAYS asleep when I wanted to play. It was around this time that I read about Thelonius Monk, whose grand piano was located in the kitchen of his apartment. He'd play whenever he wanted or needed to, and his wife served dinner on the piano because, well, it was in the kitchen.

When it came time for me to pair with wife #2 (we've been together now for many years), I was not having any of that nonsense. "I'm a musician; this is what I do. Period."

I played the tenor sax for 15 years, the flute for the last 6, and the piano always (it's NOT in the kitchen!). I recently took up the trombone at age 72 (the cat has a little mat she sits on near my chair; that's where the spit valve gets emptied). I play with a practice mute in the apartment and am as "considerate" as possible. I tolerate no complaints about my practice time.

To the OP: Think hard about your priorities.

Posted: **Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:26 pm**

I use the sports section from the L. A. Times.

Posted: **Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:38 pm**

Posted: **Thu Aug 22, 2019 11:04 am**

Other arguments aside, my thinking on this has evolved.

Dumping our spit is kind of gross, and it is pretty easy to take care of it. It's not much different from having a bag to take our trash with, rather than littering.

I use the plastic lid from a coffee canister. I have several and leave one in each room where I play.

Posted: **Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:12 pm**

I've traditionally used a bit of carpet or an old beach towel, but I like the potted plant idea.

Your lady friend deserves you bringing her some alternatives. There have been some good suggestions here. If she can't accept any of them, this bodes poorly for your future together. Really.

Posted: **Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:27 pm**

Presumably she lets you kiss her.

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