Expert: Kenton Scott - 7/8/2007

Question
I'm Jacob. I own a king 605 trombone, and I have a problem with it. Spit comes out of the bell, and the cork gets wet with spit. Often I have to replace the cork. I think this is a cause for my mid-range notes (d thru f) to "crack". Have you ever heard of this problem on this paticular model of trombone or a trombone in general?

Answer
Jacob,

I can't think that the problem you are struggling with is caused by water in the horn.  It isn't so much spit as it is condensation of the humidity in your breath.  Water will sometimes come out the bell of a trombone. The only thing that causes problems with trombones are air leaks.  If your waterkey is leaking air, then that is a problem.  Try taking your slide off and plug one end with a finger and blow in the other end.  If air leaks out your waterkey, then it isn't fitting properly.

I would suggest checking out a couple of other possibilities as far as the troublesome notes.  1) you might want to try out a couple of different sized mouthpieces to see if one works better for you.  Or 2) you might want to do some practice on long tones and lip slurs to see if it is a embouchure issue.