[SML] horn spit as bio-hazard?

[Stephen Litterst]

On 4/15/16 3:07 PM, Riter, Andrew via Stagecraft wrote:
> So what do concert halls or symphony houses (or university music
> classrooms) do about spit left behind by the brass section?
>
> Does anyone treat it as a bio-hazard?

According to all of my brass professors in college, that's not spit, 
it's condensation.  As the hot air moves through the brass tubes, the 
water vapor condenses on the walls of the tube, gathering in the low 
crooks, where the valves are used to dump it on the floor.

As a former brass player, I half-believe this. I know there was far more 
liquid coming out of my cornet than I was putting into it.  But I'm sure 
some of it was saliva.

Of course, this didn't answer your question.

Steve L.
-- 
Stephen Litterst            Technical Operations Supervisor
litterst at udel.edu           Mitchell Hall
302/831-0601                University of Delaware