Hand Washing and Saxophone Playing

NB: Note the date. This was written a full 6 years before the first cases of COVID-19 appeared on the horizon, and the entire world leaned into handwashing as a way of life. I am hopeful that in our “post-COVID” world, we haven’t forgotten everything we learned during the most active phases of the pandemic. The importance of handwashing is right up for players of reed instruments for the reasons outlined below. 

At first glance this article’s title might seem to suffer from a bit of a disconnect, because let’s face it, what do hand washing and saxophone playing have in common? Bear with me for a minute, you’ll soon see what I mean…

I freely admit that I am somewhat OCD when it comes to hand washing. I wash my hands something like 25 or more times a day. Part of that is just good hygiene, the other is a leftover from my days of being a paramedic, when I washed my hands more than 50 or so times a day.

We all know that during cold and flu season the best way to protect ourselves against these common viruses is frequent and proper hand washing with regular soap (non-anti-bacterial). Last Wednesday night, as I was getting ready for my performance, I made a point of washing my hands multiple times before touching my reeds and mouthpiece.

The room I played in that evening has a really low ceiling that is covered in acoustic tiles. The room absorbs sound really well, and it is tricky to find a reed that sounds really good in there. I tried five reeds before I found one that sounded exactly the way I wanted it to.

During this reed testing phase of my set-up, a number of people came and talked to me. As a way of introducing themselves, they wanted to shake my hand. Without thinking about it, I did the same: I shook their hand in response.

Now clearly I didn’t run to the sink and wash my hands after each person shook my hand. If I had, I likely wouldn’t have the cold/flu that I came down with on Saturday night—72 hours post show, which is approximately the incubation time for cold/flu viruses.

If you think about this, we handle our reeds and mouthpieces, and then we put these things in our mouth. There really is not a better way of infecting ourselves with any bacteria, virus, or fungus. That’s why hand washing and saxophone playing should be intricately linked.

If you don’t wash your hands before you put your reed on your mouthpiece, any viruses, bacteria, or fungi you have on your hands can be transmitted to your reed/mouthpiece. As you blow on your mouthpiece, these micro-organisms can get into your body by crossing through the mucus membranes in your mouth. You might also suck them directly into your lungs. :hair:

Reminds me of the article that I published a few weeks ago regarding saxophone lung. The fact is however, you really don’t have to let the bacteria and fungi fester inside your horn for 30 years to make you sick. The viruses and bacteria we have on our hands can make us sick as well. That’s why washing your hands before you handle your reeds and mouthpiece is a really good idea.