 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: connie
Date: 2001-05-25 12:43
OK, in a fit of insanity, I decided to learn to play the sax. The biggest adjustment I'm having is to be loose enough (embouchure, that is) to get the right sound. I can do it for a little while, but the more tired I get, the tighter I get. Is this a paradox, or what? I suspect I'm falling back into old clarinet habits, but even when I realize what I'm doing, it is difficult, if not impossible to get back to that original looseness.
I assume that when I reach this point, I should lay the horn down and stop for awhile. This means my practice sessions end in about 10-15 minutes. (Unfortunately, it may be a couple of days before I can get back to it after that.) Is this reasoning correct? Is this a common problem among doublers, or am I just weird?
connie
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-05-25 13:01
I think these problems are common. The larger the sax, the bigger the problem. The low baritone notes still bug me.
A highly respected article on "Tone Production" at
http://listen.to/saxophone/ may be of help.
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Author: William
Date: 2001-05-25 14:25
One hint that may help--hold the sax in front of you and keep your chin down. We clarinetists tend to try to emulate our embouchure on the sax by taking the sax mp at a clarinet-style angle. We hold the sax at our sides, like the beginning books show (especially when seated) and let it slip too far back, causing the mp to slope downward. Pushing your right-hand thumb foreward and positioning the sax in front (bari needs to be on side but push it foreward) corrects the mp angle to "straight-out" and makes tone production easier, and more sax-like. ( I play alto and tenor saxes "in front" wheither seated or standing. Bari in front when standing, on the side when seated but right-hand pushed foreward and mp straight-out.) Another hint for clarinetists-turned saxists--try to play with as much a double-lip embouchre on sax as possible and try for a tone center that is slightly below pitch, unlike the "up-to-pitch" clary sound we try for. Learning vibrato and scooping notes will help and playing "relaxed" will help you tune the notes of your sax that need it. Above all, have fun. I think that worrying about the quality of your sound "too soon" will hold back your progress in learning to play. Just go for it!!! Good Saxing!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Author: connie
Date: 2001-05-25 15:12
Thanx for the above. William, you're right on about trying to play below pitch...I tend to go sharper in the upper register. My biggest problem comes when working on vibrato...I just get tighter and tighter until the sound gets pinched off.
My teacher insists that I play standing up, sax in front...at least I started that part right!
I'm working on alto...I can't imagine trying to get low notes on a bari!
connie
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Author: ron b
Date: 2001-05-25 16:01
Connie -
Imagine low notes on a bass... talk about a natural high - whooo- e e !!
My experience agrees with Gordon and William in that if you hold the sax like the 'picture books' show you'll sound like a clarinet player struggling to play the sax. In other words; terrible!
Now that you're over that obstacle - Happy Sax ! (they *are* fun 
- ron b -
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Author: erica
Date: 2001-05-25 23:08
I had the same problem when I started to play sax for our school Jazz band. I started on Tenor, but that only lasted a week; I could barely make a sound on that thing, and the sound I did make was not pretty. I switched to Alto, it was soo much better. Anyway for the first few months I had a lot of trouble with tightening my embouchure. It gets easier as you go on, just keep practicing and when you start to tighten up, step back from it for a while then continue. I've played since September, and I don't have much of a problem, except for those low notes. Oh well, I imagin that they (the low notes) too, will come with time. <|:o)
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Author: Nick Conner
Date: 2001-05-26 01:31
I started on tenor sax my freshman year (I'm a junior now), and things get a lot easier over time. My freshman year, I lacked volume to be a soloist, and I struggled all jazz band season for any note below an on the staff G. However, I kept at it, and now I'm the lead tenor in my band, and if I really wanted to be could be the lead alto as well. Long tones really help. I also found that having a good concept of clarinet embouchure makes it a lot easier to switch. i played with a bunched chin up until last year on clarinet, and when fixing that I almost gave up instruments all together. But I'm through it and I sound better. Then one day after I regained my embouchure, I picked up my sax, and.... THE LOW NOTES WERE EASY! I can now play any note, and I have control over everything but maybe the low Bb. Anyways, the tightening thing. Long tones, definitely. My director had me start on an on the staff G, hold that for a few beats then slowly move down as low as I could go, trying to keep each note on the bottom octave and as clear as possible. After a while, it comes. once you start playing music, it comes easier, because your ear will hear the pitches and your mouth will learn to automatically make them come out. I'm sure once you get over the hump, you'll have a blast. Saxes are fun!
Nick Conner
cpmbnick@hotmail.com
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-05-28 01:38
This may sound strange.
When I started alto I had very much difficulty with rectanglar throat mouthpieces such as Selmer C*. The lower register notes vibrate strangely and even upper register notes were very unstable. I became quite tired trying to remedy this. However, after about one month trial when I changed my mouthpiece to a round throat mouthpiece, those difficulty instantly vanished. Very strange. Selmer recently started to sell Supersessions mouthpieces with round throats. These are very good for my alto and soprano.
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