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Re: Embouchure

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2019-06-16 03:39

Simplistic as it sounds, it may have been how far you had the mouthpieces pushed in on the neck corks. One of the things I've discovered over the years about sax mouthpieces is that they tune very differently from each other. I have one tenor mouthpiece that needs to be pushed in as far as it will go - the end of the bore where the throat starts is the limiting factor, not the cork, which still has another 1/4" or so left. Two other mouthpieces on the same tenor need to be in only about 1/2" and I needed to build the cork up with Teflon tape even to try them. I have several alto mouthpieces that have similar differences.

Some of the difference is the overall length of the mouthpiece - the one that goes in all the way is longer than the the other two. Likewise, one alto mouthpiece that goes in considerably farther than others is quite short by comparison. But there are also differences in bore and chamber size that can account for different internal volume from one mouthpiece to the other.

Things in the sax world are a lot wilder and woollier than they are in the realm of clarinets.

I would expect that an embouchure that's too tight would more likely drive the pitch up. A "top of the line" mouthpiece (it's hard to know what you mean) could have a range of very different facings that could make a 3.5 reed too hard, too soft or just right (and it might make a difference what brand and model reed you were using). If it was really too flabby a reed/facing combination, that might have kept you from applying enough pressure on the reed to keep the pitch and sound focused. Of course, you need to take in more reed with a sax than with a clarinet.

Of course, unless you know who the FB sax players are, you have no idea how reliable their advice is, and they aren't getting any aural clues to the problem that would come from hearing you play. I doubt if there are any major, reputable sax manufacturers who market saxes that are consistently 40 cents flat.

Karl

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