Saxophone Fingering Chart - Middle D

Got a question about the middle D on saxophone and stuffiness.  How the note seems to be harder to get out than notes around it and doesn’t quite sound the same, with the same tone & power you want to be able to get.  Thought it was a great question that many saxophone players have likely experienced.

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My response:
About the D and resistance, that’s a good question and cool you noticed it.  The D has a LOT more resistance than most notes.  So it sounds ‘stuffy’ often times.  Especially compared with the note a half step below (middle C#).  It just doesn’t seem to come out as easily as even a whole step above (E) either.

On some saxophones, the adjustment and fine tuning was done so well, that the middle D is not as much of a problem.  But that tends to be the exception rather than the rule in my experiences.

If we think about the physics of what’s happening, The air has to travel much farther in the tube before getting out and because of the way the keys are positioned, the middle D happens to have a lot of resistance.  The air stream has to go through a long section of tube and exits in a somewhat strange position on the bell.  You may have to use more air on that note to compensate.

Also, depending on the adjustment of your saxophone, you might want to get pads above the holes on the bell raised a little bit, that can help may the D less stuffy.  But be very careful with that, you probably want to get it done by a professional, basically don’t try it unless you know what you’re doing.

Curious to get some input about this since I have only played so many saxophones myself.  How does your middle D sound on your saxophone?  Leave a comment!

Question about chord tones and how to use them in a sax solo…..  Are they the only notes you should play?  And should you use the rest of the scale as well?

A few ideas about chord tones and improvisation on sax:

The chord tones include defining notes for the chord.  A minor chord isn’t a minor chord unless it has that minor third between the root and the third.  The seventh is also very important. The other chord tones add color to what you’re playing.

So if you’re going to emphasize a note, the 3 and 7 tend to be good choices.

Higher extensions – 9, 11, etc can be interesting too. As well as alterations.   The notes give you different colors to play around with.

However, you shouldn’t only play chord tones in your sax solos though, that would be very restrictive and not very interesting. Early on with your improvisation, you can somewhat mechanically play around with more vertical (arpeggiated) ideas and more horizontal (scalar) lines.  Getting comfortable with different approaches will make your playing more musical since you aren’t worrying about the individual notes you’re going to play.

When you speak, you don’t worry about the letters in the words you’re saying, the words and phrases just come out of your mouth most times without a lot of deliberation.

Knowing how to effectively use the colors of the notes while also having your tone, dynamics, phrasing, rhythm, articulation and other dimensions of playing music in control is challenging, but it comes with practice and experience.

And remember, the ‘right’ note in the wrong place isn’t ‘right’ anymore.  Also, the ‘wrong’ note with good timing, articulation, etc probably won’t sound as bad as you think it might, could even lead you in an interesting direction.  You can always go up or down by a half step and get to a ‘right’ note.