Saxophone Technique – Why We Work on it….

When you’re typing on a computer, being able to type quickly and efficiently helps you communicate faster and easier.

However, no one really notices how fast you type.

It’s convenient to be able to do efficiently.

And you probably won’t hurt yourself if you’re using proper technique, or you’ll at least be less likely to.

But it’s not exactly a spectacle to see someone type.

People care about the message that’s being typed.

Saxophone technique is similar, no one cares about the technique itself, (well, it could impress a few people) they’re mostly interested in what you’re saying on saxophone. What the music is about.

There is a major benefit to working on technique though.

Recently, I went back to some of the fundamentals of technique on sax, cleaned things up.

Now things fall in place easier without as many of the little problems, a lot of schmutz got worked out of my playing.

It makes the time you spend practicing and learning music become effective because the issue of technique doesn’t get in the way.

So saxophone technique helps you become a better musician. Once you play with good finger position, proper embouchure, etc you can often forget these things and they’ll be automatic.

It’s not the focus of the music, yet it can help the music and shorten the path to creating great music.

Any thoughts?

Saxophone Minor Pentatonic Scale – Key of G, Full Range

By Neal 4 Comments

The pentatonic scales are heard in music around the world. The five note scale has created many melodies. The minor pentatonic has more of a bluesy feel and is actually the same as the ‘blues scale’ minus one note.

The minor pentatonic scale starts on the root. And the next notes are the minor third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, and minor seventh.

Here I’m writing out the entire range of the G minor pentatonic scale for saxophone with fingerings. Being comfortable across the range of the saxophone is important in your development as a musician. It gives you more options.

Let me know if this is useful!

In the key of G, the notes are:

Saxophone G Minor Pentatonic

Here are the fingers for saxophone.

Saxophone G Minor Pentatonic

And here’s the G minor pentatonic scale over the full range (without altissimo) of the saxophone.

Saxophone G Minor Pentatonic Lower Range

Saxophone G Minor Pentatonic Upper Rangw

Saxophone G Minor Pentatonic Upper Range

10 Tips for Soloing on Sax in Front of a Crowd

By Neal 5 Comments

Feeling a bit nervous before taking a solo in front of an audience is natural and probably a good thing. However, having your nerves take over and prevent you from playing your horn can feel awful. Here are some ideas to help restrain your butterflies and play an awesome solo on sax.

Know your music. Pick a song you like. Know the ins and outs of it. Preferably multiple styles of playing it and in multiple keys. Use dynamics, phrasing, articulation, space, and the other dimensions of music. And keep it simple so you can build and don’t feel lost after saying everything you had to say.
Practice. Practice. Then a bit more practice! Charlie Parker (as well as Brecker, Coltrane, and many others) didn’t become a monster on saxophone by reading books and buying equipment. Practice your technique, practice songs, practice musicality. Work to control your fingers. Practice breathing in between phrases. Practice what you will do if things go wrong – with what you’re playing or from the other musicians.
Know the crowd. Invite friends and say hello to new faces in the audience. You’re generally going to get there early to set up. Playing for friends is easier than for strangers.
Know the room (audio equipment/acoustics/etc). Get there early, know that the right microphones, cables, speakers, are set up and that you have anything that you need. Mic checks are very important. You don’t want to be adjusting AFTER you start playing.
Relax. Don’t feel rushed into playing every musical idea you know in your solo. Start simple and build. Taking things a little more slowly will force your mind to slow down a little. Use space in your solo and it will sound much better. The space is just as important as the notes.
Imagine playing the solo. Think of your sound and confidence in the music. Think about the applause of the audience, if you’re having fun it will come through your playing.
Know the crowd wants you to do well. Especially at a local scene or with other musicians who are learning. The crowd is there to hear you and your group play, they may already be friends or fans.
Don’t worry or apologize for small mistakes, non-musicians in the crowd won’t notice it unless you make a huge deal out of it!
Think about the music. Just play and listen. Being anxious won’t help, so try and just immerse yourself in the music.
Learn from the process. Your solo is an expression and communication of yourself musically. You’ll progress with it as you keep soloing. The experience of playing will make you better at it and build your confidence. Playing in front of friends and at local jam sessions are pretty friendly environments to cut your teeth on.

Stuffy Notes on Saxophone? What causes the stuffiness?

By Neal 4 Comments

Certain notes on saxophone, cough cough middle D,

Saxophone Fingering Chart - Middle D

seem to come out stuffy on almost all saxophones.

Why is that?

The sound that you create when playing saxophone isn’t just coming out of the bell of the saxophone, except when you’re playing low Bb.

The sound goes through every open tone hole on the saxophone. So for a note like C# (in the middle of the staff) not very much sound actually goes through the bell at all. All the open tone holes are options.

With more fingers down, the sound is more closed.

So middle D is more much more closed than C# and they’re only a half step apart.

Eb, E, F all have a good number of tone holes closed and are a bit more stuffy than their open holed counterparts.

But middle D does seem to be the worst culprit.

Some sax players will suggest adding the palm D key when you’re playing middle D to open it up.

This action does open the sound a bit….. it’s practical part of the time. But not necessarily something you should always rely on.

As you play saxophone longer and learn the nuances of your horn, you should realize the differences between open and closed notes and adjust accordingly. Give middle D a bit more air, back off of notes like B and A that are more open by a little bit.

The distance that the low Bb and B pads are open can also be adjusted to help stuffy notes. Be very careful with this though, don’t want to mess up your saxophone!

Any thoughts on the issue of stuffy saxophone notes?

Saxophone and Gardening? Learning Songs – An Analogy

By Neal 8 Comments

My friend Alison has a blog about gardening. If you’re interested in growing plants for munching or as a hobby, check it out.

Growing a plant seems to me like learning a song in some ways.

To me, growing a single plant is like learning a single song on saxophone.

Generally a gardener won’t just have one plant. There’s a whole garden of them.

Likewise, you’ll learn a repertoire of music on sax.

Some plants are easier to plant than others. Apparently sprouts are pretty easy to grow according to Alison.

Same thing with songs.

A blues head isn’t quite on the same level as transcribing Coltrane’s solo on Giant Steps.

Plants need water, nutrients, and care.

With songs, you also can’t just learn them once and have them in the cupboard either.

They need continued maintenance if you want to keep them fresh in your memory, not to mention adding new approaches and styles (esp. for improvisation).

Otherwise they’ll wither away and need to be revived or even replanted if you will.

Having a variety of plants and songs makes the whole situation more useful and pleasing. In terms of nutrients, you need a lot of different vegetables, fruit, etc to keep things interesting and healthful.

With music, versatility in styles will get you more and better gigs and broaden your musical horizons.

You probably don’t want to eat seven pounds of carrots in a sitting and an audience likely won’t want to hear eight cha cha songs in a row (especially if they’re dancers).

How’s your saxophone garden doing?

Saxophone Embouchure Issues – A Few Suggestions

By Neal 6 Comments

Saxophone embouchure should ideally
be something you don’t have to worry about. It’s hard to imagine Coltrane or Brecker consciously thinking about adjusting the embouchure in the middle of a solo.

The main thing is setting it up right and then developing the muscles.

This will happen naturally and if you’re not doing anything too strange, you shouldn’t have problems.
That being said, sometimes issues do come up for various reasons with your embouchure on sax…..

Here’s a discussion about embouchure and some ideas about teeth guards, etc.

Took it from the ‘ask a saxophone question of the site.

Add a comment if you have some suggestions!

Jane Morley

Hi
3 years ago I started sax alto, a dream come true. Little did I know the embouchure problems I’d have. According to my teacher my teeth are not centralised so placing 2 teeth on mouthpiece means it’s at the side of mouth and I can’t stop air coming out the other side! So he suggested putting it in middle of mouth which means the corner of one tooth resting on the mouthpiece.

That means it slides and I can’t get a straight, long note – it trembles. So now he’s suggested lower lip outwards as I can close around the mouthpiece easier this way. Trouble is, teeth keep hitting reed and damaging it. Wow! Is there anybody out there who can advise someone with decentralised teeth? I’d REALLY appreciate it as my passion for the sax is still there, my technique is great apparently but what use is that if you can’t maintain a decent embouchure……….

Neal

Hey Jane,
I think just a mouthpiece patch would help keep your teeth in line, gives a little more grip. Bradford suggested something similar I think, but the mouthpiece patch would probably be more comfortable. See what works for you.
-Neal

Jane Morley

Thanks, will do

Bradford Hook

Hi Jane,
you might try a teeth guard. they are sold at WWBW.com, or you can make one out of seabond denture inserts for the bottom teeth. cut a small oval piece about 1 inch long and soak it in water, then form it over your bottom teeth so you can roll your bottom lip over.

Brad


Neal: Thanks for the suggestion Brad.

miriamkaul

Comment for Jane Morley.
Regarding your teeth placement on the mouthpiece, have you thought about putting on one of those rubber pieces that can be glued to the top of the mouthpiece. Some people use them to keep bite marks from happening on top of the mouthpiece. I am not sure what is happening with your teeth, but you could actually double the thickness of the rubber in the place where one tooth is not meeting. It seems to me that that might enable you to have a more natural embouchure and not have the air leaks. It is worth experimenting with. Good luck. M

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Jane Morley

Thank you – such a simple suggestion you give yet my teacher didn’t think of it! Just bought the rubbers and will try to make a mold to fill in gap on top of the mouthpiece where my one tooth doesn’t touch it. Thanks again. I hope your problems get easier too, sorry I can’t help, I’m a struggling beginniner really.

miriamkaul

For Jane Morley. I am glad the rubber idea was helpful. Don´t forget to keep experimenting if it does not work the first time. I am not technically inclined, but there are no doubt many materials that you could experiment with to get the correct match.
My embouchure problem has “suddenly” improved in the last three days. I am getting almost hopeful again. If it keeps going in this direction, I will finish recording the last two tunes I need to complete a CD. Keep “swingin´”…. and don´t give up the struggle. M
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Sax Improvisation – How to Set Up a Simple Groove on Sax

By Neal 26 Comments

In the same vein as some stuff that Eddie Harris did.

Setting up a simple bluesy groove and improvising over it.

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Charlie Lamprecht – Youtube Saxophone Phenomenon

By Neal 4 Comments

1,340,600

That’s the number of views that Charlie Lamprecht has on Youtube for ‪Beyoncé – Halo – Alto and Tenor Saxophone Duet‬, last I checked.

Must be doing something right.

I saw a couple of videos when I was looking for saxophone stuff on Youtube, and then he has commented a couple of times on the Sax Station facebook page. So I checked his stuff out a little more.

Charlie Lamprecht is a young and upcoming saxophone player. He has a growing fan base consisting of all ages. Seems to be going for the smooth jazz/R&B sound. It’s a little rough sometimes (would tone down the scoops a little myself), but there’s definitely emotion in his playing.

Here are a few things his fans are saying:

“Charlie. You are a real inspiration to me.” “Thank you for being such a saxophone god.” “I heard some of your covers, I am totally in love with them.” “You inspire me to play my sax again.”

I’m liking how he’s inspiring others to listen and play saxophone.

Charlie posted this on the Sax Station page,

“When I first started playing on YouTube, I had a lot of haters. So many to the point that I almost considered quitting the saxophone altogether. But then I realized that those people are insignificant, and have no idea what they are talking about.

The way I see it, everyone has haters, and everyone always will. If you don’t, then you’re probably not doing something right 😉 Haha Thanks for this post!”

So what’s going on here?

Part of Charlie’s recent popularity is attributed to his talent and ability to play saxophone. Lamprecht, however, has also gained tremendous popularity because of his musical selections. He’s playing music that’s very popular now (ie Beyonce) and putting his own interpretation of it online.

Lamprecht plays classical music as well as a wide variety of other genres. Charlie’s jazz and soul playing are the ticket for some. He gains the attention of younger audiences in his pop and hip hop music.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on April 3, in 1991, Charlie Lamprecht began playing the alto saxophone at the age of 10. Recently, he added tenor.

According to Lamprecht, his music is inspired by some great musicians. Ray Charles, John Mayer, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and Norah Jones are just a few of the many legendary artists that have inspired his music.

If there is any advice that saxophone players can take from Charlie Lamprecht, he always plays music that either has an emotional impact on him or revives his spirit.

Of course, the connection that a musician has to the music emotionally will come through when he or she plays it.

Music is not just about beats and lyrics, feeling and emotions are also important dimensions.

To hear Charlie Lamprecht, check out his Youtube channel – www.youtube.com/charles360.

You will find links to a variety of music videos performed by Lamprecht, as well as biographical information, downloadable sheet music, and a link to his Facebook fanpage.

Learning Saxophone – Why Reading Music Can Be Difficult (Really)?

By Neal 2 Comments

Some music that we read seems harder than other pieces…..

But why?

The culprit might be speed, an unfamiliar key signature, different rhythmic ideas than we are used to.

So, basically it may be that our fingers aren’t ready or our mind isn’t familiar.

Reading the music itself really isn’t so complicated after you’ve been reading for a while. You recognize the notes on the staff and most of the rhythms.

If you look at a melody or a saxophone part, you probably know how it goes.

Reading With Your Fingers?

I would bet that for many sax players, music becomes ‘harder to read’ when tricky (or unfamiliar) fingering combinations are in the music.

The extremely low notes and extremely high notes are somewhat unfamiliar (relative to the midrange) since we play them less. Those notes also use keys that are not used by the midrange.

Other times a transition between two notes may be hard to execute cleanly. That happens quite a bit when you need to lift or press more fingers – transitions like D to B. If even one finger is slightly off, you’ll hear some saxophone schmutz in there.

Dealing With the Unfamiliar

The key of C# is often thought to be harder than the key of C.

Why is that?

Probably because we play it less.

For me, C# actually seemed a bit easier than B or E early on because ALL the notes had sharps and that’s how I thought of it. And then after a little while your fingers get used to playing in a new key.

The key of F# is more comfortable for me than some other keys because I played it quite a bit with guitar players. Hawaiian reggae band in college. String players love the key of E and playing on tenor sax, that goes up to F#.

Our familiarity with music has a lot to do with the order we learn things in and our perception. If you just spend a little time and work on ‘hard’ keys, you’ll find they aren’t so bad. And once you are more comfortable throughout the range of the saxophone, you’ll be a better saxophone player.

Slowing Down

Taking time to slowly work on problem areas will help your playing overall. If you can’t play something fast, start slow. How much you slow it down is up to you. Once you master something at a slower speed, it will be much easier to play it a bit faster then a bit more and eventually up to tempo.