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!
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.
-NealJane Morley
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.
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
miriamkaul recently posted..Miriam Kaul commented on Thierry Capdevilles profile
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.
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
miriamkaul recently posted..Miriam Kaul commented on Thierry Capdevilles profile
I’m new to all this sax thing. I really like the music it makes. I hope Jane was able fix it with the rubber idea.
I have the same problem (uneven top front teeth) and have solved it by using a mouthpiece pad (available on the internet) and angling the mouthpiece slightly so that it touches both teeth. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it seemed to solve the problem for me.
Thanks for sharing Chris.
Step 1. Remove the mouth piece with the reed attached and stuff it completely with a paper towel (air tight)
2. Hold the mouth piece with your hand wrapped around it with the thumb sticking up.
3. Blow into the mouth piece using a large amount of air for as long as you can with your thumb covering the leaking corner. Continue this procedure for as much and as often as you like. Soon you will notice that your lips are forming a complete circle around the mouth piece and the corners are getting stronger. Then you practice long tones and repeat the mouth piece procedure and eventually you’ll eradicate the leaking. Your embouchure ,lips ,jaws ,and tone should improve as you will have no air waste and noise.
That’s a great comment! I have a different problem and would like to know if there are mouth pieces that work better with NO TEETH. Does anyone know?