Hi I'm Sergeant First Class Brian Sacawa.
I'm Sergeant First Class Christopher Blossom. I'm Staff Sergeant David Parks. I'm Staff Sergeant
Daniel Goff. And this is The Saxophone Standard. Welcome to the Saxophone Standard. The Concert
Band saxophone section of The U.S. Army Field Band has drawn on our collective experience
as classical performers and educators to bring you this collection of resources that
we feel is essential to playing the saxophone. Whether you're a beginning saxophonist, a
more advanced student, or a music educator, we hope you find the information on this
video both useful and interesting. Also be sure to visit armyfieldband.com where you
will find downloadable resources including suggested repertoire and etude books, recordings,
recommended reading, altissimo fingering charts, and many of the exercises and arrangements you
hear on this video. These are great resources for saxophonists of all levels and music educators.
Thanks for watching the saxophone standard. The saxophone was invented in the late 1830s by
Belgian instrument maker Adolf Sax who introduced it to the world in 1841. Sax wanted to design
a musical instrument that combined the power and projection of the brass with the agility
of the woodwinds. He received a patent for the saxophone in 1846 which by then had already won
praise from the famous composer, Hector Berlioz. "Dreamy, melancholic, sometimes with the hush of
an echo. I do not know of any instrument having this specific tone quality." While never completely
adopted as an orchestral instrument, the saxophone did find an immediate and permanent home in
military bands as well as within the walls of academia. Sax himself was hired to start the first
saxophone class at the famed Paris Conservatory beginning a long and proud tradition of
the saxophone as a classical instrument. In the early 1900s, the saxophone began to gain
a foothold across the atlantic in more popular musical styles. Ensembles and players like Rudy
Wedoft introduced the instrument to a wider audience through approachable and fun music and
also began to expand the instrument's technical and sonic potential. The saxophone soon
became an important voice in blues and jazz. The sax sections of the groups led by
Count Basie, Duke Ellington, The Dorsey Brothers, and Glenn Miller defined new sounds,
while players like Charlie Parker and later John Coltrane revolutionized
the instrument's solo potential. While solidifying its place as a jazz instrument,
the saxophone was becoming more accepted in the classical music tradition as well. Though Sax's
original class at the Paris Conservatory ended in 1870, its reestablishment in 1944 with the
appointment of Marcel Mule was a defining moment for the instrument. Widely regarded as one
of the greatest classical saxophonists of all time, Mule was a pivotal figure in defining the
instrument's classical technique, developing its repertoire and pedagogy, and establishing the
saxophone quartet as a legitimate chamber ensemble, With Mule paving the way, the classical saxophone
began to see a renaissance in the United States and elsewhere. A new generation of performers and
educators emerged with Sigurd Rasher, Larry Thiel, Donald Sinta, Fredrick Hemke, and Eugene Rousseau
doing much to further develop its repertoire and firmly establish the saxophone as a serious
classical instrument. Today the saxophone is heard in a wide variety of settings and musical styles
including military bands, jazz ensembles, pop and rock groups, and symphony orchestras now let's meet
the members of the saxophone family. The modern saxophone family consists of nine instruments: the
soprillo, the sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass, and the subcontrabass. Other rarely used versions of the saxophone
include the C soprano, mezzo soprano, c melody, the slide sax, saxello, and the tubax. Here,
we'll introduce the four most common saxophones. The soprano saxophone is pitched in b-flat and is
the highest of the most commonly used saxophones. Today, it's been included in the standard saxophone
quartet configuration since the early 20th century and has been called for by such orchestral
and band composers as Maurice Ravel, Richard Strauss, and Percy Grainger. The soprano
has been increasingly used as a solo instrument and its solo repertoire has steadily
grown over the past several decades. The alto saxophone is pitched in e flat and sounds
a perfect fifth below the soprano. It's the most used saxophone in classical music as demonstrated
by its extremely large body of repertoire. Many well-known composers have written solo works for
the alto including Alexander Glasnov and Jacques Ibert while in the orchestra, it's beautiful dark and
malleable tone has been embraced by Georges Bizet, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leonard Bernstein, and many
others. The tenor saxophone is pitched in b flat, and sounds an octave below the soprano. While
an important voice in the saxophone quartet and concert band, its solo repertoire is still
relatively limited. Composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Paul Hindemith have used it in large
ensemble works for its powerful sound and lyrical qualities. The baritone saxophone is pitched
in e flat and sounds an octave below the alto. Often compared to the cello, the Bari sax is the
lowest voice in the saxophone quartet providing the foundation for many of the quartet's harmonies.
The Bari sax is also the only commonly used saxophone to feature a low a key which allows a
player to perform string transcriptions at pitch. Solo repertoire for the baritone is also rather
limited but many orchestral composers including George Gershwin, Bela Bartok, and Charles
Ives have incorporated it into their works. A few of the less common saxophones
that you might see from time to time include the sopranino the C melody sax and the bass
saxophone. Of the three, the bass is the most used appearing in large saxophone ensembles, a few works
for wind ensemble, and even as a solo instrument. Though the saxophone quartet in the soprano, alto,
tenor, and baritone configuration has been around since the mid-1850s, it rose to prominence as an
ensemble during the late 1920s with the formation of the quatour de la guarde republicaine, which later
became the Marcel Mule Saxophone Quartet. Voiced much like a string quartet, The saxophone quartet
remains a distinct and viable ensemble to this day. Before you can play your instrument,
you need to know how to assemble it. Putting your saxophone together for
the first time is an exciting moment. Here's how to do it- let's go over the parts
you'll need. The body of the instrument, the neck, a mouthpiece, ligature, reed, neck strap, and some cork grease. First take your reed and put
the thin part in your mouth. You'll want the reed to be wet
later when you put it on your mouthpiece, since the dry reed won't play
as well. Take the neck and the cork grease put a small amount of cork grease
on the neck cork and rub it in. Next, take the mouthpiece and using a twisting
motion, slide the mouthpiece onto the neck. Put on your neck strap and pick up
the body of the instrument by the bell. Clip the neck strap onto the instrument. Take the neck and mouthpiece assembly, and insert it into the body. if it's too tight, loosen the screw on the body of
the instrument and use a slight twisting motion. Once you get the neck on, tighten
the neck screw. Make sure the flat part of the mouthpiece is facing down
towards the bottom of the saxophone. Now it actually looks like a saxophone and you're
almost ready to play. Put the ligature on the mouthpiece noting that one end of the ligature
is smaller than the other so it can only go on one way. Some ligatures have screws on the top and
some have screws on the bottom but they should always face to the right. By now your reed is wet
and ready to put on the mouthpiece. Always be very careful with the tip of the reed. Move the ligature
towards the tip of the mouthpiece slightly, put the thick flat part of the reed against
the mouthpiece, and slide it under the ligature. Move it so the tip of the reed is just below
the tip of the mouthpiece. You want the reed to be even on all sides so you may need to wiggle
it a little. Always put on the ligature before the reed to avoid damaging the tip. This may seem
awkward right now but you'll get the hang of it. Now that the reed is on, you can tighten
the ligature screws to hold it in place. Tighten the screws just enough to hold the reed
securely. Now adjust the neck strap a little so the mouthpiece goes right into your mouth and you're
ready to play. As saxophonists, one of our most important pieces of equipment is the reed. With the
wrong reed, we end up struggling with things like poor response in the upper and lower registers, an
unclear or unfocused sound a lack of resonance or projection, and the list goes on and on. First, let's
get familiar with the various parts of the reed. The most important parts are the table, the heel,
the vamp, the tip, and the heart. Knowing these parts will become more important once you start
learning about maintaining and adjusting reeds. How do we choose the right reed? First
look for obvious visible flaws in the tip and throw out reeds that are chipped cracked or split. Also avoid reeds that are too hard or too
soft. A reed that's too hard will often cause you to tighten the embouchure and bite or
pinch, and will usually sound very heavy or airy. On the other hand, a reed that's too soft
won't provide enough resistance to project and can sound very thin and buzzy. While there's no science to choosing the right
reed, these basic guidelines are a good place to start. Over time you'll learn more about what works
best for you, and refine your personal preferences. Once you've found a good reed, it's important
that you break it in properly. Reeds will always perform best and last longest after a gradual
break-in period which will seal the cane and make the reed more stable. Today, I'd like to take
you through the process for breaking in a reed. When you first take your reed out of the box,
you'll need to get it wet. When I'm just starting to break in a reed, I always prefer to let it soak
in a glass of water for about a minute, or just long enough that the entire reed is soaked through.
Be very careful to not let the reed sit in the water for too long. A waterlogged reed won't have
the vibrance or responsiveness that we're looking for. Limit your playing on a new read to just a
minute or two each day for about a week or so. It's important that you even play on reeds
that don't immediately sound like good reeds. During the break-in period, reeds can
change drastically from day to day, and you never really know which one is
going to turn out better than the other. Keep rotating the reeds you're breaking in and
gradually increase your playing time on each reed as they begin to seal up, always being careful
to not allow any water to oversaturate the reed. During this process, it can also be helpful to put
light markings on your reeds to help you identify their characteristics. Iuse an s for soft reads h
for hard and a star for ones that are fairly good. Develop your own system so you remember. Now
the reason we do all of this is to allow the cane to seal. This helps to make the reed more
consistent each time we play on it. If you take a reed straight out of the box, wet it and then
blow through the end, you can actually see that the cane is still porous. In general, it takes about
a week or so for the cane to seal up completely. There are a couple things you can do
to help speed up the sealing process. After a short playing session on each reed I'll
usually rub the back of it on a sheet of paper and use either just my thumb or my
thumb and a sheet of paper to polish the top. When you do this, make sure
to be gentle and not push too hard. While the playing part of breaking in a reed
is extremely critical, how you store your reeds between sessions is equally if not more important,
so now let's talk about how to store your reeds. The key to good reed storage is to create
an environment where your reeds will never completely dry out. A reed that completely
dries out between playing sessions is much more susceptible to warping. There are many different
products designed for reed storage. Many of them will keep your reeds flat, but not all of them
will regulate the moisture, meaning that your reeds will still dry out. You can buy reed cases that
regulate the humidity, or you can make one yourself. It's relatively simple, and only requires some sort
of airtight case like a plastic food container and a method to keep moisture in the air, and for this
you can use a sponge, water pillow or a humidifier. To keep your reeds flat you can either use the
plastic sheaths the reeds come, in a plastic reed guard, or make your own out of glass or plexiglass
and some rubber bands. Regardless of what method you use to store your reeds, always make sure
that they're protected and not allowed to dry out completely. This will keep them playing more
consistently and will prolong the life of the reed. Whether you choose to sit or stand when you play,
your upper body should always be upright and relaxed. Here's a good exercise to check your
upper body posture: With your elbows pointed forward, grab the top of your ears with your hands
gently pull up on your ears and imagine there is a giant string attached to your spinal cord
that someone is pulling up towards the ceiling. Open up your elbows to the sides then let
go of your ears and slowly lower your arms. Notice how your rib cage feels nice and open. This
posture gives your lungs room to expand allowing you to take in as much air as you need. When you
play seated, your upper body posture is the same think of it as standing from the waist
up. Both feet should be flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart, and you should
sit on the front third of your chair. Now that you're sitting up with good posture,
bring the saxophone up to you. Adjust your neck strap so that you don't have to bend or
slouch for the mouthpiece to reach your mouth. The saxophone should come to you, you shouldn't
have to move to the saxophone. You can place the instrument either to the side or between
your legs, whichever is most comfortable. Most beginning students as well as tenor and baritone
players find it easiest to place it to the side. Lastly, adjust the angle of your mouthpiece
so that you don't have to tilt your head. The best hand position is one that allows your
hands to feel the most relaxed and natural. If your hands are free of tension and
you minimize the movement of your fingers, you're more likely to play
with better accuracy and speed. To find a good position, put your hand on your leg
and let it relax completely. Lift your arm up while letting your hand hang there. Notice the slight
curve that forms and how your hand lacks tension. This is essentially how your hand should look
and feel when you bring it up to your instrument As you press the keys, think about squeezing them
closed gently just enough for the pads to seal against the tone holes. When you press down or lift
your fingers do it quickly even if you are playing long notes. When lifting the keys, keep your fingers
as close to the keys as possible. I like to imagine that I put a tiny bit of super glue on my fingers
so that they'll stay connected to the pearls. Observe your posture and hand position in a mirror
and make a habit of being upright and relaxed. Careful attention to your finger motion can
drastically improve the accuracy of your technique. Having a great sound starts with a great
embouchure. Your embouchure is how you use your lips and facial muscles to hold the
mouthpiece in your mouth and direct air into the mouthpiece and through the saxophone.
Let's talk about how to form a proper embouchure. There are five key things to keep in mind:
the shape your lips make, keeping your chin flat and pointed, the pressure you use, your top
teeth placement, and your bottom teeth placement. Let's start with the first two. Say oo. This
puts your lips in the perfect round shape and keeps your chin flat. Next, it's important to
use the proper pressure. You want your embouchure to be relaxed, but also firm and supported. Think
about your lips being like a rubber band that's been wrapped around the reed in the mouthpiece
providing equal pressure. A trick to achieving this is to think more about the pressure coming
in from the sides rather than from above and below. Now let's talk about where your
top teeth go. As a general rule, you should place your top teeth right about where
the reed starts to break away from the mouthpiece. Putting them here will allow
the reed to vibrate most freely. Not taking enough mouthpiece in will
produce a muffled sound without much resonance. Well if you take too much mouthpiece,
the sound will be crass and uncontrolled. One way to find this spot is to take a business
card and lightly slide it between the reed and the mouthpiece. When the card won't go any farther,
see where this corresponds to the top of the mouthpiece. This is where your top teeth should go.
The last part of forming the embouchure is where you put your bottom teeth. The bottom teeth should
rest under your bottom lip which acts as a cushion. Remember that ooh shape we talked about making
and be careful not to roll your bottom lip out or all the way in over your teeth. A lot of
beginning saxophonists will complain about biting, and this is almost always a result of rolling
the bottom lip in too far over the bottom teeth. If you do this, there is no support between your
teeth and the reed. If you take your finger and roll your bottom lip over your bottom
teeth, you can really feel the difference. One final and very important thing to remember
is that everyone's mouth and lips are shaped differently. don't worry if your embouchure doesn't
look exactly like somebody else's. Just remember the basics of the shape your lips form, keeping
your chin flat, having equal pressure all the way around, and your top and bottom teeth placement,
and you'll be on your way to a great embouchure One of the first things you have to do once you've
put your saxophone together is to tune it. You'll need to warm up your saxophone. If your instrument
is too cold it will sound flat. Warm it up by playing for a few minutes, or by fingering
a low B flat and blowing warm air into it. once the instrument is warmed up you're ready to
tune i like to tune to an f-sharp on top of the staff this is the most acoustically true note
on the instrument because of the placement of the second octave vent which is exactly half
the distance between the mouthpiece and the f tone hole to check if you're in tune take
out your tuner and sustain an f sharp pull your mouthpiece out if the note
is sharp or push it in if you're flat remember that by moving the mouthpiece you're
actually changing the length of the instrument so it affects every note on the saxophone once you tune your instrument it's still
not going to play every note in tune in general lower notes tend to be flat and upper
notes tend to be sharp but every saxophone in mouthpiece combination is different so check
the tendencies of each note carefully with a tuner you me without question breathing and air support are the
most important aspects of playing the saxophone having poor air support will hinder your ability
to play long phrases negatively impact your tone articulation and dynamic control and can
lead to fatigue problems with your embouchure let's talk about a few key things
that will help your breathing let's start by breathing in breathing normally is
subconscious and uses only a small portion of your lungs being aware of how we breathe and utilizing
our lungs is the first step to good air support it's vital that you start with good
posture you want your lungs to have as much space as possible to expand here's an
exercise to make sure you're doing it right imagine your lungs as a glass of water
that you're filling up from the bottom put your hands on the sides of
your stomach while you breathe in and see if you feel them pushing out take a proper breath now by mouthing
po as you inhale through your mouth never breathe through your nose you won't be
able to breathe as quickly or as efficiently as you would through your mouth as you breathe
in stay relaxed and avoid raising your shoulders now let's talk about breathing out there
are two types of air that you can use when blowing into the saxophone warm air and cool
air to feel the difference place your hand in front of your mouth and blow on
it like you're blowing out candles this is cool air now pretend that you
are steaming up a window or your glasses it's not good enough to just blow into the
mouthpiece you have to support from your core imagine you're about to get punched in
the stomach see how your body reacts these are the same muscles you should
be engaging when you are playing here are two different exercises you
can use to work on your air support inhale for one count and exhale while making
a hissing sound time yourself to see how long you can exhale be sure to push as long as
you can engaging your core the whole time hold a sheet of paper against a wall and see if
you can keep it there by just using your breath breathing properly and understanding
breath support is the foundation of everything we do as saxophonists
always revisit these three key breathing fundamentals whether you're
a beginner or more advanced student my the most important part of starting the
tone is understanding the role of your air and your tongue here's an analogy i
like to use to help illustrate this think of a faucet when you turn a faucet on you're
opening a valve to allow the water to come out the water is always right there behind the
valve trying to get through but when the valve is closed it's unable to on the saxophone your
air is the water and your tongue is the valve the reed vibrating is what makes the sound on the
saxophone if the reed isn't allowed to vibrate there's no sound your tongue is what controls this
now let's walk through the steps for starting the tone first place your tongue on the tip of the
reed where your tongue actually hits the reed will vary from player to player but in general the reed
should hit the tongue just a bit behind the tip be careful you're not putting too much of your
tongue on the reed or just using the tip of your tongue farther back on the reed too much tongue on
the reed will result in a very aggressive initial attack while just using the tip farther back
on the reed won't allow you to get the clarity or definition that we're after now that you've
got your tongue on the reed start blowing air obviously there won't be any sound because your
tongue is preventing the reed from vibrating though it should feel like a lot of
pressure has built up behind your tongue the last step is to remove your tongue from the
reed to release the air and produce the sound i use an exercise that i call interruptions to
help get the feel for what it's like to keep the air moving while my tongue is on the reed
and to develop a finer control of the technique set your metronome to quarter and equal 60
and begin the sound as we just discussed next bring your tongue back to the original
position by only slightly dampening the reed's vibration while still blowing air through
the mouthpiece this is not unlike the way you would ghost a note in a jazz style continue this
exercise all the way up the octave and back down so so all articulations need to be
supported by a good airstream think of legato as a bump in the airstream the
sound should never stop the tongue should barely touch the reed and the consonant you think of
should be something like la or lu if you say la la la over and over you'll notice that the ah
sound never seems to go away it's just bumped by the l sound when you use legato articulations
you should feel when the reed touches your tongue set your metronome to quarter note equals 60
and play a long tone articulating every beat you should hear the sound
sustained throughout the exercise gradually speed it up so you're articulating
eights triplets and finally sixteenths you can do the same exercise with
scales but to get the best feel for legato articulation start with long
tones throughout the range of the horn if you're thinking of staccato articulations
you'll want a very quick attack and release giving you space between each note think of
staccato as a tat sound you want to interrupt the airstream as quickly as possible remember that
staccato doesn't mean short it means separate it so for example a staccato 16th note will generally
not be the same length as a staccato quarter note put your metronome at quarter note equals
100 and try playing staccato quarters you should hear the same amount
of space between each note again transition to eighths triplets and finally
sixteenths paying particular attention to the space between the notes as well as the attack on
the notes try to avoid accenting certain notes your goal is uniformity obviously there are nearly
infinite nuances possible through articulation practicing a good legato and staccato will provide a great foundation to work toward
other more subtle articulations no this do sometimes practicing slowly isn't
enough to clean up a tricky passage here's an exercise for improving
a fast difficult passage of music set your metronome to a slow tempo first play
the passage with a dotted eighth sixteenth rhythm then reverse the rhythm to 16th dotted eighth next play the excerpt in triplets it's
especially important that you subdivide the triplet evenly ensuring that each
note has exactly the same duration finally finish with the original
rhythm at a slower tempo you may find it helpful to break
up a long passage into smaller ones so use the same method to isolate
a single interval or group of notes changing the rhythms is a simple way to improve
the clarity and evenness of a difficult passage use these concepts anytime you are struggling
to play things evenly always remember to not just practice to get something right
rather play it so that you can't get it wrong a fast single tongue is the result of two
things a short rebound distance from the reed and coordinating the tongue with the
airstream here's a quick exercise to ensure that your tongue remains close to the reed set your metronome to quarter note equals 60
articulate two notes as quickly as you can and repeat with each click of the metronome
always keep your air moving during this exercise it's impossible to see exactly what's happening
inside of your mouth when you articulate therefore it must be felt when it comes to
great articulation it truly is less is more do like vocalist string players and flutists
saxophonists use vibrato in a variety of musical settings vibrato can be an effective tool to
help add shape and direction to a musical phrase vibrato is simply a wave in the sound to produce
this on the saxophone first start with your normal embouchure so that the pitch is in tune then
slightly release the pressure on your bottom lip by lowering your jaw finally return your jaw
to its original position it's critical that you always return the pitch back up at the end of the
vibrato or else the note will not sound in tune try this movement slowly at
first to get a feel for it if you're not using a steady column of air
you'll find that you can't maintain the sound when you lower your jaw you only want
the vibrato to go below the pitch not above because you never want to bite
above the normal jaw position set your metronome to quarter note equals 60
play a middle f and try undulating eighth notes practice this until it becomes comfortable and
you're able to produce an even wave at that speed next do the same with triplets and 16th notes the end result should sound like a
natural spiraling wave in the sound now that you know how to create the vibrato
it's important that you know both how to use it and when vibrato isn't something you want
all the time often when playing in unison with other instruments especially ones that don't
use vibrato a straight tone works best also your vibrato shouldn't be turned on or off like a
light switch use it to enhance the sound and give direction by varying the speed depth and
intensity the best way to develop your vibrato concept is to listen to other musicians who play
with good vibrato over time you'll imitate what you hear and figure out how you like to do it
the more you listen and refine your concept of vibrato the better you'll get at adapting
it to various musical styles and settings so so hmm voicing refers to the shape of the oral
cavity specifically your tongue position when playing the saxophone it contributes to
many things including playing with a great sound being flexible with your intonation and
playing in the altissimo range here are a few exercises that will help us get in touch
with what's happening inside of our mouse while voicing start by whistling the lowest
note you can next gliss up to your highest note pay specific attention to what's happening inside
your mouth as you whistle higher you should notice that the back of your tongue goes up and almost
touches the roof of your mouth this simple concept is the key to understanding how voicing
works let's get more specific with the syllables we'll be applying to the saxophone
put your hand around your throat and say uh you should also notice like in the previous
exercise that your tongue goes from being very low to almost touching the roof of your
mouth now let's add the saxophone finger a low f and begin the sound by saying
ka instead of using your regular articulation now do the same thing except
start the sound by saying key don't be surprised when the note automatically
jumps up the octave this is what's supposed to happen remember that all it took to do this
was to change the vowel you used which changed the shape inside of your mouth that's the
basic concept now let's work on refining it we've already talked about the basic concept
of voicing and once we understand this the next step is to start developing
some flexibility and control we can do this a couple of ways let's just
start by playing on the mouthpiece alone playing on the mouthpiece alone is good for
two reasons first by taking the saxophone out of the picture we're able to isolate the
technique and really dial in our control second it's going to ensure that we're using
the correct amount of embouchure pressure we can tell this by the note that sounds
on the mouthpiece on an alto mouthpiece you should hear a concert a if you're blowing
a b-flat it means your embouchure is too tight likewise if the note sounds below
an a your embouchure is too loose both of these things will affect how well the
saxophone responds for you that's a really good point if i ever feel that something
isn't quite right or settled in my playing going to the mouthpiece alone and making sure i'm
blowing that a really helps settle everything back into place practice these exercises sitting at the
piano so you're able to match the pitches exactly a tuner can also work but hearing the sound
and matching it is actually more important because we want to develop our ability to hear the
pitch before it sounds start by playing the a on the mouthpiece then by changing your tongue
position bend the pitch down by a half step the change in vowel shape in your mouth
should be something like if you were to say it's important to be sure that you're
not changing your embouchure in any way as you get better at this keep increasing
how far you're able to bend the pitch now let's put the mouthpiece on and
do what's called the front f trick this is the same concept we just worked on but now
we're going to use the saxophone instead of just the mouthpiece begin by fingering and playing
a front f next finger a front e return to f and then using your voicing bend the pitch down
to an e and back up to f do it slowly at first just to get the feel then try to do it with your
metronome set at quarter note equals 60. just like working with the mouthpiece alone gradually expand
your range and see how far you can bend the pitch finally remember that these exercises
are more about control and precision rather than speed it's not how fast you can do
them but how controlled that's most important a great resource for more exercises and
information about this concept is voicing an approach to the saxophone's third
register by donald sinta and denise stabney hmm oh playing in tune with others is an
essential skill for any musician but first we need to understand how intonation
works and the mathematical principles behind it there are two types of tuning systems
that you should be familiar with the first is equal temperament which
divides the octave into 12 equal parts making every half step interval equal this system
is a compromise allowing keyboard instruments to sound relatively in tune in more than one key
practicing and understanding equal temperament is useful to get yourself in the ballpark but
shouldn't be used in ensemble playing because the intervals won't sound in tune the other system
is called pure temperament sometimes called just intonation instead of breaking the octave into
12 equal parts each interval is adjusted based on what part of the chord you're playing so the
resulting harmony is free of waves the saxophone like any other non-keyboard instrument has the
flexibility to adjust each pitch it plays based on the harmonic context listen how to adjust the
interval of a major third so it sounds in tune the best way to practice this on
your own is to use a drone pitch many metronomes and tuners will sound a
pitch for you although any method will do as long as it's loud enough to hear while
you're playing you can even practice with your friends just make sure they can hold a
pitch very steady here's one exercise to try have one player produce the drone and the other
practice holding each pitch until it sounds in tune adjust each interval as quickly as you
can always listening down to the lowest note understanding the mathematics of intonation will
help you adjust so you sound in tune knowing what note you have in the chord can help you anticipate
which direction and how much you'll need to adjust the two most important things to remember
about intonation are to be flexible and to always be listening to those around you hey me me you altissimo is the upper range of the saxophone
above the highest palm keys high f or f sharp on most saxophones playing in this register used
to be considered an extended technique but for today's repertoire it's a necessity and for most
professional players it's part of the saxophone's normal range there are many fingerings we can
use for these notes but knowing the fingerings will not automatically allow you to play altissimo
in fact the fingerings aren't even that important watch as sergeant sacca sustains an altissimo
g-sharp while fingering an entire chromatic scale this is an extreme example but one that really
shows how unimportant altissimo fingerings can be it is however very important to develop
a good feel for the front f fingerings that bridge the gap between the palm keys and
the altissimo register these are the front e f f sharp and g fingerings try incorporating
these fingerings into your scale routine as well as gradually extending the range
of your scales into the altissimo i also like practicing the first five notes
of my major scales beginning on high b flat and of course you can always simply
isolate problem intervals and practice them slowly remember that while fingerings can
facilitate playing in the altissimo register the most important ingredients for success are
the voicing concepts you learn from practicing overtones and mouthpiece exercises and the
ability to hear each pitch before you play it wow i'd like to talk about one of the more
advanced techniques for the saxophone circular breathing is a method of playing
continuously without stopping for a breath this is done by storing a small amount of air in
the mouth allowing you to continue blowing into the instrument while inhaling through your nose
this technique has become an essential part of contemporary classical saxophone performance first
take a deep breath and fill your cheeks with air now exhale as much air as you can through
your nose but keep your cheeks puffed out breathe in and out through your nose a few
times while keeping the air in your cheeks this reservoir in your cheeks is what
you'll be using to circular breathe now exhale all your air from your nose and
follow with a forceful puff from the mouth using the air in your cheeks once you've mastered
the cheek puff you're well on your way now find a thin straw and a glass of water a coffee
stirring straw works great for this exercise put the straw in the water and fill your cheeks
with air just like before exhale through your nose and then blow bubbles using only the air in
your cheeks what came out before is a quick puff of air now comes out much more slowly because
of the straw next blow bubbles with the air in your cheeks and try to breathe in and out
through your nose allowing your lungs to fill when your cheeks are empty just allow them
to fill up again with the air in your lungs once your cheeks puff out again you'll
find you're using the air in your lungs now the trick is to be able to use the air in your
cheeks whenever you feel like you need a breath keep in mind you're not actually
breathing in and out at the same time it's sort of an illusion you'll have to use
your cheek muscles to push out the air while you breathe in through your nose it may take a
while to get it but once it clicks it'll seem easy now you're ready to try it on the saxophone
practice a normal long tone while puffing your cheeks and pulling them back in
several times just to get a feel for it then try to make some sound using just the
air in your cheeks the goal is to avoid the hiccup in the sound that comes from when you
switch from cheek reservoir to lung power you'll find there are certain passages and ranges
where circular breathing is virtually impossible circular breathing should not be noticeable and
should only be used to improve the musical phrase slap tonguing is a percussive effect achieved
by creating suction between the tongue and the reed and then allowing the reed to slap back onto
the mouthpiece there are two basic types of slap tongue the pitched or closed slap where the mouth
remains closed and you hear the tone resonate and the open slap where you open your mouth
quickly and primarily hear a percussive effect with very little tone behind it today we'll
just talk about the more common closed slap the closed slap is achieved by creating
suction on the reed with your tongue start by practicing this with the read off the
mouthpiece some people say a larger reed works better so if you have a tenor or berry reed
you can feel free to use that now stick out your tongue and create some suction on the reed so
it sticks to your tongue you're basically wrapping your tongue around the reed pull the reed away
from the tongue and you should hear a slight pop during this exercise you probably had about
half the reed in your mouth to get the suction you'll want to work on creating the suction on a
smaller area of the reed using less of your tongue work on this for a while then put
the reed back on the mouthpiece create the suction and allow the
reed to pop back on the mouthpiece that's the slap though this technique
might seem awkward right now the more time you spend on
it the easier it will become the goal is to be able to insert slap tongue
notes as desired without changing your embouchure slap tonguing is considered an advanced
technique and should be approached with the guidance of a private teacher it should only
be used when the music specifically asks for it do double tonguing is a skill that saxophonists don't
use all the time but one that can be helpful to have in band because we often play with the brass
even a great single tongue sometimes isn't enough and in situations like these that knowing how
to double tongue can be extremely beneficial double tonguing is done by alternating
between two syllables ta and ka the ta is irregular articulation and the k is an
articulation made by the back of your tongue here's an exercise to help you get a feel for it set your metronome to quarter not equal 60 and
play legato quarter notes on a single pitch alternating between the ta and k articulations focus on making the two
articulations sound as similar as you can it might feel like you have to exaggerate the k a
bit to get it to match the tu this is the key once you get comfortable with the basic technique you
can start to refine it just like working on your single tongue start slowly and gradually increase
the tempo here's an exercise that i like to use one trick to developing a smooth double tongue
is to try and play exercises like this as legato as possible thinking about playing legato
will keep your air moving forward and really helps you refine the transition between the two
articulations as you continue to develop your double tongue it's important that you don't just
practice eighth note and sixteenth note patterns exercises and triplets are extremely beneficial
and can actually help you increase your speed dramatically since they force you to begin every
other downbeat with a different articulation oh while there's no substitute for a good
single tonguing technique knowing how to double tongue can be useful when you need more
speed ideally you shouldn't be able to tell the difference between your single tongue and your
double tongue practicing slowly and refining your technique with some of the exercises we
talked about will help you achieve this goal since every player's hands are unique and
there are several slightly different designs for saxophone palm keys it's important to
understand how your hands work with the palm keys on your instrument for some people your
hand may actually press the keys with the palm and for others it may be part of
the finger closer to the knuckle there are also aftermarket rubber or metal
risers designed to make the reach a little easier and you can have a customizer built
out of cork by a good repair person regardless you'll need to find a way to reach
the palm keys without changing your hand position practice very slowly in the mirror and pay
special attention to where the key hits on your hand striving for consistency practice all
your scales full range up to high f or f sharp also practicing them in thirds fourths and fifths
you'll likely find that the palm key sections are the most difficult parts of any scale so
practice them slowly the more you understand how your body works with your instrument the
more control you'll have when playing taking note of how your palm keys work with your hands
is a great way to improve your upper register the low register can pose challenges
to both response and intonation because we're blowing through most or all
of the saxophone's tube proper embouchure and air support are critical to getting the
low register to respond at any dynamic level for fast passages precise and accurate
finger movement is also important if the right keys don't open and close at the
same time low notes won't speak slow repetitive practice is needed to develop precision especially
in the low register also the lowest notes on the instrument use the pinky cluster keys which
require rolling the pinky between multiple keys slowly practice awkward intervals like low
c sharp to b b to b flat and e flat to c gradually build up the strength and dexterity
needed to navigate the pinky keys here's a tip for low b to be flat i simply use my pinky to
nudge the low b flat key down from the roller you may notice your hands getting tired especially
if you haven't used these keys much before don't overdo it or injure yourself if your
hands start getting sore stop for a while and revisit these exercises later though
we don't use the low register all the time it's still important that we work on it over time
it should become as fluid as the rest of the horn check out books like the saxophonist workbook
by larry thiel and trent kenniston's daily studies for more great exercises to
develop your facility in this range we wanted to take a moment to share with you
some things we consider essential for you to have in your musician's toolbox a metronome
loud enough to be heard over normal dynamics a chromatic tuner that sounds various pitches a
read guard or safe storage method for your reeds cork grease a reed knife and high
grit sandpaper for balancing reeds a small flat head screwdriver and a pencil
you may find some other things that you like to carry with you but this list is a great
place to start now that you have the right tools the best advice we can give any musician is
to practice often and don't practice mistakes practicing is essentially a training session where
you teach your mind and body how to do something and though it's okay to make mistakes if you
repeat them you're essentially training yourself to play those mistakes use a practice routine but
vary it from day to day to keep yourself engaged your routine should include a up
made up of breathing exercises attacks and releases and long tones scales
and articulation exercises as well as etudes and music with everything you practice learn
it slowly and gradually increase the tempo never practice faster than you can play cleanly
or sacrifice sound or musicianship for speed that's right you should never just work on the
notes always play with direction and musicality regardless of the tempo or what you're playing
the best players always practice as if they're performing we can't emphasize enough that
there is no substitute for practice time there are no shortcuts or easy fixes when learning
an instrument and only you can do the work embrace the joy of learning how
to play your instrument every day we hope you find these tips helpful but it's best
to find a private teacher to meet with regularly blue foreign have you ever noticed how different middle c sharp
and d sound even though they're right next to each other on the staff the middle c sharp usually
sounds really thin and small while middle d is much darker and heavier this is because the c
sharp uses a very short tube while the d uses a very long one this is what we call the break
so how do we keep the tone quality consistent and make sure both notes always speak voicing can
help if we direct the air in a way that minimizes the differences between the two notes in effect
making the c sharp sound slightly darker or the d slightly brighter try isolating middle c to d
and middle c sharp to d and practicing them alone paying special attention to how both notes sound
and respond here's an exercise to work on this air support is also extremely
important because playing from one note to the other creates a sudden
dramatic change in the length of tube any time this happens we have to use enough
air support to fill up the longer tube otherwise that note might not speak keep
this in mind anytime you play over the brake with some practice playing over the
brakes should sound natural and seamless me me if you're a beginner you've probably
learned the most common fingerings but if we only use these fingerings we end
up with some awkward problems to overcome namely cross fingerings these cross fingerings
include intervals like a to b flat b to c and f to f sharp and each of them can be
difficult to play cleanly without using alternate fingerings for b-flat we have two
options the bis key is depressed with the index finger along with the first key and
can be useful when playing from g to b-flat the lowest side key is great for trilling
between a and flat and also cleans up the interval between b flat and c the second side key
is used for c and allows us to play from b to c while avoiding the cross fingering between the
index and middle fingers the alternate f sharp key is pressed with the right ring finger and serves
the same purpose when moving between f and f sharp these alternate fingerings should make many
challenging passages easier and over time you should become as comfortable with them
as you are with the rest of the instrument middle c sharp can be a troublesome note on
the saxophone for two reasons first because all the keys are open it has a very different tone
quality than all the other notes second on many saxophones this note can be very flat here's a
fingering that can help with both of these things press the octave key and push the g
key with your left hand ring finger that's it this is the c sharp fingering that
i use all the time and unless i'm playing something extremely fast i'll also use it in
most technical passages be careful because this fingering doesn't work on all saxophones
and might even lower the pitch on some models but for the horns it does work on it's a great
way to make your middle c sharp sound better uh it we've all experienced a sticky g
sharp or low c sharp key at some point and possibly in some fairly embarrassing ways
but as saxophonists it's a fact of life for us and something we have to learn to deal with
so how can we help prevent this from happening a quick fix for a sticky g sharp or low
c sharp key is to take a dollar bill fold it and stick it between the pad and the
tone hole and while pushing the pad down lightly pull the dollar bill out this will remove
any moisture that is causing the key to stick it's a very simple fix but one that will
usually work when you run into this issue have you ever tried to play a low b flat b or
c sharp only to find that it barely speaks if you're having this issue one thing to check is
the adjustment screw that closes your g-sharp key most modern saxophones have adjustment screws
that close the biss and g-sharp keys when the right-hand stack is depressed and also one
that closes the low c sharp pad with the low b and b flat keys if these adjustment screws are
too loose they won't keep the pads down when we need them to if they're too tight they'll
prevent other keys from closing all the way use a flathead screwdriver to turn the screw
to where it just closes the key if you don't feel comfortable adjusting them yourself have a
repair person check them for proper adjustment there are many things you can do to help prevent
your reeds from warping but unfortunately a reed's fate is inevitable due to a constant process of
wetting drying and vibrating however a little work can save your best reads from a forceful shove
into a wall or music stand for a reed to work well it should lie completely flat against the
mouthpiece you can check if you read a ceiling properly by removing the neck placing it in your
palm and sucking out the air if you hear a pop after a few seconds you're good to go if you're
not able to create this suction and you hear air leaking from the sides of the mouthpiece your
reed is likely too dry or warped check the reed by placing it on a flat surface and see if it rocks
from side to side once you've identified that your reed is warped you'll need a flat surface like
glass or plexiglass and some fine grit sandpaper it's important that you only attempt to adjust
your reeds once they're completely broken in with a pencil lightly draw a straight line
horizontally along the center of the back of the reed right about where the edge
of the table of your mouthpiece would be you can often find the spot on well-used reeds
because you'll see a tiny u-shaped ridge on the reed press the reed gently against the sandpaper
and sand the back of the reed i either move in circles both clockwise and counter clockwise or do
some sort of figure eight you'll want to sand the reed just enough so that when you look at the back
of the reed your pencil mark is no longer there if the reed is still not sitting flat you can
repeat this process but be careful there's only so much cane you can take off of a
reed before it fails to vibrate properly you can always remove cane from the reed but you
can't put it back test the reed by playing on it before taking off more cane another thing that
can happen to your reeds over time is what we like to call the potato chip reed where the
tip becomes wavy to fix this make sure the reed is wet and smooth out the tip of the reed
on a flat surface with your thumb i typically use the table of my mouthpiece to do this play
on the reed for a minute or so and repeat this process you'll soon find your potato chip breed
has ironed itself out reeds are expensive and you want to get the most out of them so try
to fix a warped reed before you throw it away um playing chamber music or in an ensemble of
any kind is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling musical experiences you can
have i think we all agree that one of the greatest parts of our job is that we
get to play a saxophone quartet together working closely with the same musicians on
a consistent basis is really fun and over time you actually learn to communicate
with each other without even speaking so we thought we'd share with you a few of
our favorite tips for playing chamber music you can communicate a lot to another member of
the ensemble just by making eye contact with them in addition to eye contact using your body
language and gestures can help communicate entrances cutoffs and other landmarks in the music
speaking of entrances and cutoffs you can always tell how good a group is by paying attention to
how together they are at the beginnings and ends of notes breathing together when starting
any phrase is an easy way to make sure you all start at the same time an ensemble that
breathes together plays together know whether you have the melody or an accompanying figure in
general when you have the melody you'll want to play out a little bit but when you have an
accompanying figure you should play softer and underneath the melody just like you'll listen
horizontally to know whether or not you have the melody you should also be listening vertically
so you know which note in the chord you have developing your ear this way takes a lot
of the guesswork out of playing in tune since you're more aware of how you need
to adjust to sound in tune with the chord in a chamber group everyone's voice and opinion is
equally important be open to listening to others musical ideas even if it's not something you
think you do yourself always give an idea a shot there have been lots of times when we've all
been surprised at how well something worked even ideas that seemed odd to us at first how well
a group communicates musically can often be linked to how well they know each other personally
and how much trust they have in each other spend time just hanging out with the members
of your ensemble in a non-rehearsal setting getting together outside of rehearsal can also
be a fantastic time to listen to recordings of other great musicians and ensembles for example
when we were working on the beethoven quartet we regularly spent time together listening to the
goronery string quartet's recording of the piece and talking about how we could
incorporate some of their musical ideas into our own performance playing in a chamber
group is a lot like being in a relationship there will be ups there will be downs and you'll
continue to grow and evolve together remember all of these tips when you're starting your chamber
music journey but most of all remember that it's fun to make music with other people we hope
you've enjoyed these lessons on classical saxophone playing keep watching for some great
tips on jazz saxophone from the jazz ambassadors i'm master sergeant andrew
layton lead alto saxophone i'm sergeant first class joshua fox alto saxophone
i'm sergeant first class pat shook tenor saxophone i'm sergeant first class brad ferdanho tenor
saxophone and i'm staff sergeant dustin malek baritone saxophone we're the saxophone section of
the jazz ambassadors of the u.s army field band the following chapters discuss and demonstrate
how to play the saxophone in a jazz style in this portion of the saxophone standard you'll
hear some things that are similar to what you learned in the classical section and other things
that are quite different we've limited the topics discussed to the most relevant including
jazz embouchure jazz tone jazz articulations jazz feel and some differences in equipment
we'll also discuss the history of the big band saxophone section through some playing examples
and talk about each player's role in this section we hope to help you feel more comfortable as a
jazz player and to clear up any misconceptions you might have about playing jazz
saxophone thanks for watching learning how to articulate in jazz can be like
trying to put a puzzle together without having all the pieces in jazz band charts often the music
doesn't tell you which notes to tongue and which notes to slur most classical music is meticulous
when it comes to articulation but jazz is not jazz articulation leaves it to the player to decide
which notes to tongue and which notes to slur the difficult part is learning
how to make those decisions there is no handbook or style guide to walk you
through how to articulate the best way to learn is by listening to as many great jazz saxophonists as
you can and imitating them as closely as possible but here's a basic lesson on jazz articulation
that can serve as a starting point for beginners now because we're playing in a jazz style
my notes will be played with a swing feel i'll start by playing a b flat concert
scale up to the ninth scale degree which is one note above the octave and back
down a basic jazz articulation is to tongue the upbeats and slur into the downbeats
it's notated like this and sounds like this how heavy the swing feels depends on
the tempo of the chart the faster the chart the more even your eighth notes will
sound and the lighter your tongue should be the slower the chart the more
bouncy your eighth notes will be when practicing this keep your airstream full
and connected don't chop up the volume of sound based on tempo there's a variety of etude
and solo transcription books available that will help you learn how and when to tongue lenny
nehouse's etude books are a great place to start and finding transcription books that show
articulations can also be very helpful look for the jazz ambassadors video inside the
big band demonstrating jazz articulations and also watch the section i'm playing with a jazz
feel from the saxophone standard as they go hand in hand once you've spent time listening to
recordings of great jazz saxophonists and applied what you've learned to the charts you're playing
you'll begin to learn how to make decisions on your own about articulations hopefully you'll
notice a big improvement in playing simple jazz articulations and you can apply these techniques
to your own playing using these simple tips the saxophone was created to exist in the world
of classical music but it's also found a prominent place in the musical style of jazz you have
probably noticed that jazz tone is slightly different than the sound you produce when playing
classical music in this segment we'll be talking about developing a characteristic and personal
jazz saxophone tone ask any wind player the best way to improve tone production and their answer
will likely be long tones this is as simple as it sounds playing sustained notes in order to focus
on sound production here's an exercise for you to try start by playing a b natural in the staff at a
forte dynamic for as long as you can in one breath make sure you're breathing full from the bottom of
your abdomen i like to imagine that i'm breathing all the way from the bottom of my feet produce
a full and focused sound fill the room with it repeat the exercise going down
chromatically all the way to low b flat then play the b natural in the staff
again and go up chromatically to a palm key f playing long tones every day will improve many
aspects of your playing your tone will improve your armor will strengthen and when you play with
the tuner you'll learn the intonation tendencies of individual notes on the horn developing as
a jazz player largely involves listening to and imitating players whose style you enjoy this
is how jazz musicians have always developed their own personal styles of playing first find a player
you want to emulate and listen to an improvised solo by that player until you can sing along with
it next imitate the player on your instrument ideally learning the solo by ear when studying
jazz conception like this it's essential not to forget the foundation of sound production you
learned studying classical saxophone with regard to developing a personal jazz style the great
jazz trumpeter clark terry has said imitate assimilate innovate this truly sums up the process
players use to develop a personal jazz style so maybe you've been playing saxophone for
a few years and your band director thinks you should join the jazz band you have little
or no experience with jazz and you have more questions than answers do i need a different
saxophone do i need one or two more mouthpieces do i need different reads the short answer
to these questions is probably not but maybe let me elaborate when playing jazz you are
often required to play with a louder sound than you would in other settings playing in
a small group with drums playing in a group of amplified instruments and playing in a big
band are a few situations that require more volume than you would want to use for playing
in a quartet or other chamber music setting hopefully by now you've learned that you the
player make the sound your placement of teeth and lips tongue and throat position
and most of all how you use your air are what create your personal sound those are
the most important variables although many people seem to be stuck on which saxophone or mouthpiece
are the best before you try different mouthpieces reeds and saxophones in an attempt to change your
sound experiment with changing your airstream rolling your lip in or out trying double lip embouchure to make
sure you aren't pinching off the sound and taking in more or less mouthpiece do you need a different saxophone most likely
you do not unless it's damaged beyond repair it's of utmost importance that your saxophone is
in good playing condition with no leaky pads this is important for playing saxophone in any style
do you need a different mouthpiece or different reeds maybe again if your mouthpiece or reeds
are chipped scratched or damaged in any way they are working against your efforts
to create your best saxophone sound if you can already play the full range of your
saxophone from a pianissimo to a fortissimo and control the intonation and tone quality especially
at the louder end of the spectrum your mouthpiece and recombination will probably work just
fine if not you might need to experiment with a larger tip opening and or harder read if your
band director has expertise in this area great if they have a box of different mouthpieces
you can try out even better i would suggest taking a private lesson with a saxophone teacher
who has different mouthpieces and reads you can try out private teacher will also likely have
some great advice on which mouthpiece sizes and read strengths would be best for you so i
think you're beginning to get the picture now you the saxophonist produce the tone your
personal tone your mouthpiece reed and saxophone should help not prevent you from creating your
best tone as long as you can control the tone any saxophone mouthpiece read or ligature is
suitable for playing jazz the embouchure is one of the most important aspects of playing the
saxophone regardless of age or experience level with this in mind it's not surprising that we're
often asked about the embouchure and what effect it has on achieving a characteristic jazz sound
the jazz ambassadors work with many young students who have learned shortcuts to adjace sound which
modifies their embouchure in a way that causes problems in their daily performance it is vital
to develop a strong fundamentally sound embouchure and not to manipulate it with bad habits
the embouchure is directly connected to your long-term success on the instrument
and a fundamentally incorrect embouchure can lead to problems with tone production
intonation physical discomfort and frustration remember regardless of the musical style we choose
to play we are all students of the saxophone first now is a perfect time to examine your
embouchure to make sure it's not causing problems in your plane it's especially important
in jazz to remain relaxed because many stylistic elements depend on it the easiest way to check
the firmness of your embouchure is to work with the mouthpiece by itself the mouthpiece of each
saxophone makes a specific pitch when played and practicing with a piano or tuner will
help you make any necessary adjustments the alto saxophone mouthpiece for instance
will sound a concert a when played by itself the tenor will sound a g and the baritone a d check your pitch against an a on
the piano if your pitch is too high you may be using too much pressure
and should relax your embouchure if your pitch is low you may need
to work toward a firmer embouchure depending on the results of this test you
may find that an adjustment is necessary continue to use the mouthpiece and piano until
you have developed sufficient muscle memory to consistently play an a on your own it will
take time to make those adjustments so be patient remember the embouchure is central to your
success take it slowly and let the muscles learn and strengthen over time in the end the
only way to develop a characteristic jazz sound is through the combination of focused listening
a strong embouchure and appropriate equipment any modification of the embouchure to achieve a
so-called jazz tone will most likely lead to big problems and should be avoided instead take your
time and let your ears shape the sound for you feel is the product of a personal sense of time
swing and articulation phrases like swinging laid back and on top of the beat all refer to feel
everyone has their own feel and the best way to change or improve yours is to listen to and
imitate the masters as discussed in our pro tips video on articulation swing feel is determined
by note length and articulation different types of swing feels are appropriate for different
tempos genres and style periods for example eighth notes at slower tempos typically have more of a
triplet feel than eighth notes at faster tempos take a listen to lily's song from the jazz
ambassadors educational project perspectives it's a slower tune and the eighth notes
have more of a bouncy triplet feel the faster the tempo the more evenly your eighth
notes will be played for a great example of this listen to the jazz ambassadors recording of
knowledge from the legacy of mary lou williams cd musicians of the bebop arrow were known for
writing and playing tunes at blistering tempos and their lines are often played with a straighter
swing feel just like you heard on the recording a simple way to start practicing this concept is to play scales with a metronome
at both slow and fast tempos when playing in a big band it's important to be
familiar with the various feels of many different bands and their respective sections as you
will hear in our playing examples our section adapts to the stylistic differences native
to each composer and era as well as to the sections and lead players every great saxophone
section has their own feel and it's important to listen to and imitate these sections the
way you would the masters of your instrument the history of the big band saxophone
section goes back to the 1920s clarinets were the first woodwinds used in
jazz and eventually the tenor saxophone became the instrument of choice in early jazz
bands with the popularity of large jazz ensembles in the early 30s bands like fletcher
henderson's jazz orchestra and benny carter's orchestra began to feature arrangements
for three and four part saxophone sections one of the most popular big bands of the 1930s was
benny goodman's listen as the jazz ambassador's saxophone section plays an excerpt of fletcher
henderson's arrangement of king porter stomp written for benny goodman's band the style of
the section is idiomatic of the period short notes slight quiver of vibrato from the section
and a warm almost classical sound from the group food just a few years later duke ellington's saxophone
section became the sound to emulate for every jazz band players like johnny hodges ben webster
and harry carney came to define what would be the ellington saxophone sound we will now
play duke's famous cottontail saxophone solely listen for the section's big attacks vibrato and full section sound throughout the eighth
notes are starting to swing a little bit more than the fletcher henderson example but are not
quite what we would play today as swung eights foreign one of the most prominent big bands
of the 1940s was the stan canton orchestra kenton's bands were also some of the
largest jazz orchestras ever assembled and their saxophone sections had a sound and style
all their own here's a solely from a kenton ballot arrangement street of dreams notice the complete
lack of vibrato along with a heavy breath accent on all of the 16th notes and triplets both
hallmarks of the kenton's saxophone sound hmm blue the count basis saxophone sections of the 1950s
and 60s were the epitome of the jazz saxophone section sound writing for sax sections was
becoming more and more involved and the limitations of what could be done with saxophones
in a big band setting were completely redefined players like marshall royal eddie lockjaw davis
frank foster and frank west became household names for anyone wanting to play saxophone in a
big ban we're going to play as solely by frank foster on his chart who me listen to the bounce
of the eighth notes almost a dotted 8th 16th swing reminiscent of the stride piano players
that count basie came up with in kansas city this swing feel is necessary when playing anything
by the bassy band note also the section vibrato on anything longer than a quarter note along with
the scoops and super short staccato quarter notes from the late 1960s through the present day the
pinnacle of the big band saxophone section has resided at the village vanguard jazz club
in new york city where the vanguard jazz orchestra performs on monday nights this band
founded by thad jones and mel lewis continues the tradition of the strong big band saxophone
section players like dick oates gary smolyan joe lovano and pepper adams have played with or still
play with this fantastic group the solely writing for this group written by jones and others set the
bar even higher for what could be done in a big band saxophone section jones's chart three-in-one
is an important part of the big band tradition you'll hear a little bit of everything on this
one strong attacks heavy swing full volume from each member of the section and a never quit
attitude from beginning to end i like to say that if you're not out of breath by the end of a thad
jones saxophone solely you didn't play it right boo oh jazz ambassadors will be discussing how each
part of the section has a specific defined role and what exactly those roles are each member of
the saxophone section has a distinct and important job to ensure that the section sounds just
right if any one member doesn't follow the road map for the role that he or she is playing it can
destroy the sound and cohesiveness of the section as the members of the jazz ambassador's
saxophone section explain what their roles are you'll see how we all work together to
achieve the best section sound possible the lead alto player in any saxophone
section has to be in charge of the section everyone in your section must listen to you
for dynamics style swing feel and time you must understand all the various styles
one can encounter in a big band chart from fletcher henderson to more modern styles
like you might hear from today's composers you need to have your ears open at all times is
your second alto matching your pitch and vibrato is your lead tenor playing too loudly for the
section is your baritone copying your eighth note style constant listening is a must above all
be consistent always do your best to play things the same way every time if you're constantly
changing things up how can you expect your section to follow you the more consistently you
play the easier it is for the others to match you as the voice nearest to the lead alto the
primary role of the second alto player is to match the lead alto style at all times this
will vary in degree depending on the chart and direction from the lead alto but you always need
to listen actively and follow the lead even on a chart that dictates a more soloistic approach for
the lead alto a good second player will match the lead's inflection slightly softening the lead
alto's interpretation against the sections matching style is also necessary when the
second player is called on to play lead unless you are playing lead throughout the
chart it's your responsibility to keep your style consistent with the style established
by the lead alto to be successful on this chair you need to have one ear glued to
the lead player at all times and listen listen listen the more you listen the easier your
job will be and the better this section will sound the primary role of the first tenor in the
jazz saxophone section is to support the lead alto player's musical decisions when not
playing with the rest of the saxophone section you'll often double a trumpet or trombone part
listen back and try to blend and match style with those instruments as more often than
not they cannot hear you to match your style during unison passages the tenor saxophone
should be the lead voice in the section to balance the overall sound the second tenor sax has
a multi-faceted role in the jazz saxophone section first and foremost the second tender player
should always actively listen to the lead alto being voiced towards the bottom of the section
the second tenor along with a baritone creates a foundation of a strong and cohesive section sound
the second tenor also sometimes plays in unison with other instruments such as third trombone so
listen back to the brass as well as the lead alto traditionally in big band music the berry player
divides his or her time playing with either the saxophone section or the bass instruments the
berry provides the foundation for the saxophone section it has the lowest range of any saxophone
in this section and is usually voiced that way in saxophone solely's the berry is often written in
unison with the lead alto this presents a unique intonation challenge since you are playing the
same notes one octave away from the highest voice dustin can you can you play those those three bars at 125 real quick just so i can hear what
you're what you're doing yes let's do it just go ahead and play it by yourself one
time so i can hear how you're all right okay let's do it let's do
it together one time just a little bit bouncier ready one two i want two yeah good the rest of the time the berry is
playing in unison with the base and the base trombone this means you're trying to balance
your sound with two of the loudest and most powerful instruments in the ensemble when playing
parts with the bass instruments it's essential to listen back to your bass trombonist and across the
ensemble to the bassist for balance dynamically it's easy to get too wrapped up in trying to play
the dynamics exactly as they're printed and forget to listen to the section you're currently playing
with for dynamic cues don't fall into this trap as a general rule i try to play the
strong version of the written dynamics this isn't to say you should just ignore the given
dynamic markings and play loudly all the time whether you're playing pianissimo or fortissimo
you are the foundation of the section and along with the other base instruments the foundation
of the band following these steps and laying out simple guidelines for the individual parts
will have a huge impact on the success of your saxophone section never settle for mediocrity your
saxophone section's goal should be to listen to one another and work together i hope you gained a
little more insight into how the jazz ambassador saxophone section thinks and works together
remember you must work as a team always work together to achieve the best section sound thanks
for watching the saxophone standard by the us army field band's concert band and jazz ambassador
saxophone sections studying a musical instrument is a lifelong pursuit and we recommend seeking
a private teacher to guide you on that journey regardless of your ability level or playing
style check out our website armyfieldband.com for additional resources including reference
recordings and additional educational videos um uh bye oh
