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 Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 3:10 am
I've been trying to teach myself to play the Tenor Sax for around two months now. I have fingerings down but some of the low notes refuse to come out. (It never squeaks, just jumps up an octave) Unfortunately I don't know enough about the Sax to know if its a problem with my Embouchure or a problem with the Sax.
Any suggestions? ninja
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 2:25 pm
until you're familiar with the sax, always assume first that it's a problem with you because it most likely is. since you're a clarinet player, i assume, you're probably squeezing way too hard on the mouthpiece. loosen up, and put even pressure around the entire mouthpiece....think about how a rubberband would sit around the mouthpiece, and try to make your mouth like that. also, go up a little further on the mouthpiece, you're probably playing at the tip. you'll get a better sound if you're closer to the middle.
p.s. open up your throat a lot.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 4:24 pm
im a clarinet player so you usally tense up and the note comes out all the time so for a tenor i would say check your reed, check your ombashure and lossen up an fix the neck strap
and if you can i dont know if this for just sax but pull in and out your mouthpiece
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:40 pm
Thank you both very much. 3nodding
I'll try to do that when I get a chance to practice.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:44 pm
You have to loosen your jaw on the low notes.
biggrin <|
like so
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:45 pm
greendr-pepper and if you can i dont know if this for just sax but pull in and out your mouthpiece thats only for tuning. Loosen the jaw and it comes out better i played the bari sax for a while, differant fingerings, same concept.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 8:40 pm
Well the biggest mistake here,you should have done Alto Saxaphone first before tenor,big mistake im sorry you just dont skip to tenor if it is your first time playing a sax, and of course it is going to take much time to learn.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:48 pm
KillingOurAngel greendr-pepper and if you can i dont know if this for just sax but pull in and out your mouthpiece thats only for tuning. Loosen the jaw and it comes out better i played the bari sax for a while, differant fingerings, same concept. Yeah, my director's always telling me to lower my jaw and pull in or out with my mouthpiece to adjust a bit. It takes a while, but once you get the hang of it, it gets better.
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:19 pm
I'm a clarinet-tenor double-er, too. Your problem is pretty much what everyone else said; your emboucher is probably too tight and clarinet-light. Relax it. Open your throat and use warm air on the low notes, and make sure you're using ENOUGH air. Having the notes come out a bit loud is better than not at all. zylem X Well the biggest mistake here,you should have done Alto Saxaphone first before tenor,big mistake im sorry you just dont skip to tenor if it is your first time playing a sax, and of course it is going to take much time to learn. Learning first alto isn't necessary. It may be more difficult to go straight to tenor because its size makes it necessary to use more air, but alto isn't going to make it much easier. Getting two new instruments instead of just one (even if they're rentals or school-owned) is also probably a bit of a pain...
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:05 pm
zylem X Well the biggest mistake here,you should have done Alto Saxaphone first before tenor,big mistake im sorry you just dont skip to tenor if it is your first time playing a sax, and of course it is going to take much time to learn. I agree with this to a degree. If you want to master fingerings before stretching your hand (right, that is) too far and hurting your fingers (it will happen with a lot of playing time, you're used to the small size of the clarinet), play alto for a little while. I do NOT recommend it because of the key differences. Clarinet and tenor are both in Bb, and alto sax is in Eb. Two professional sax players told me to go from clarinet to tenor first because of this reason. I switched from clarinet to tenor last year and I'm doubling up in symphonic next semester. I understand your difficulty. I know everyone says loosen your jaw a lot, which might seem weird (it is to me, I've never heard that). What I've heard is drop your jaw. Let the air from your lungs fill your esophagus and put a really full stream of air in for the lower notes. If your band is doing an exercise that you can take down an octave, practice taking it down so you can get some more experience with those low ones. Are you noticing a squeak when you play high G? That's natural too, but not for everyone. Also when you're playing higher notes, try to keep your embouchre the same. If you've only been playing a little while, don't tighten up when you get up to say, high F. The really high one, that is. Also here's a fun fact: If you're playing a low Bb, turning your horn horizontally can sometimes get out a low A. At least it does for all the tenors in my band. smile
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Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:00 pm
I saw this topic and I was wondering if someone could help me. I'm a clarinet and I've been teaching myself tenor sax for the past month, but I've noticed that whenever I play notes F, E, D, and C, it always magically switches to a higher octave. Is it just my embouchure, or is it an instrument problem?
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:29 pm
Howdy! I'm a clarinet-oboe-turned-bari-sax player. I just learned it this year for jazz band.
I had the same with going from a middle G, down. My band director said "More mouthpiece" all the time.
So that means EMBOUCHURE! Saxophone has a bigger mouthpiece than a clarinet's. So put the tip to the mouthpiece farther into your mouth (towards the back of your throat about to the middle-ish(at least for bari sax). And drop the draw and keep the pressure all around the mouthpiece. You shouldn't shove the mouthpiece in so much that the whole thing is in your mouth though.
The bari sax I played on was pretty crappy (it's borrowed), so before the rehearsal I had to warm up... A LOT, about 5-10 minutes of blowing air through the horn. Keep the air speed of breathing in the same, but you may have to strengthen your diaphragm a lot more because of the bigger instrument and whatnot.
Hope some of this helps! And good luck with the sax!
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 5:27 am
Princess Zathura I saw this topic and I was wondering if someone could help me. I'm a clarinet and I've been teaching myself tenor sax for the past month, but I've noticed that whenever I play notes F, E, D, and C, it always magically switches to a higher octave. Is it just my embouchure, or is it an instrument problem? What you need to do is open your throat, I know it sounds weird, but trust me it will bring out the dark, round sound you are looking for in a Tenor sax sound. And when I say to open your throat, try to imagine you have a tennis ball stuck in there, but it isn't obstructing your air flow. Also try to keep your airflow consistent with when you are playing high notes, it will make it all so much easier. Also if you are playing on a reed that is too weak or on rare occasions too strong the same thing happens. All it takes is practice and patience. Good Luck!!
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