Andy Snitzer How to get a better sound on saxophone

[@ketong71]

I met Andy Snitzer once at Birdland, here in NYC. He was playing with the Jeff Lorber Fusion Band. I got to talk to him after the show. Great guy, always willing to talk shop with the fans.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Great to hear that. Randomly I also met Andy in NYC too! It was at jam about 25 years ago. Really nice and genuine guy.

[@tashee8772]

He is the best. Love his music.

[@valclark1512]

He is the best, I have heard in many and I am 61 years old and I have been in music since I was 18. He is the best tone the best sound the best melody and chosen notes that I have ever heard. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Cheers Val. I agree.

[@fredrickbrowder9157]

Great interview. Met Andy Snitzer a couple times in Atlanta after his gig. Real cool guy superb sax player!

[@sax.beatsbykevin2631]

Great information always!

[@lisamarieseaman8847]

My teacher says that he should be able to punch you in the stomach while you're playing and you still keep your tone. He's never actually done it but it is a thing to think about while playing as a check! I practice crescendos and decrescendos now that my sound has grown. Get your sound up and running and then move on to the more precise stuff.

[@Osnosis]

100% correct. Like a yoga warmup (sun salutations), when you are finished with your long tones, you should be very warm (if not sweating in some locales).

[@behnamdastjerdy9479]

thank you

[@nicksm7980]

Check out Dave LaRue - Glass. Andy's solo here is one of my favourite sax solos. You can't dislike it.

[@Samuel-ge7im]

G’day Nigel!

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

G’day!

[@cleverdicky1]

Great video Nigel, I cant wait for a session with Gerald Albright on Articulation and other techniques, he's in my top 10 of favorite players. I have met my top two faves, Grover Washington and Wilton Felder, my profile photo is a one taken on Practica BX20 with uprated film of Grover Washington, it was the first time that i had done this type of photography, and was pleased with the result, even though ive had to crop it for my profile.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

That’s cool. Yes would be great to do a session like this with Gerald Albright.

[@birdy808]

What he said about the way you hold your horn can make a difference in your sound. I positioned my horn down yesterday instead of my normal and noticed a difference in sound/tone/power.

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Cool, it is an interesting thing to try.

[@DeogratiusJrMichael]

am a beginner and i need this..

[@saxboss1]

Mr McGill, thanks for uploading this content, it synthesizes many techniques and best practices. However, these are all thing that are well documented and found in hundreds of KZbin videos. My question is, why do you think so many students (including myself) struggle so much with actually successfully implementing the techniques in their playing and hearing the difference?

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Great question. I think it takes focus and consistency in your practice to implement these strategies. So many players I see don’t do these things so I think it’s important to keep reminding ourselves about them. Thanks for watching.

[@jpdj2715]

Andy is an authority, no doubt, but here he sounds like a kazoo. Around 1980, I bought an alto, more or less on impulse, with a few books and started to try to copy jazz and rock sax solos. I had not researched anything: what sax, what mouthpiece, what reed, what method, breathing, etc., and two sentences on embouchure. All intuitive. Yes, I'd had piano and music lessons. The guy selling the sax, briefly tried the "what reed" subject and - I don't think these exist today - I walked away with nr. 1. The mouthpiece was standard. The sax, not cheap, but a European manufactured American branded band instrument. With matching mouthpiece. When I got the hang of it, I had no problems with the lowest and the highest notes as standard "available" without overblowing (in order to get an octave higher even). If you've seen Dizzie Gillespie blow his trumpet, there is a fair warning in there. I understood that much before I jumped into the deep. But no doubt made comparable mistakes elsewhere. At some point, in a serious rat race, I sold the sax and am looking to pick that up again. What amazes me is the lack of focus on "embouchure" and how you work with the reed. Yes, the mouthpiece gives resistance or not, in combination with the reed. basically, the angle of the sax to the mouth and how you work it comes down to embouchure. The notion, from where you deliver the pressure on the air you blow into the sax will play a role, but relatively minor. In retrospect, considering I had no problems to go from fff to ppp, as well as high to low, with all the encyclopedic knowledge I get from YT, Google, etc., I am now wondering how to buy another sax with the qualities I described AND take formal lessons. I get a feeling I had a holy grail that I sold and will have a hard time to find another one ;)

[@jimmyb1133]

What mouthpiece is that on your tenor? Jody DV ? or some other mp ?

[@birdy808]

Jimmy B looks like a Durga

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Hi Jimmy, I’m playing a Theo Wanne Durga 8, Andy Snitzer is on a Jody Jazz DV7

[@jimmyb1133]

@@McGillMusicSaxSchool, Hi Nigel, I play a Jody Jazz Jet 7 for tenor and alto and recently purchased at Superjet 7 for my soprano .

[@craigray4775]

It's kinda like the difference between speed and torque

[@subframer1227]

kind of silly to be commenting on sound when the guy is sitting in a little dry room playing at distance from the microphone he's talking into. what he's saying about mechanics is exactly right, his career and experience are epic; if you're going to make this about the audio quality over zoom, or if you don't like guys that have rock/pop/blues in their background, you probably shouldn't be watching this, lol.

[@aljoschahunger]

..among the blind the one with one eye is a prophet.. don't know how to say this in english but there wasn't anythg awesome here.. you never should play ugly... (stan getz)

[@doormatcat]

His videos are too high cuality for the amount of subs he has

[@John-vh5ok]

If you think that’s a good sound you shouldn’t have a KZbin channel about saxophone!