Articulation Is Like Really Important In Jazz

Demonstrating how jazz saxophone articulation techniques can give your lines character and life.
Players like Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, and many many other pioneers of the art form used articulation to give life to their lines.
Here I use 4 simple phonetic sounds to take an otherwise ordinary line and give it an authentic dynamic feel.

[@NoahsArks]

Not gonna lie, I went to school for jazz studies and have all the technique and language down. But I could never quite grasp ghosting notes, I knew the explanation of how and why, but I myself could never replicate it. Personally I always lessened the air and almost completely cut off notes that I wanted to ghost, usually implying them more than playing. But man, your shorts on how to d-n actually cleared it all up for me! I had never known to tilt or angle the mouthpiece before and that has been a massive revelation and I’m hyped to practice that after my gig later. Thank you sir, keep up the good shtuff 🙏

[@saxophonetics]

This is exactly what I'm hoping to do here! I struggled with this for YEARS and have worked with many many teachers and players on the matter to reach this understanding.

[@jojomusic1941]

You can place them anywhere but on the beat.....chord tones,guide tones and available tensions can be on the beat so it depends on the chord you're playing over atm...so you play the ghost notes between the beats...it's called appoggiatura...also understanding swing rhythm should help to grasp the concept faster

[@jimrich4192]

It's like the full then false tone using the 6 finger, full D followed by the left palm key D & similar combinations to produce the Ghosting effects. So many interesting effects & expressions in jazz & rock. 😂

[@saxophonetics]

@@jimrich4192 for sure! maybe I'll get to talking about him at some point, but there's some great examples in Maceo's stuff where he sits on the same pitch (or limited group of pitches) but with varied ghost notes and false fingerings that keeps it popping and fresh.

[@yishihara55527]

Not gonna lie, I'm a classical flutist and my attempts at hips sounding improv have always ended in disaster. I would love to finally "get it" because I know that I'm a jazz cat at heart LOL

[@derycktaylor3677]

Finally, someone has explained jazz sax articulation the way I needed it. You have solved a mystery I have been trying to solve. Thanks a lot.

[@saxophonetics]

thanks for your feedback 🙏 glad to hear I'm helping

[@mustafa1name]

Good point. Although specific to sax, any wind player can use this idea. Play with the technique, but FEEL for the soul: you'll know when it slots in

[@saxophonetics]

it's like animating the line

[@russelljazzbeck]

Dude'n tonguing. I've noticed the more I spend trying to replicate great players the more I am forced to get better at tonguing. When I first started transcribing I just played the notes but 2 years later I'm able to hear and learn so many great articulations. It adds more style to the sound than just about anything. I like how you break your different articulations down on each note.

[@saxophonetics]

Excellent! and the more you practice articulation exercises, the more clearly you can hear it when you're transcribing; it builds on itself and gradually seeps into your playing

[@Isack4]

Im a drummer learning Sax again from years ago in school band and loved this explanation and relating it to drumming! This is half of percussion if you think about single stroke rolls and velocity and accents. It's what breaths life into a line and this was so valuable. Very much enjoyed this :)

[@saxophonetics]

Thank you! yeah when I listen to Parker and others play, especially uptempo/double-time, it's very similar to a snare drum or a tap dancer.

[@jackpatricklang]

Thank you a million times over for this approach to articulation. I always struggled with the logistics of “dooden” touching because it doesn’t work physiologically, and this has entirely opened up new avenues for me

[@saxophonetics]

You're welcome, and thank you for checking out my video! I'm happy this has been helpful for you.

[@gotofourths933]

Couple of months saxophonist here. Practicing today, something was missing. I knew its articulation. I knew what is it and i can hear and feel it from masters but i couldn't do it. Decided to search again some new tricks. Man your video solved the problem. D, T, N & E That's all . Thank you so much , i follow you. 👍👏🎷🎷

[@saxophonetics]

Awesome! glad this was helpful to you 🙏

[@pickinstone]

I'll have to keep what you said @ 1:02 in my back pocket. Too many amateur jazz guitarists think that we need articulate with the pick on ALL the off beats to sound like a horn. I think that just makes you sound hoeky and uneven--doesn't swing. Now I know why ;) Practice makes permanent because practice is a way to get those sounds onto our instrument--and into our EARS. If we articulate the off beats ALL the time--especially as pianists and guitarists--then we will play them that way ALL the time when we perform.

[@saxophonetics]

it's akin to picking, hammering on, pulling off. I mean imagine going to see an orchestra and the strings are all bowing in different directions, utter chaos

[@pickinstone]

@@saxophonetics That's more applicable to Gypsy Jazz Guitar, where everyone strums in sync. I was talking about how guitarists try to imitate "mainstream horn articulation" with every off beat (by picking, hammering on, and pulling off) and end up sounding uneven--and janky. The issue is that the guitar is a staccato instrument, by nature. Note lengths are dramatically different depending on articulation (picking, hammering on, pulling off) and that unevenness can really mess up your time feel if you aren't cognizant of the physics of the instrument--resulting in that janky swing feel sound. We can't control sustain with the precision of you horn players once we articulate the note... unfortunately ;( I was responding to the part in your video where you dispelled the "rule" of always tonguing the offbeat. Everything is about the rhythm and pulse--how you push and pull the beat. Articulation is one of many tools in our toolbox for creating the inertia of jazz. That whole essay of a comment is why I LOVED your video ;) Sorry if there was any initial confusion.

[@saxophonetics]

@pickinstone I feel you thanks for sharing. Sax players also shouldn't be tonguing every upbeat. Not sure where this notion originated but I know Niehaus's book is often cited as a resource for articulating jazz on the saxophone, but Niehaus himself did not articulate this way much of the time. The pains of jazz education being mostly devoid of articulation is what I'm hoping in part to correct for.

[@pickinstone]

@@saxophonetics And rhythm--articulation effects accents--which effects what part of the beat and measure is emphasized. Thus, odd groupings of eighth notes/16ths/etc can be highlighted to suggest poly rhythm and poly meter--and much more. In the end, rhythm is key. We don't have to look to post bop for all of these rhythmic innovations. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were rhythmic GENIUSES. Unfortunately, too few music schools across the globe give rhythm its due. What you said about the shape and direction of the line effecting the articulation is TOTALLY missing from jazz guitar literature--and results in that wonky donkey time feel. You emphasized articulation as nuanced and intentional--not a technique to generalize across all lines on auto-pilot. I have your video bookmarked to show all the music teachers at my school. I teach English Literature... can you tell? ;o)

[@PatrickBartleyMusic]

Yessir! Great video, man. Thanks for making this and talking about the real shit! I'll add one thing that no one usually talks about: bebop articulation comes from the drums! All of our articulation on the horn is connected to the rhythm section. The word itself, "be-bop" is an onomatopoeia for the first 2 eighth notes in a bar (if you only played those). It's all rhythm. If you can internalize the accents of the drums in your head (namely the snare + bass drum), your articulation starts to explode, and you put more emphasis where it needs to be automatically. Thanks again for this, keep doing your thing bro. 🙌🏾

[@saxophonetics]

Patrick Bartley in the comments! thanks for checking out my video and for your support. I love your stuff. This is super informative and helpful, and definitely thinking of things as percussive elements is a powerful tool for articulation and feel. I would add that Miles Davis suspected that Charlie Parker's taste percussive aesthetic was influenced by being around his father's tap dancing as a baby/child. While Bird had that very focused snare-drum-ish pointedness in his playing, he also maintains a certain dancing quality.

[@anuragnaidu88]

Dude, this is gold. Thank you for addressing this. It's beautifully explained. Kudos.

[@saxophonetics]

much appreciated! 🙏

[@gerrycappuccio4186]

Wonderful articulation lesson !

[@saxophonetics]

thank you so much!!

[@lesgoe8908]

Excellent lesson -- no BS, no fat, just the news.

[@viljemlutz6189]

Super! In german. Das ist sehr gut erklärt! Auch das Notenbeispiel zeigt die richtige Artikulation und klassische Schreibweise. In der Klassik lernt mant "ti" anzustoßen und das "Jazz-n" garnicht. Aber genau diese Spielweise bereichert die Musik auf dem Saxophon und ist ein fehlendes Element in der Ausbildung. Danke! Thank you!

[@saxophonetics]

Thanks so much! I totally agree jazz tonguing techniques should be a fundamental part of saxophone education

[@McGillMusicSaxSchool]

Great explanation here. I think the challenge though for people who are newer to jazz phrasing is having an easy way to start getting phrases that sound convincing without the articulation being overwhelming complicated. This is definitely a great next level approach.

[@saxophonetics]

Thank you! Yeah I've tried to simplify as much as possible, but it isn't the easiest thing to do. The best solution I have come up with is the phonetic approach which I think, at least for people who speak English well enough, translates directly to the actual articulation techniques.

[@jimrich4192]

I've often wondered why some great players tongue every note while others use your style of mixed jazz articulation. To each their own...I like the mixed style best in my playing....thanx for the lesson...jim 😂

[@saxophonetics]

Of course! thank you for checking it out and for your feedback

[@enriqueernesto738]

Great content! Subscribed...sadly I never understood how to mute the reed the tongue

[@saxophonetics]

hopefully this channel can help!

[@elenamatteo7208]

You nailed it dude! Ways better explained

[@saxophonetics]

thank you!

[@lawrence3584]

best explanation i’ve seen all day

[@saxophonetics]

thank you! 🙏

[@raseshgandhi6702]

Fantastic

[@saxophonetics]

thank you!

[@Spimp4]

This is the first thing I asked my private teacher (head of jazz dept at local uni) dude literally just pointed at greg Fishman back tonguing exercise. Then I asked my college classical and jazz profs and they all said figure it out or breath accent some more. Thanks for clearing this up. It's important, nobody wants to focus on this bit when it turns good harmony into a great line.

[@saxophonetics]

It's really hard to find good resources on jazz articulation so I'm glad to contribute my thoughts and experience on the matter, and I'm glad it's helpful to you!

[@Jaimesantaatm1903]

You're just amazing. Thanks for sharing this free knowledge, I feel this can be also applied for other wind instruments like brass, right?

[@saxophonetics]

I think the general idea could be applied to virtually any instrument! I'm not an expert in brass playing, but I'd guess you'd need to figure out what sort of consonant sounds would work best for whatever instrument you play.

[@GDM223SR]

Thank you! I play trumpet, and have also read that you should tongue the upbeats on that kind of line, but thought there was something wrong with me, because it sounded … odd. Subscribing!

[@saxophonetics]

thanks so much! it can be helpful getting started, but there's an entire world of articulation techniques in jazz

[@GDM223SR]

@@saxophonetics Oh yes, but it kind of helps when a book describes it as a beginning or early technique, not as a "this is how it's done" way: the quote is "as a general rule, any given line of eighth notes is articulated this way." The book was kind of advanced, and is terrific on other matters, so I think it could have added a couple more pages to take the reader past that early articulation idea, as you have. I do like your articulation on a single pitch, and wonder if that's a good way to get a student to feel swing before they worry too much about playing which-note-on-which-chord, because you're right, that phrase does swing. Anyway, thanks again, and I look forward to your future videos!

[@adammartin9701]

You are awesome

[@saxophonetics]

thank you! 🙏

[@monsterjazzlicks]

I didn't realise that articulation remains constant regardless of the tempi. Thanks 👍

[@saxophonetics]

It is the same techniques but not necessarily the same articulations are applied in every case. It depends on the players and the recordings you want to gather vocabulary from. I personally base most of my bebop articulation concepts on Parker's playing. Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is when you're learning a line you wanna play fast, it's super helpful to keep the same articulation as you build up that speed. It helps create a more natural, consistent style in your playing. The opposite is also a good exercise: take an articulation that doesn't naturally fit the line and apply it to sort of break the attachment. Rollins is a genius in this area

[@monsterjazzlicks]

@@saxophonetics - I'm actually coming at it from a different angle in that I'm a pianist/arranger. I was looking at it in terms of writing sax-soli's so that the five saxes all articulate the same. You know, in five years of 'arranging' college this topic was never discussed! I find that surprising because correct 'articulation' is paramount in big-band scoring!

[@saxophonetics]

wow that's sick. It depends on who's in the section and how advanced/experienced they are in interpreting jazz lines without articulation markings. There are some typical "rules" that expert readers just do instinctively, but I think it would be super hip to bake in some less conventional to the arrangements

[@monsterjazzlicks]

@@saxophonetics I used to over-notate articulations but now I'm trying to cut them down to the essentials. It was my plan to reduce the amount by 50%, but I just can't make it that drastic. So I've arrived at a happy medium.

[@3JoeLee]

Thanks a lot. Best teacher I've found on web and offweb on this foundamental topics. Some question: When the tempo is up they told me to simplify articulation: use mostly accented attack and less unaccented attack and the rest legato, for example. Isn't correct? Thank again. Good job!

[@saxophonetics]

It really depends on which players or stylistic influences you're drawing from, and your tastes and what you're trying to accomplish. The way Bird, for example, may articulate at a burning tempo is distinct from other greats. Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Johnny Hodges, Dexter Gordon, and John Coltrane share certain articulation tendencies, but they each innovated their own sort of variations as their lives and careers went on. The collective work of these and other pioneers all contributes to the options that now exist for modern players of this music, so there's not exactly a right way to play at a fast tempo except for what is most appropriate for what you're trying to achieve in a given circumstance. I agree that as a general rule, playing eighth note lines at fast tempos requires a more simple approach to articulating. More notes are usually slurred together and/or ghosted in succession, and often the peaks of the lines are the only notes that get a hard attack in this situation. There is more of a tendency toward simply taking the tongue off of the reed after a ghost note (like an "N-E" type of articulation) rather than re-attacking the reed ("N-D", which works better physically at slower tempos). I hope this helps!

[@3JoeLee]

@@saxophonetics Thanks for the useful explanation.

[@thepianokid27]

Brilliant stuff! Explained in great comprehensive detail! Thanks! Would you consider doing a KZbin masterclass? :)

[@saxophonetics]

Thanks so much! I have a few other materials I'm working on right now, but yes I have plans for doing some live lessons/master classes in the near future. If you subscribe to the email list (link in bio) I'll be sending updates about new stuff happening

[@thepianokid27]

@@saxophonetics Awesome! Just did thanks!

[@jojomusic1941]

This is so dope❤thanks man👊🏿😎

[@saxophonetics]

of course! glad you dig it

[@EricTorreborre]

Excellent advice, thanks!

[@saxophonetics]

Thanks so much! glad you appreciate it

[@sirig8]

Can't wait for you to blow up ❤ great vid, keep at it!

[@saxophonetics]

thank you 🙏

[@tarajanique]

This is helpful as a vocalist

[@saxophonetics]

thank you for that! I'm glad these ideas resonate for you as a vocalist and not only for sax players

[@Ilya2905SaiRam]

Супер! 😊 Спасибо! )

[@saxophonetics]

🙏

[@bassmonkey1229]

You should make a video of how to hear these articulations when learning licks by ear.

[@saxophonetics]

gotta add that to my to-do list, but I recommend when you're trying to hear the articulation a player is using on record to turn the volume down low and work with software or an app (I use Transcribe!) to slow down and listen to the line repeatedly. Also, for some reason I have found articulations are more obvious when the volume is turned down as low as possible while still being able to hear the audio

[@slmjkdbtl]

i think eventually articulation should be learned through ear, you should be guided by instinct on how to articulate instead of following a "rule", however it's definitely valid to tell people exactly how to articulate when introducing the concept

[@saxophonetics]

absolutely, this is just the tip of the iceberg

[@charlesperforms]

I agree with everything you said but I think for people watching this they might get the wrong idea about the thing you say at the end, where you would practice the same articulation for a line at all tempos: what you're trying to say is that if you want to practice a specific articulation, you should practice it at all tempos. but you're not saying that every line has only one way to articulate it. articulation style is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves as jazz musicians (compare Dexter Gordon single tonguing every note to Coleman Hawkins almost tongue nothing). there is a "standard accent" when we speak jazz (Charlie Parker and Hank Mobley), but there's also a lot of other acceptable things that don't sound like an English accent when we're speaking French.

[@saxophonetics]

I realize this wasn't entirely clear (there will be plenty more videos coming), but I'm moreso referring to when you're taking lines from records/playing along with recordings. I'm not exclusively saying every line has only one articulation, but there are standard articulation techniques that are super helpful to shed for a number of reasons. I'll drop a few below (at the risk of being redundant): Practically, it can indicate to other players the depth to which you are informed and by which players/records/solos. It will also give you helpful authentic articulation go-to's when you're playing a lead line or leading a section. Likewise, if you're matching a lead horn player's style you can more easily lock it in. I think about this as the equivalent to a string section all bowing the same direction together. But with saxes it's not apparent visually who's making what articulation so we gotta (imo) solidify our articulation styles to achieve that tightness and consistency.

[@joekennedy3493]

Is that a yas 26/23 your playing ? I play one myself you have such a beautiful sound on that horn! Also great advice I am wondering tho as you transcribe and work on scale toungeing does it eventually leak into your playing when you solo?

[@saxophonetics]

It's essentially a 23 but branded as a "vito" with the Leblanc brand on the neck. Manufactured by Yamaha, but during a period when people were skeptical of Japanese products due to WWII. These techniques will begin to leak their way into your playing as you practice, but it's better to apply these techniques as Bird and others used them in their phrases and licks, and then deliberately practice implementing those lines in the context of chord changes over tunes. You can find transcriptions of "Blues for Alice" and "Cherokee" with the articulations notated on this channel and several more on my original Jake Dester channel. Cheers

[@joekennedy3493]

​@saxophonetics What would be the best way to apply them like is there different ones depending on the pattern like the example you showed in the video different patterns like articulation pattern ? Sorry for the questions just seems a bit confusing 😅

[@saxophonetics]

watch all of the videos on this channel and get back to me

[@thehoodieguy1341]

is it possible to apply this to trumpet?

[@saxophonetics]

I think so, but in that case since your embouchure is in the mouthpiece, rather than with sax where the mouthpiece is in the mouth, you may need to try a different consonant sound instead of N, maybe L? My experience with playing brass instruments is very limited.

[@hudsonantunes566]

👏👏👏🙏🙏thanks

[@saxophonetics]

happy to share

[@holidaytrout5174]

I'm a guitarist. What does he mean by tonguing the upbeats?

[@saxophonetics]

Attacking the "and" of each beat, really most useful for lines that descend by step or half-step. I suppose on the guitar it would mean that you pick to attack the notes on the upbeats (the "and" of each beat) and the other notes are pull-offs or they're slid down to. I play a little guitar, but I'm far from being an expert on jazz guitar techniques. This is sometimes called 'bebop articulation' and you can probably find good resources if you search that term.

[@zackgibb8734]

Sorry what do you meant with the DENT? Like you would imagine saying “Deee” “Eee” “Ennnn” “Teee” while blowing?

[@saxophonetics]

yeah! imagining you're saying those sounds while the horn is in your mouth to achieve the different articulation techniques

[@sat.chid.ananda]

This is great, I figured I started to do this more naturally after transcribing some Bird tunes, so I'd suggest that as a way of getting these articulations into your playing

[@saxophonetics]

check out the "Blues for Alice" transcription on my page. It has all of the articulations notated (at least to the best of my ability) and ghost notes in parentheses .

[@Anonymous-u8r8j]

What ligature is that?

[@saxophonetics]

oleg

[@sengroagers1111]

articulation needs a lot of strength and volume. it should pop out above the notes to give it the flavor. it should sound like WAY too much from the player’s POV so that it sounds just right to the audience

[@saxophonetics]

really good advice 👍 I often think "cartoonish" when developing a new technique, taking it too far on purpose and then dialing it back to taste

[@josephdebri8941]

Is it really important or is it like really important? 🤣😂🤣Just joking, very good advice. Thank you.

[@saxophonetics]

it's mandatory 🫡

[@ちゆき田中]

DEET? 4 Articulations at once?

[@saxophonetics]

that's just how you would "pronounce" that staccato note at the end

[@jimrich4192]

Classically trained players often don't sound good with jazz all because of strict-stiff ARTICULATION & somehow missing the SOULFUL element of jazz playing. It's a mystery.....

[@saxophonetics]

I feel like jazz has a more animated and fantastical quality to it that can be (although not always) hard to access if you're used to exclusively playing classical or concert music. I hope these videos can help people who want to develop jazz style "speak the lingo" in a hip and fluid way

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I worked hard on this and I am still broke.

[@saxophonetics]

lol same

[@J.Sebastian.Cardenas_Piza]

dent

[@saxophonetics]

yes 👍

[@J.Sebastian.Cardenas_Piza]

@@saxophonetics do you get it?

[@ElmoIsBold]

... They don't TEACH the articulations they are using.

[@saxophonetics]

I know, right??

[@gallofilm]

intentionally playing slow and clunkily to illustrate your point better haha

[@saxophonetics]

i tried my best to not sound good 🤠

[@Maou3]

Well explained, but it feels a bit pretentious

[@saxophonetics]

yeah I gotta work on that lol