5 ESSENTIAL Tips to Get A Better Saxophone Sound!

[@PatrickBartleyMusic]

Timestamps in description! Just updated - thanks!

[@iceykid2]

Are you doing lessons?

[@betermajilang9640]

Just glancing thru actually

[@BrianKrock]

Man, the metaphor between singing “ooh” vs. “ahh”//long D vs. side D… that’s so brilliant.

[@alonelysnakeinvr587]

I no may not reply I love your teaching I am beginner in Selmer Paris Supreme I use Synthetic Reed But I am not getting that sound I am wanting like other you tubers do With Selmer An I can't get to hight notes How do I go from low note to High note sound Let me no wen u can

[@cipriancorneanu6120]

I had no idea i suck that bad at voicing.. i thought my embouchure was the problem, but in fact i'm really tense and anxious when i play because my intonation sucked and every note felt different each time. Used to play the clarinet and got into saxophone. I gotta say you really opened my eyes to what my actual problem really is.. Thanks a lot, man!

[@cetrikh3939]

Close to ten years of saxophone and i heard the voicing match for the first time. As well as the fun fact that the sax is basically a clarineted tuba...

[@sidneiramalho]

Hi Patrick, thank you so much for this video. After many years playing the saxophone and several teacher later, I finally understood what voicing really is. It is one of those light bulb moments. I just came from the practice room. I hit notes that I've been struggling from a long time, like the 4th partial of the low Bb overtone. I sang the note, paid attention what my mouth and tongue was doing, tried and it came out loud and clear. I can't thank you enough! I truly appreciate you. Thanks!!!

[@geraldhommemusic]

I've been playing saxophone for over 20 years and learned so much from this. No one every explained voicing to me the way you did in this and it is something I'm looking forward to exploring in my practice. Great content

[@Jackson-ol5xt]

Your advice about using softer reeds is something I discovered on my own. I was looking for a new mouthpiece and landed on a Jody jazz piece during my senior year of high school, and since the tip opening was a 7 (I was coming from a meyer 6), I figured I should try softer reeds. I have never switched back, I have SOOO much more control it’s unbelievable. I’ve since moved on from that Jody piece for a lakey 6 star to try and darken my tone a little bit, but I still use the 2&1/2 reeds when before I switched I was playing on 3 or 3&1/2s. Not to mention that I rarely ever have a bad reed out of the box!

[@warrenjohnson2082]

I really enjoyed this video and I will definitely try your suggestions

[@justintee3241]

Been playing for over 15 years in and off. Its always good to be reminded of the basics. Good vid and great channel

[@ericperry1861]

Man voicing is such a huge thing that so many players never practice (Sinta’s book is staring at me off my music stand) or even heard of it. Would love to hear your take on voicing for split tone and then combining it into the altissimo.

[@Fred-le7bl]

I took private clarinet lessons decades ago in junior high and high school and took up tenor and soprano sax for jazz band. Nobody ever told us about voicing, so this video was very interesting. Thanks! I saw you playing "Si tu vois ma mère" with Avalon and Tatiana Eva-Marie and loved your sound on clarinet before ever hearing you play sax.

[@EricTorreborre]

Thanks a lot for making those videos Patrick. I really appreciated the point on thinking of the sax as the extension of the human voice. I'm also regularly trying to imitate the sound of players that I like. Not only this is a great exercise but it is also very pleasant!

[@saxiroth6647]

Definitely one of the most practical and uplifting lessons on sound i’ve seen on this platform. Thanks Pat! Edit: i would love to see a video about the specific fingerings you use that help you get the voicings that you want!

[@intentionalaikido]

Me too!!

[@natek3954]

This has been really helpful! Thank you so much for taking the time to make this!

[@D3athlyV1sag3]

Underrated af, this is some actual, legit, solid advice. Super strong tips Pat. Have been around and also learnt from many different instructors regarding Saxophone back when I did play.... Not many, if not at all - discuss the extreme importance behind these 5 basic things. They don't put weight behind how crucial these points are in basics. It's an old ass saying but really good and masterclass players, have mastered the basics.

[@lawvawnisrael4853]

Great job Patrick. I really enjoyed this video. I've been following you since middle school. Melton Mustapha use to always talk about how great you were. I however, never heard you on the clarinet. I know its wonderful. That's my first instrument I started on. But, I needed to make money and nobody was using clarinet in their band so I had to switch to saxophone. Been doing saxophone now for 47 years. People love me but you , my friend are beyond all expectations of what a sax player should sound like. I thank our heavenly Father Yahweh for you making this video and may He continue to bless you in this musical journey. Be blessed. Shalom Alecheim.

[@mauriziosodano5907]

Thanks Patrick 😊

[@roger65er]

Thank you for breaking it down for us with such clarity, Mr. Bartley! Great tips, like you said, some are not new to most players but you surely cast a fresh light on the key aspects of building the best sound on the saxophone. Personally, I realized I should practice voicing way more than I’ve been doing. 🙏

[@jamescronin1486]

Excellent instruction! I've never had a sax teacher explain voicing to me. I've first learned this from KZbin saxophone instructors like yourself. I agree that listening to your favorite player(s) and trying to imitate their sound and style is extremely helpful. By imitating you teach yourself the micro-adjustments that enable you to change your playing, which happens over much playing time.

[@fosbury68]

Thank you for so generously sharing Patrick. All very useful and helpful.

[@jaysakul]

Great geat Job Pat. Thank you so much for your Tips.

[@davidsmusic]

Wooow man, my mind has blast!!! crazy, I was for a long believing "I should get harder with my reeds to play and get better control"... and now make me more sense what my sax teacher said the last year and now you had confirm it. Thanks a lot for your videos!

[@SGreen_8]

Loving the recent content!!! I play alto and tenor sax in high school and I'll definitely be practicing these 😁

[@regularnimnule9715]

Very, very helpful for me as a newbie to the instrument (6 months). Thank you.

[@remaininguchiha6935]

Great video, just started my sax journey constantly trying to improve my sound, I would love it if you made a video on breathing and breath control,😅😅😅😅😅 feels as if I got more room fir improvement in that regard

[@amoswaranch1102]

Thank you for doing this Pat.

[@AugustRileyMusic]

You called me out so hard during the voicing section lmaooo

[@eriksax]

Thank you Sensei. I truly appreciate your kind and enthusiastic instructions. Every word was like gold to my ears and mind. Your clarity and pedagogy was extremely appreciated. I have been only “messing around” with voicings on Alto without the specific descriptions you described. My results were varied, although valuable. Without specific instructions like you provided it was sort of shotgun like as opposed to laser like. Now I have targets. Thank you very much Sir.

[@jakersni9499]

This is a brilliant instructional video. Thanks Patrick.

[@SeanMcCarthyMusic251]

I'm a huge fan of Joe Temperley, can't wait to hear more of what you have to say about studying with him

[@xrgiok]

Great speech man! Do some more teaching please, it so inspiring!

[@KeithTaylorPhoto]

Great video. Would be really interested in you expanding on creating various vocal inflections through voicing’s as you demonstrated right around the 19:00 mark. I also loved this particular bit of advice: “Don’t practice for perfection, practice for consistency.”

[@philholmesmusic569]

Excellent video! Super helpful advice from such a master! Many thanks 🙏

[@brianmatthews232]

Refreshing and innovative approach, very useful. Thanks for sharing and inspiring 😀

[@nkirukaabadom2955]

great tips! I am glad I listened till the end

[@djwayneonsax]

Dude at 21:45 you speak to not trying to be perfect but consistent. That's light to the spirit. Well said and should help any performing artist. Otherwise the shortcomings will kill the spirit of even trying for perfection. I'm a witness!

[@eddyel-mir1783]

thank you Patrick all the support from lebanon 🇱🇧

[@ericwmusic4738]

Thanks for this Pat. I really like the approach of having a target/reference sound and working backwards to achieving that even if it means “going off the beaten path”. I’ve realized that sometimes when there’s a particular way I want a note to sound (eg while trying to imitate a master), I literally have to make not just adjustments in my throat, but explore and sometimes even “invent” an alternate fingering itself that’s specific to my horn and anatomy. All that to say, it’s about having a clear picture of your sound concept, getting a reference of what sounds good ideally from the masters, and working backwards mastering your horn and anatomy in order to achieve those sounds.

[@kaiserkled4425]

Really nice Video! Although i think many know those essentials its important to "refresh" every now and then and keep them in your mind. In the end, there arent really tips for "advanced" players, the better you get the more you get out of practicing the basics and also understand why that is so. One tip for Long Tones i got from a lesson with Dick Oatts: Play them softly and quiet. Its harder to control and you benefit more from it instead of blasting them for a long a time. Its like you dont hurry while doing biceps-curls, slow and consistent mvoement does the trick!

[@hecateswolf6007]

Thanks Pat great lesson

[@rickyhoward8025]

Thank you for sharing this!!! I am extremely grateful

[@intentionalaikido]

So far, in my experience, nobody has described voicing so importantly as you have done here.. Taking my playing and sound to a whole 'nowhere level! Thankyou!!

[@carification]

Thanks!! A new lesson I never thought of.

[@cannewbis]

I'm late to the party, but l love this video. New to the Sax world. I received a Sax for my 40th bday this past January, and I am determined to teach myself despite some ailments l'm dealing with. Scoliosis messes up my breathing and posture for easy breath control, neuropathy makes finger positions challenging, and some hearing loss makes me constantly wonder if l'm on the right note, lol. Nevertheless, consistency is the key.💪🏾😅🎷🔑

[@yolioms]

Pat, thank you sooo much for these tips re-defined to make better sense to a newbie like me. You rock I am stoked to have stumbled upon your channel! Cheers!!

[@jdgoldberg7634]

Good stuff !! I’ve been playing for 55 years and still learning. Enjoy your videos

[@paulhughes525]

Just seen this on voicing - two wasted years! Bloody brilliant mate, transformative stuff.

[@pierrebaldwin9672]

I love these longer videos bro, loving the work and help man. Hopefully I get to meet and play with you when I head to college in south florida!

[@petersumner348]

Thanks for the wisdom Pat!! (Especially what you said about consistency at the end)

[@casanovalove24]

I appreciate you my brother for giving great insights ✊🏿😎

[@randyidaho]

Good info. Thanks for your contribution.

[@onewithall6946]

Thank you, Bro, you are the best. Watch other videos, but they are not focused like you. I was under the impression that John Coltrain played harder reeds.

[@CarlKing-h6d]

Mr Barkley your the goat. I first became aware of you when you played in Wynton Marsalis Big Band. I liked your video and I look forward to more in the future.

[@ChipTheMusicMan]

Thanks Pat - yeah this was great. I'm beginning to understand the importance of voicing. I play alto and I've noticed that to play the full range with a good sound I need to make certain adjustments and when I'm more mindful I sound much better than when I'm just blowing and moving my fingers. Still got a lot of work to do!

[@Will-xo1xg]

Love this. Thanks for sharing what you know. I'll be spending some time with this one.

[@ricardoabellanosa976]

Thank so much for your saxophone tips

[@TheMahaffeymg]

Voicing has always been an issue. I’d love to get your take so I’m excited for that video to drop!

[@marcel.e.c.augustin]

Awesome video, thanks a ton! I'm definitely looking forward to getting better with these tips!

[@heinzbuena8154]

thanks for this one bro.very nice.

[@サモエド-x6c]

I'm watching this video with subtitles from Japan. His sound is very great! I've became motivated to practice harder and make good sound!

[@louisnicolosi1190]

Patrick, great respect for your playing but man you have been blessed with a good voice too.

[@jonathanromero333]

Thanks so much! It's been really helpful

[@mchin602]

Very informative. Do you have a video on improving technique?

[@CharlesBopp]

Thank you for your video. Just like you learned about the soft reeds I feel you have more to teach if you were less dogmatic in your teaching. Like I think you have more to teach begining and intermediate players (like me) if you could explain things in a way that isn't your way. I want this to be nice I really appreciate the guidance!! Thanks Saxor!

[@adrianllewellyn6420]

informative and true ,when i started playing alto i worked on the voice ,if you can sing it you can play it ,how true that is ,you just confirm everything i thought ,thank you ,

[@gillesdumouchel9935]

learn a lot from this video.Voicing is very important. Thanks.

[@kalenderquantentunnel9411]

Great video! Some things may seem obvious until you come to the part about voicing and the example on how to sound bluesy. That really got my attention!

[@amseminario]

Amazing video man! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@colincolin8722]

Thank you for your great video... You're a super teacher!!!

[@guardezio]

Plenty of stuff here that I've heard before (and definitely some that I've heard on the discord!), but as I've learned through martial arts (different art, I know, but hold with me), even if you've heard a point explaining 100 times before, hearing it from someone else, from a different perspective -- no matter whether it's by a little or by a lot -- can sometimes make all the difference in the world to understanding the lesson/point/explanation. That's what I feel like I've got here! Point #1, definitely going to put this into action the next time I practice. #2, I discovered this on my own not too long ago, and good lord, it was light lighting struck me! On a whim, I switched from a 3 to a 2.5 that I had knocking around, and BAM, everything started to feel easier and sound better -- not good, mind you, but definitely far better than it had done before when I was trying to brute force my 3 strength. #3 definitely need to keep these points in mind when I'm doing my long tones; also, try to hold each note longer to make sure the support is there (4-6 beats at the moments (met. on 60BPM). #4, I really need to start adding this to my practice... and now I have a place on where to start! #5, reminds me of Pete Fountain, who learning to play the clarinet, in part, by playing along to recordings of Benny Goodman. I definitely need to get serious about my music listening and take this point on board -- though it may be some time until it clicks ^_^;;; And on the last point, I'm definitely guilty of trying to be perfect (not helped by being a natural perfectionist). I can't tell you how many times I've spent all of my practice time on a single scale because I've not played every note clean, or my timing slipped. Heck, the other day, I spent 15 minutes trying to get a clean high F# with the altissimo fingering (I don't have a high f# key) for a scale I wasn't even working on because I was chasing that perfection... end of a lengthy comment so it may be missed, but point "#6"... I really needed to hear that, not just for sax but in general. Thank you, Pat. And thank you for the brilliant vid! ^_^

[@robertcook7185]

Thank you for the tips!

[@pibedelsaxo]

Thank you for this man

[@TheAaronRodgersTao]

What is very clear from this vid, you are an incredibly giving and caring individual. Would be an honor to meet you someday.

[@benmartin5417]

Great video. Always good to go back to basics. I’m gonna forward it to all my students. You’re delivery is refreshing just like your playing. Thank you

[@fulviodamico16]

Thank you Pat, as always , it was a very informative video. I’d like to hear more about “voicing” Cheers from Australia (the land down under) Rocky 😉🎷

[@marvinparadroid]

Really useful the voicings, that' s great.

[@steveeisenburger6011]

I'm running through all the video listing's available, so cheers mate. Any relevant info is good info 😂🫡🇭🇲♥️💚💛🙏

[@nathanbellott]

wonderful video Patrick, thank you. Love the approach and a key thing you said "I understand the things that people go through" with any particular problem is really great.

[@glasscoeeocssalg]

Thank you Patrick you cover all that I was wondering about and more. Armed with this new knowledge I will work on my voicing which I've been learning to do more of in making my saxophones talk or tell the story.

[@thomas_branson]

Thanks for this amazing video Patrick. It was done in such a lovely and uplifting way. I've always thought sound is of the most importance when playing sax and playing in general so it sucks when you think that you're aren't getting anywhere with it, but i think this video will really help. Am looking forward to more of your content. Thanks!

[@jtdcubing3038]

Can you talk about having a consistent sound color in different registers? I feel that sometimes as players the lower notes can come out kind of like a foghorn. And the high notes can come out light. What can be practiced to help with that? I am always trying to hear it and work on it. But the voicing for the different extremes of the horn is so different that it can be hard to have a constant tone color. I know that it is something that comes with experience and getting to know your own instrument but is there a way to practice or check yourself for a good sound color? As always you're enlightening and inspiring. Thank you for the help on my saxophone journey.

[@joshjablonski5183]

Brotha you are blowing my mind. Can’t wait to try this out and start thinking outside of the box. 🎷🎷

[@SydWardMedia]

Very helpful video, love the part about consistency vs perfection.

[@tessastephens4872]

This video was super helpful thank you!!!!

[@bryandickerson5365]

I assumed I was, like usual, late to the party, but just now read it’s Pat’s “first ever”. Very cool! Lots to like here, nothing brand new for me, but with each point touched on brings new details and nuances that are new. The only one I’m not totally down with is the description of ‘voicing’. Hopefully that will get more attention in future videos. I think Pat doesn’t necessarily realize he has a leg up on a lot of us sax players in his ability to actually sing well. Great first offering Pat!

[@reubenyahsrael346]

Stuff I never knew I'm glad I landed on this channel you got my subscription, this is just one of the areas I find so difficult is sound, thanks!

[@maccarryn]

Really enlightening- I loved it!

[@itisnottaken4444]

Love the tips man! One thing that helped me with my voicing is by using the mouthpiece and starting on a concert A and moving down lower and higher.

[@Enderrock424]

I’m glad you said #2 because I love soft reeds. 2.5 has always been my vibe for jazz. 3 for classical

[@РифхатТуктаров]

Thank you, buddy for your teaching I'VE understood a lot of things as a Sax beginner, May I ask questions in person I wonder

[@LyndaHam-t4c]

I have just started learning the alto sax and watching this has explained so precisely why I can play the same fingering and get a different sound, should I try to avoid it or develop it to my benefit. I do play clarinet and it is not expected on that, is it new education?

[@philiplarson1182]

Can't wait for a future Joe Temperley video! 🎷

[@lovablebigman2343]

Hey Pat! I've come back to this vid a few times. Its really good, and I love that you always speak true to yourself! Was wondering if you ever did a vid on specific voicing/singing/throat stuff? You mentioned in the video but I cant find anything. Thanks man!

[@derycktaylor3677]

That was very helpful. Please keep these types of advice/tips coming.

[@push-and-go2752]

Amazing video love the personal talk

[@daikichiTS]

Voicing technique improve my sound and pitch as well. Thank you!

[@ChaaShaq]

Love the channel and all the free info you’re divulging Sir! Yours sincerely, A trumpet player

[@keshavmoudgil9700]

You really know what you're talking about. Never related with a tutorial so much

[@bubblyguywiz]

Great video! Extremely useful. Thanks so much for putting it up.

[@Saxtherapist00]

Nicely done for this self taught musician!