Saxophone Pressure

Let's learn about the most important element we must manipulate to develop our sound on saxophone.
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[@robstevens9590]

So many factors involved in being able to produce the sound you want. Today I also noticed the different pressure needed to play clear notes above G# on the soprano,

[@Ryan-gb6gb]

Bought a couple of saxophones last week. Been playing blues harmonica for about fifteen years And decided to give sax A try. Been looking on KZbin and came across your channel. I like what you're putting down and the way you put it down.

[@BillRiedmann]

Great explanation thank you.

[@kennethwhalum]

Great video

[@Ihbaworldsax]

I just got my low Bb nicely on curved soprano, as I watched this video . Thanks valor!

[@Jwellsuhhuh]

Congrats 🎉

[@Sirvalorsax]

Sweet!!

[@scintube]

Thank you I found that very informative and explained a lot about my new T Wanne Gaia mouthpiece & set up . Wondering how you get 🤔 that staccato-sounding run (e.g. starting @ 5:29)... Can't imagine you're tonguing every one of those notes so gotta to be your fingering?

[@DynamixWarePro]

I have been interested in this for a long time. I have a slightly shorter bottom jaw so on Alto sax I cannot play wide mouthpieces. I also find thin tip mouthpieces play far too buzzy for me no matter what reeds and reed strengths I use, either too buzzy or too hard to play if I go to a harder reed. 1.65mm to 1.70mm tip is around the widest I can play without issues but it has to have tip thickness like Selmer mouthpieces have, any thinner I only have that buzzy issue. On soprano sax, it is a bit different. I can play thinner tip mouthpieces without the over buzzy sound. I actually prefer slightly wider mouthpieces on Soprano sax also (I currently play a Selmer Super Session E). For myself, I have found with narrow tip Soprano mouthpieces, I can keep them in tune if the note is close to being in tune, I can adjust my embouchure to get the note in tune, but find it harder if the note is more out of tune. With a wider tip, I feel less pressure, it plays better but due to the wider tuning on wider tip mouthpieces, I find it can be hard to keep most notes in tune especially if one note is much more out of tune than the last one I played. It can be easier to lip a note into tune due to the wider distance from the mouthpiece tip and the reed tip so there is more room to bend the reed up or down in and out of tune. I noticed that especially when moving from my Selmer Concept to Selmer Super Session E mouthpiece. I have also found I have to play with a thicker mouthpiece patch or my front teeth tend to vibrate but when I do have a thicker mouthpiece patch, I notice it can dampen the reed and give a darker sound and add a little resistance due to the added material on top of the tip where the reed vibrates against. I have found how/where the mouthpiece patch is placed on top of the mouthpiece has an effect on how it feels to play and can make a mouthpiece play fine or be slightly harder to play, like a reed that is sitting perfectly on the mouthpiece to being slightly off center where you could be more prone to squeaks and issues that if it was perfectly aligned.

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

This concept has always interested me a lot. I personally hate that feeling of having to work for sound; seems like such a useless barrier. If my diaphragm feels like its fighting against the mouthpiece at all: that's needless tension, to be eliminated imo. Sometimes it's just the horn regardless of any other setup eg. if it's ribbed construction it will tend to have more resistance. Having worked on several mouthpieces now myself, I can definitively say I like a "longer" facing curve. The "break" should be at least 48 (they measure in half-milimeters for some reason so "24mm"), but I've never had a problem with 50. If the curve is good then it really gives you control over bends and stuff. Turned my Yamaha 4C into an 8 opening recently and I now like it more than my Berg response-wise. Has that effortless ability to start any note that I associate with a lack of "pressure". The tone is still too dark for it to be my main piece, but it has TONS of that Joe Henderson super sub-tone thing, so it will definitely get used. Still happy to reface some pieces for you if you ever want to get in touch.

[@Sirvalorsax]

I'll keep that in mind

[@philipcassius5096]

You need to talk about the amount of mouthpiece you take in also. If you take a lot of mouthpiece even on a small tip opening it's a completely different thing. Look at Trane taking in a lot on that relatively small tip.

[@Sirvalorsax]

Good Point, thanks for the suggestion 👍

[@dennis524]

Excellent video. Thanks.

[@kingwilliamjazzcollective301]

Resistance is the term used more than pressure.

[@Sirvalorsax]

I describe resistance and pressure a little differently

[@fc1lyles]

I have been loving your latest videos very information ... lip out ... will try. Hopefully I will not need all new equipment, don't like changing mouthpieces all the time. What do you have on ear training /playing by ear exercises?

[@Sirvalorsax]

My most fun exercise is putting on KZbin music videos and learning the song before the video ends. Just dont pause or stop the video!! I even learn the music from the commercials 😆You can practice for hours and not even realize it

[@iksaxophone]

I'm a little confused by the description of tip openings. Having played both classical and jazz mouthpieces, I find that it is the smaller tip openings that produce sound more easily. Wide tips require great effort to play into and frequently sound stuffy and airy.

[@timtully8015]

When you say "pressure" do you mean how hard you blow? I have a Meyer 6 on my alto, and it's always felt like I got to push really hard to make it talk. I'm old now and need something easier to play. What features on a mouthpiece do I look for? I like to get a big, full sound and to use the fattest lip I can.

[@KirklandWilliamsWorkout3000]

👌🏾

[@Karvol123]

How on earth did you know that this is what my lesson this week was about?????

[@Sirvalorsax]

Lol

[@ianrs4685]

nice hair sir

[@Sirvalorsax]

Lol

[@curtisvalle5141]

Hey Dr.... Bingo. TY Do you lip out as much on clarinet? What flute you playing these days? You ever jammed any pricey pro ones? The 'intermediates' ain't cheap. How about a 'Flute for Sax players vid.? Rock on, Sir. P.S. the blond wig reminded me of the surly women down at the clinic

[@creatividadeinnovacionirso9622]

Jajajaa 4:44 Is fxxxing hilarious!..

[@travlak]

If we’re playing a low tip opening with standard embouchure for classical, and a low tip opening with lip out embouchure for jazz and pop, what else is changing in those two situations aside from our embouchure?

[@Sirvalorsax]

The biggest change will be the concept of what kind of sound you want to fit the music more appropriately. There is a nice video on KZbin about Marcel Mule using vibrato for the first time that explains this idea 💡 😀

[@travlak]

Thanks, I’ll check it out

[@wyattb954]

7:08 what if we frequently play both jazz and classical? I assume we won't want a lip out embouchure for classical, so should I even try lip out embouchure if I have to play classical as well as jazz?

[@Sirvalorsax]

I use a lip out embouchure for both now but I have also moved away from typical classical sax mouthpieces

[@biganchovie]

Being mostly a classical player, when I practice with my jazz equipment, I approach embouchure fundamentals almost like I'm playing a completely new instrument. Playing both jazz and classical in the same practice session has helped me to be able to switch between the two relatively quickly. It's definitely possible to succeed with both, as long as you are deliberate and put time into both.

[@voidedspace5510]

What's the tune at 11:24? Interested in listening/purchasing .wav

[@Sirvalorsax]

"Ondine" Ravel. Look that up on youtube and find out more info about it. It follows the Coltrane triangle of key center movement. It's like Giant Steps but in minor mode

[@voidedspace5510]

@@Sirvalorsax based thanks man. EDIT: Check out Scriabin 5 by Shutian Chen. Same time period, sounds a lot like this

[@ianrs4685]

blood money

[@eliottmorst]

im inclined to feel that there is no such thing as a jazz mouthpiece…..joe henderson being an example i believe

[@Eduard_Kolesnikov]

Man you are great but refacing mouthpiece not really your thing, no offense. The longer the face of the mouthpiece - more free blowing, less control

[@stephenmellor9264]

The more i watch you videos the less i dare practise as its all so overwhelming.

[@Sirvalorsax]

My videos aren't really for absolute beginners. I want to catch the sax players that have at least a couple of years of playing

[@Sirvalorsax]

It takes time though

[@hansbrackhaus8017]

Really? It's the opposite to me. It shows me a future where I can actually walk something similar to my own path. Literally only started playing three days ago, and only one day ago for actual 'body play' (I didn't want to play without cleaning swabs..which lagged behind in shipping) And even then I still could apply things he and others taught. (Because some French guy, I was able to play half a scale on the mouthpiece alone! Took 10 minutes until I could do it. Not well, but...I could do it) I figure as long as I learn, but also keep my feet on the floor (not rushing), then I will have something to immerse myself for YEARS! (I also use the sax as a reallife activity so I don't just do computer stuff )

[@hansbrackhaus8017]

Also, it might look contradictory to say "yay only took ten minutes" and then going "as long as I don't rush" but, I keep the 'experimenting' for after practice. Since I cannot play songs yet to 'percolate', I just goof around on the mouthpiece and the like. (And part of my mindset I am trying to temper is to not be too intimidated by the ...still expensive, even if not SUPER expensive...instrument. But to see it as a fun thing to use and play with.)