The 3 BIGGEST MISTAKES Self-Taught Sax Players Make (PLUS Solutions!)

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Instantly raise your sax game with this free masterclass👉🏻 www.getyoursaxtogether.com/masterclass

[@GeekMasterX]

Most helpful video I've seen in my entire life on youtube 🎉

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrApetape]

btw. when you change your embouchure to the fish one you also get the ability to vibrato immediately :D Just something I notice in a lot of channels about saxophon. They give a really bad example for bad embouchure but massively overdo the good embouchure with voicing, vibrato bends and stuff. Maybe a little bit too much?

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Yeah, I ham it up for KZbin I guess! 🤣

[@timobesamusca9332]

great video Jamie! I think another point that is overlooked but I think is really important for a good sound is maintaining a controlled, steady airstream. Even with a loose embouchure you can mess up your sound when you don’t control the air you put in your horn. But it’s all these little details that together make (or break) your sound.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks. Good comment!

[@garywhitaker9854]

Thanks Jamie. Great reminders even for those of us who supposedly already know, but haven't cemented the thought into automatic reflex.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks Gary 🙏🏻

[@jeroenneve5807]

A few honouable mentions that I ran into myself: - not enough breath support, especially at the end of the phrase, which results in the dreaded "out-of-puff" scoop downwards. - not enough wind. Sax is a loud instrument. It needs volume for it to open up. In my view, playing quietly well on sax is an advanced technique.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Breath support for sure.

[@finnpeters]

The scoop! I always used to call it call it "glee." I love the way you explain this! Also playing the lazy Bb (rather than the long one?) Love this Jamie. Thanks again. Gimme a call? xx

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Yo, dude! How’s it goin man? Cant believe you found one of my vids and commented! 🤣 and the one on beginners as well. Thought you’d be diggin’ one on Cannon or Bird! 🤣 yeah I’ll defo call man. Take it easy. X

[@wagnerrosasacramento7063]

My friend, excellent class, you are really, really good, I loved the class and it will definitely help me a lot to correct my mistakes. I'm from Brazil and I'm learning to play tenor sax and I follow your videos.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thank you. That's great, enjoy!

[@tmwsalvage]

I’m self taught but had a lesson with you. I’m in a band now and loving it 👌👍

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Brilliant! Thanks

[@LewisDalton]

I’m Just over 12 months in now being self taught and learning songs by ear and I definitely have these bad habits still. It can be so frustrating to a point when I feel like giving up most days. My worst mistake is applying too much pressure on the MP the higher the notes I play. Thanks for what you do, always helpful info.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Keep at it! Thanks

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

Joe Allard would have students play overtones and slur down to the next overtone, until they reach the fundamental. You can only really do this if you're not applying too much pressure, and you'll feel this sort of slotting into the note as you do it (weird to talk about but obvious when doing it). A rule of thumb that I've imposed on myself is "If I'm playing a high/altissimo note my embouchure has to be lose enough to play a good-sounding low Bb without resetting it." And I'll switch to a low Bb to check while practicing. Doesn't have to be exactly how I would set my embouchure for Bb per se, but it has to be able to play it well. Hope this helps

[@LewisDalton]

@@gangofgreenhorns2672 thanks!! Very helpful 👍🏽

[@douglange6863]

Living in Alaska, I get to check out your latest video every Saturday night. This one was a hoot! It’s difficult to intentionally use bad techniques for demonstration purposes. Using a 1-1/2 strength reed on a Selmer C* would have been the icing on the cake for bad tone production! This brings up the issue of starting with the wrong reed on the wrong mouthpiece. Unfortunately, this issue isn’t usually solved through a quick tip and requires insight from a teacher or sax “coach”. Another good reason to sign up for the Inner Circle!

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks for that comment! 🙏🏻

[@Matthewprice_1993]

My take from mistake no.3 is that its important to have your tongue in the right position before you tongue. I know from your earlier videos that having a high tongue is helpful for low and high notes - so its a case of tonguing with the tip of your tongue while the tongue is humped and steady for those notes?

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

It’s a case of the tip of your tongue being completely independent from the rest of your tongue I think.

[@Matthewprice_1993]

@@GetYourSaxTogether thanks Jamie :)

[@Tigerblade11238]

100% certain I am doing #1 wrong 90% certain I am doing #2 correct! (Huzzah!) 80% certain that I could be doing #3 wrong, I will be paying close attention. Thank you for all that you do! I am coming back to saxophone after 30 years and channels like yours are making me stick with it!

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

You're welcome. Hope it's helping

[@denisdesjardins6662]

one question why sax pro on youtube chanel say nothing about (Stan Getz?) is the album (for musician only) is a must dizzy gileppsie, sonny stitt stan getz this guy make very nice melodic phrases.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Yeh I agree. Getz was mint.

[@Robyn19fnq]

Yep, been there done that with all. But thanks to you I've corrected them all. Embouchure is difficult for us clarinet and flute players, it needs conscious thought.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Great! 🙏

[@jimmeusey7110]

Good stuff - I started playing about 3 months back. I've done all those things and quite a few more. Here's some free advice from a beginning amateur - Keep at it! Practice! Pay attention!

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Great! Yeh keep at it!

[@coin777]

Great video! Do You have a tip? When i tongue a note, everytime it starts with a "tfu" sound, like im spitting. Is that because im using to much tongue?

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Take a look at this tonguing video> kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5zSZqSpf6aYqbs

[@pavelpatsenkov]

Interesting lesson, Mr Anderson. Thank you. I do that mistakes. But when im changed system of my study whith your great tutorial "Saxophone Practice: EVERYTHING You Need To Know To Make REAL Progress" - im starting to do the exercises with long tones and doin a lot of the overtones exercises. Many times im heared about that very important exersises, from really great teachers from all youtube, from many countries, but was not doin, maybe because im dumb, maybe because i was lazy. But today i make my sound better. At now im training by two hours by six day on a week. I have great advices by fantastic teachers from all over the world. After two hours of a training i do mistakes from that video. Im feel like my emboshure is really tired. And thanks one more time for video tutorial by jazz articulation, is great!

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Keep going man. You got this!

[@DoktaSlide]

With my embouchure in complete goldfish form, I found it more difficult to touch the tip of my tongue versus the top of my tongue further back. I’m feeling like I need to settle into a more comfortable relationship with the new embouchure before bringing in tonguing.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks for sharing!

[@montesfam5]

Jamie, im working on that tonging, not easy but i can hear a better sound. 🤓🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Great, keep at it!

[@AlejandrodeSouza]

Basics We use to forget! Thanks

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

👍🙏

[@ALPOOT717]

Tnx!!!

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

🙏🏻

[@lisawanderess]

Does only taught by KZbin teachers count as “self taught”? 😂 I’ve got the embouchure right thanks to your videos and the Total Tone Mastery course and I’m working on improving my articulation. Not sure about the pitch bend but I get compliments on my tone all the time when I’m out busking but my dodgy video recordings done with my mobile phone let me down considerably 😢 I’d love to do more courses and lessons and get better recording equipment to make slicker videos but I’m a homeless person on disability so it’s not really a priority. You know I love you and so appreciate your sharing your knowledge with us dunces, but I’m also super sensitive so sometimes all the “things you’re doing wrong because you can’t afford lessons” videos kinda make me feel discouraged and crappy about myself. 😢

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Aw man, you know I love you too!! Sorry for making you feel bad. Believe me, you’re getting all the right info here. I’d say exactly the same thing to you in a 1-2-1!! 😊

[@robstevens9590]

As a self-taught player, it took me a few years to correct these common mistakes.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

👍

[@maxtheSax8]

Have a go hero lol, Adolf never had a teacher, just invented it and learned it , clarinet probably helped , but not all of us want to become superstar stage performers, I gain my pleasure from playing solo along with an app, guilty of all the things you highlight on this video but through "Practice" and a few titbits on various videos I've learnt to overcome these bad habits ....personally the fun for me is the learning and the playing , making money from it is way way down the list for me , there's to many hopers on hire lists bidding for wedding gigs , I've heard some of them and it's a comedy act sometimes...

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Ha! Yeh, of course, enjoy it at any level you want.

[@maxtheSax8]

@GetYourSaxTogether thanks for the ghost tongue video , it helped me nail down a phrase I've been trying to figure out for a while 👍🏼

[@johnanderson5978]

Yes myself included because teachers in elementary and high school want you to sound so they can nit pick at us saxophonists but thanks to watching your video about rolling your bottom lip out to get that fat big loud sound that every saxophonist wants I don't quiet down for no body and I don't care

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks Dad! (Same name) 🤣

[@matsmanteatern698]

A question: Is this “bottom-lip-out”really what’s going on with prosaxophonists? I could argue a bit on that.. ok. It’s a common mistake and it’s not very good to roll you’re lip over the bottom teeth, at least too much. But isn’t it true that the lip should be more straight up parallel to the bottomteeth rather than pointing out? At least that what it looks like to me when I watch pro saxophonists play…

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

I’d love to get into this over a bottle of wine but too much for a YT comment! 😂

[@matsmanteatern698]

@@GetYourSaxTogether Aha.. I understand. Guess I’m not totally wrong then.. thanks for answering. 👍🏼

[@askesylvestandersen1267]

You should really do a guide for the two solos in “The Planet of the New Orleans”. The song by Dire Straits. Solos by Michael Brecker. That would be awesome

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@kwootamuckbear9294]

That’s me…😮🎵🎶🎵🎷

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Knowledge is power 👍🏻

[@cheknfaks]

It's funny but it looks like you were about to bust out laughing when you were playing it with your bottom lip covering your teeth, knowing its so wrong😜🤭😅

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

🤣

[@jessicamasonsonneborn4864]

By your standards. I have a instructor who has been teaching and playing professionally for 35 years

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Ok?

[@tom_tells_jokes]

“How to fix mistakes from being self taught, learn from me”

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

👍

[@paulfairchild3461]

Do beginners really do this .

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Do YOU do any of this? My experience is, yes, beginners do some or all of these things. Hence the video. 😊

[@paulfairchild3461]

Comes Spence learn from you mistakes

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

👍🏻

[@rinahall]

Please take a Delorean and talk to Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton and David Murray before they start to record LOL

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

🤣

[@LauraRichardsYGK]

I don't agree with your take on embouchure. I curl my lip, over my bottom teeth, to support my reed. My tone, is spot on. Not a mistake.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

I’m happy for you!

[@maxtheSax8]

Yes , you've probably seen Cannonball Adderley play, definitely plays with curled lip...

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

@@maxtheSax8 Cannonball who? 😉

[@thesaxcafe457]

Agreed. It depends on the tone you are looking for.

[@saxman14214]

Bottom lip is a cushion...soft to allow reed vibration. The more vibration the better

[@melb5996]

NO SCOOPS ( unless you're playing Baker Street ) 😁

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

🤣

[@maxtheSax8]

Don't forget to play it all flat as well 😉

[@AlexanderHartmannSax]

i'm self taught but i learned a lot from a Liebman VHS Video Cassette Tutorial 😀.

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

👍

[@michaelnoriega1564]

Not as easy as I thought

[@GetYourSaxTogether]

Ha! 😊