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A beautiful tone is something for which most saxophonists strive. That tone is sweet, warm, rich with harmonics, and somewhat elusive to younger players. With just a bit of training and some technique even the youngest player can begin to develop a fundamentally good tone. As far as I can tell, the three most important things to tone production are the ear, the embouchure (this include the workings of the mouth and throat for the purposes of this discussion), and breath support. The ear is used, most obviously, to listen to the tone quality that is being produced. But, more fundamentally important, the ear is used to analyze different sounds so that the student may piece together the "perfect sound" in his or her head and then attempt to achieve that by comparison. Even without knowing what harmonics are the beginning student can hear things that they may be able to emulate. So, if a student needs a "darker" tone we may let them listen to a recording of a cello playing. If a student needs a "brighter" tone we may let them listen to a flute concerto. One listening exercise I really find effective with beginners is letting them listen to a full saxophone solo work so that they can hear the way the instrument is supposed to sound in a specific medium. This single important element is left out of so many fundamental routines! Students need to know what kind of sound they are expected to have and simply explaining it doesn't usually work immediately. So, by simply planting the seeds of sound in that students ear we may have already achieved a great deal. Embouchure is, of course, a huge part of this tone quality equation. In racing, the car may be one the most important things, but without good tires for traction the race is lost. The same can be said about the embouchure. Students should remember to keep the embouchure taut but not tight so as to let the reed vibrate while still keeping the air pressure in. The top teeth should be planted on the top of the mouthpiece with the rest of the mouth extending around making an "O" shape with equal pressure all the way around. Unlike the clarinet embouchure, the saxophone embouchure must be focused differently. On the clarinet the air is focused to sort of blow across the mouthpiece with the instrument aimed down at an extreme angle. The saxophone is quite different and requires that the player blow into the mouthpiece with the air aimed straight on. Tongue position really comes into play as well. On the clarinet the tongue must be kept high, whereas the saxophone requires the tongue to remain low except for the higher tones. The lips then create a cushion around the mouthpiece, and on the reed it's important not to choke it with too much cushion. The lower lip should be pulled back across the teeth so that about half of the lip, on average, is behind the teeth. Then, the chin is pointed so that the front part of the chin is pulled flat. Combining these two elements together we begin a daily regimen which includes warming up on long tones. Everyone gets bored with long tones, but they are a key element to creating the sound we all want. It's a great warm-up, it gets the reed working well, and is a wonderful exercise for building up that breath support. No matter how much time we spend on the first two fundamentals we need to have an equal emphasis on breath support. If embouchure is to sound what tires are to a car, then breath support is the gas pedal. Without the gas pedal pushed the car won't win any race! Taking the car analogy we see that the gas pedal can be used to demonstrate breath support and volume. It takes a firm foot to push the gas pedal, even when it's only giving enough gas to go 20 mph. When we push the gas up to 50 mph we still use the same amount of support with the only change being the amount of gas we're feeding the vehicle. This pressure must be regulated for smoothness and consistency. While driving a car we cannot "pulse" the gas pedal, otherwise the ride isn't very smooth, the groceries wind up in the floorboard, and grandma gets irate. So we try to keep everybody happy, keep all the groceries in the bag, and keep that air pressure steady! We try to get the student to have a strong mental depiction of the sound her or she wants, then set the embouchure, then support and.... play. Hopefully something positive happens. Given the nature of reeds and the possibilities of equipment failure we hope that the student has a good day and is able to achieve "the sound." We know that equipment definitely comes into play where sound is concerned, but I would say that equipment is only about 10% of the whole equation. The rest is up to the student. Using recordings, coaching, exercises, and a guide I feel that any student who tries will achieve a good tone quality. And as soon as the fundamentals of good tone are established the development of vibrato is next. It is a part of the saxophone sound and must be learned, but learned as an extension of tone production. Michael |
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