5 Sax Mistakes that Kill Your Tone!
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Dr. Wally unveils 5 mistakes that can murder your tone!
Exercise zero: • Sax Tone Exercises! | ...
00:00 Hello and Murder
0:54 Strangulation
3:02 Asphyxiation
6:50 Falling
8:37 Sensory Deprivation
10:25 The Most Dangerous Game 
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Abandonment - simply missing a few weeks or months of playing due to 'life' greatly sets you back. Climbing back up to where you were isn't fun. Ask me how I know!
I know this well, Dan! Very much agreed!
Sometimes thats a good thing though. If you have bad technique, its possible that you can forget it by not playing.
Muzzling. Not putting enough air trying to avoid disturbing the neighbords
I am going to have to miss about a week soon. Not looking forward to it! But I don’t have an alternative way to play, so I’m just going to try and do exercises to make sure my embouchure doesn’t get super weak while I’m out
@@tjeffersonb Pencil between lips exercise I believe works the best for me. The one where you pucker up and hold, not so much.
Man, in-person lessons with Dr. Wallace must absolute treat both from the aspect of improving one's playing and also getting to experience the humor that makes these videos so entertaining first hand.
As someone who put the horn down during my first year of college and then recently came back to it with an adult income, my checkbook can confirm the "dangerous game" that chasing gear can become. The mouthpiece collection I have accrued is mostly the result curiosity of never having been given the option to experience different designs, tip openings, and reed strength combinations when I was starting out on the instrument. I was handed a modern injection molded HR Otto Link 7* in the early 2000s - so that's what I played in middle school, high school and college (I'm a tenor player, by the way).
While I can posit that the consistent hours of practice I put in, getting out and playing with people, as well as constantly listening to my favorite recordings is what contributes most to my progress...
Do we (whoever reading this) agree that it can be said that there is probably an optimal mouthpiece design for every player based on their mouth cavity/face anatomy?
If that's the case, wouldn't it be ideal to at least try enough stuff out to figure out what works best (chamber size, baffle, tip opening, and reed strength combinations) for an individual player from the aspect of comfort/control in sound production/quality?
Even after experimenting with a lot of different mouthpieces in the last several years I find myself back on 7* 'Otto Link Style' designs because I can play them relatively comfortably and I can stand the sound I make with them. I can hit more overtone partials and play louder with more aggressively baffled/small chambered mouthpieces, but I find myself being more comfortable with the larger chambered/lower baffled pieces... even though from an airflow perspective, they are objectively less efficient.
What do you all think?
An interesting question, for sure. I find I sound like "me" on nearly any mouthpiece. I'm not sure there's an optimal pairing (per person), but certainly preferences and comfort come into play!
@@drwallysaxpersonally, I find it very difficult to sound like me on a stock, no-name mouthpiece. Anything decent and I can more or less sound like me with some tweaks.
I used to have major problems with strangulation, until I was playing a duet with my Great uncle, and I realized just how much louder and more powerful his sound was. After putting two seconds of thought into it, I realized I had simply been tuning my saxophone wrong, and compensating with a super hard bite! Interestingly, I never had the same problem on tenor, even when I was biting too hard at the same time on alto.
Interesting observation, pushing in certainly allows for more relaxation!
and also if you play baryton its gonna be more relaxed, but if you play soprano you could be biting more
Dr. Wally, gotta love your “dad” sense of humor. I do enjoy your crazy, outrageous lessons. And it puts the point across, which is what is important. I think I have had to work through every felony count here at some point in my playing career. Strong work. I think you got everything I have experienced myself, and worked with a student to improve! Thanks for the fun video!
Thanks Becky, I really appreciate the kind words. Hope you have a great week!
Growing up in a tiny house with an unmusical family murdered my tone. No-where to dedicate myself to practice no where to play loud.
one thing that can kill your tone is : "the altissimo obsession". Trying to put altissimo note in every solo, work only altissimo notes instead of doing all the rest
Oh god yes, I cringe every time someone asks me if a particular mouthpiece is "good for altissimo"!
Another awesome video,good doctor!Thank you ever so much!
Great advice
I am a devotee of Exercise Zero
I cycle through all five avenues to murder with some regularity
A sixth tone killer, discovered after playing for a good few minutes, was a reed holder lodged inside my alto... But I seem to have learned from that mistake
hahaha! I miiiiight have made that mistake as well ;)
Great advice! Been down a couple of those rabbit holes...love your style and sense of humor!
Dr Wally, love your approach and look forward to new videos. I think I am guilty of strangulation a lot of the time. I am trying harder now to just take a deep breath, drop my shoulders and let the sound come out. Definitely getting better, especially in the lower register. Thank you
Your 5th point is apt!
I used to make that particular mistake. I've come to realize that you can actually build your tone with the 'basic' gears you have.
Thank you for this, Dr Wallace.❤
lol...Clever production presentation Dr. Wally. Thanks again :)
Thank you, Dr. Wallace, it is very important lesson.
Well well well...Dr Wally, your sessions are very informative, exudes experience and enjoyable. I am benefitting very much. Your dry humour as it egresses from a relatively stern face is very effective in encouraging me to mean business or else. Thanks so much for your philanthropic work and dedication.
Thanks for the kind words Collin, I'm here to walk the path with you - happy practicing!
Posture!!! I was working with a young high school student who was having trouble producing a good sound, and I noticed she was slumped over while playing. I suggested she straighten out her back and man what a difference in tone. Also - should I be scared that I was just polishing my sax when Dr. Wally told us to wipe off our fingerprints...
Polishing will remove the evidence as well.....errrr, I mean fingerprints 😎
Sometimes I come back to your videos just to be sure I've clicked the like button. 👍
Thank you very much especially point number 5.
Just found your channel. Great content! I wish I had this when I was younger.
For me, when I was much younger, not knowing how to take care of your instrument was my killer. It took until my junior year in high school for me to start paying extra attention to that.
I also think not ever listening. I'd always try to sound like a French horn (because that's who I always had to blend with) or try to constantly sound "full" (which usually was just too loud and didn't blend well). Getting into classical sax and learning more techniques probably saved it the most. I learned how to have more control over how I wanted to sound and have a better ear for how I needed to sound to make a song work.
Great advice! I tend to sometimes play with a tight emboucher. I'll try the attached exercise below and work on it. Thanks!!!
You'll hate it, then you'll love it! Happy practicing!
My 5 essentials to tonal consistency is
1- listen
2- good mouthpiece/reed combinations
3- finding the best sax repair man in your area
4- long-tones
5- overtones
The best way to destroy your tone is to mindlessly play yet not practice.
The next best way to destroy your tone is playing on harder reeds (which reenforces the bitting, tight embouchure, and other things highlighted in the video.
Before searching for accessories master the first 5 then go on a quest to spend money.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
(Ps- love the zero tone!!)
Thanks Wally!
Thanks doc! I have my first presentation in a few weeks and I needed this :)
Hey, good luck!
I am an incorrigible gearhead, which I admit without shame. But that is a large part of my enjoyment of wind playing, and it also lures me to practice more! It is a touch ironic that you concluded your “most dangerous game” comment with a tease for more gear - classical sax mouthpieces!!
What's Tuesday without a few contradictions ;)
Great advice here Wally, especially the “Rabbit Hole” tip!
Thanks Nigel, I'm sure you've seen a student or two fall down it!
Fantastic advice, as usual, Dr Wally. I was playing last week in a group alongside an older gent. He had a lovely tone, so nerdy me asked about his gear. He has a selmer mk Vi purchased decades ago for £250 brand new. An unnamed mouthpiece and he has stuck with the same, never changing. Contentment is a great thing.
I hope he's changed his reed though. 😮
Ha! Petrified reeds sound great!
I deem #4 to be most important! Over the years (I've been playing on and off for over 50 years) I've been complimented on my sound or tone if you will. From the beginning, I started off playing with records by my main inspiration, Johnny Hodges. Trying to match his sound every step of the way. It's also a good way to develop a vocabulary. Later on I would do the same thing on alto and tenor with other players, and now I just have my own sound which is an amalgamation of everyone I ever listened to. I've also taken many lessons which helps with theory and reading skills. But for sound, you gotta listen to the greats!
Amen, brother Steve :)
Dr. Wally, I love (hate) Exercise Zero for what’s it’s done for my understanding of proper embouchure. I am grateful for you and this channel!
Thank you my friend, happy practicing!
Hey, thanks for your interesting and humoristic approach on sax teaching, I enjoy it a lot.
My embouchure used to be too tight, I played a Nr 4 reed with Selmer C* on the tenor, and my teeth were imprinted into my lower lipp.
I had a long break from the sax, and started back on baritone a few years ago, and had a bad tone and also bad intonation, because my embouchure was too loose.
At this moment my tone is really fine.
I recently saw a sax teacher for a single session because I had some problems with DEFG notes in the middle register, and I wanted to know if it was me or a problem with the instrument.
It turned out that one of the octave holes was partly clogged, he put a small brush through it and it was ok again.
When he saw me playing, he told me I have a jazz type embouchure with the lip a bit forward instead of rolled over the lower teeth (he is a classical sax player)
I told him I developed this type of embouchure when trying to correct my bad tone because of too loose embouchure, by looking at professional jazz players that I often listen to on youtube.
He was also surprised that I switched from a C* mouthpiece to a Jody Jazz 7 mpc, using the same reed strength, I guess apart from the loose embouchure problem, I also was in need of a stronger reed or a more open mpc. (I now play a 2.75 reed on the 7 opening mpc and a 3 reed on the 4 opening mpc that came with the sax.
Very nice summary. I like the remark about the classic lip-in embouchure and not to make too much fuss about embouchure in general: If it feels right and sounds right, what can be wrong?
I have asthma that restricts my ability to breathe in quickly in an efficient and relaxed way. I work on breathing every single day, and have done so for about 20 years. Because of this I have honestly learned so much about my inner air passage and it’s mechanics most people never ever think about, much less experience. Yet, it is still a struggle to get that full breath in just one beat. Wondering if you have any advice on that. Thank you. Love your videos and wisdom.
Not joking, but take two beats! 1...2...1.2.breaaaaaath Play!
Take more time to breath, even if not "in time," it's not a problem!
This may sound cliche but just practice a lot, particularly a lot of deep breathing exercises. I have asthma too at a level where I have to carry my inhaler everywhere and I do breathing exercises before playing. After a few years I have noticed an improvement in playing long tones and breathing in general. So just keep practicing, especially those changes with the octave key.
Oh, how this video could have saved me about a year or so ago. I’ve improved a lot since then, and still am, but I did have to learn about all of these the hard way, one by one. Found out about the biting issue about 2 weeks before a pretty big audition. That one was particularly memorable, because I hardly had time to develop enough embouchure strength to handle the music I was playing. But I pulled through, and it was a big improvement for me. However, I still think that listening is the most important, and is still the one I struggle with the most.
Guilty of both strangulation and asphyxiation especially when working on a new piece, the more I concentrate on getting the right notes the more my embouchure gets tighter and the more my breathe gets weaker! Btw I love Ex 0!!
Tension man, it's the killer! Would it help if I made a video of me screaming "RELAX!" to play while working on a new piece?
Hello Dr...
I like soo much this set up that you are using in this sax, can you tell me what mouthpiece and ligature are??
Can't believe you made fun of my Live, Laugh, Love post-it! 😂
It matches your socks.
It would be great to see you demonstrating 'Exercise Zero', especially how you get a bottom Bb out pp. Please can we have a demonstration with a description of the voicing you are using to get it?
Thanks i like it
I'm a young saxophone player i was playing with a student sax AS300 Selmer i had a nice sound i used a goldentone mouthpiece large chamber
I switched the reed from rico to vandoren java red i was surprised by the sound it was exactly what i was looking for but i want to switch to an metal mouthpiece now
Hat selection is Key, a good hat reflects the tone. People are not wearing enough hats.
I am currently test flying a brown FEZ.
Fezes are cool
I have found that a fedora gives my 10M more warmth and that vintage tone, but a pork pie gives it more of an edge for those rock and funk gigs.
@@brucerockwell9281 Santa hat gives warmth and darkens the tone
Oh yessss. Guilty. Strangulation 😳But at least I'm not that vulnerable to the GAS. I'm easily discouraged by the cost involved. I happily play my AL3 for more than a decade now. Any couple of years I try some new synthetic reed. But while they are usually very forgiving, I still have to find one that gives me a "good" sound and yet does respond like a good cane reed. They may help me concentrating on the technical aspects of my pieces by eliminating another variable, but I lack quite some "feeling".
Ah yesss. And guilty of "not enough practicing". 🥺
Repent, brother, repent!!!
Interesting. I watched this video soon after it was released and missed a very important point for me. I have a tendency to tighten my embouchure as I go up the octaves. I’ve worked for months to stop it and while your Bb exercise certainly helps, by the end of the practice session I’m starting to clamp down again and am unable to stop it. A couple weeks ago I was leant a tenor so I switched from alto to it. Of course there’s an adjustment period but I also noticed that I wasn’t clamping as much until the last few days. Yesterday was tone murder! However, I’ve also started to lower the neck adjustment. Perhaps the mouthpiece is now at too much of an angle in my mouth? We’ll see.
Love exercise 0.
It made a real difference eventually.
I only started at 64 years old 18 months ago and have gone from REALLY terrible through just really bad, not good to..." hey I can actually play a tune and not everyone runs away screaming ".
The key has been practise practise and practise some more... probably 19 days out of 20 - even through months and months of travelling the world.
Sage advice indeed!
Good lisr Doc ,,,, were you in Seal Team Sax?
i was the hunter who spent hours looking for the jazz ombuture & wondering why it wasn't working. looking for gear that really the amount of time i was looking for it, vs the slight change of something like a new neck strap, harness hybrid did not line up. but most of my wasted time was at things i didn't buy because my parents were not into buying a $8,000 Chinese bass saxophone, or a $22,000 m. vi bass sax, or a Selmer supreme tenor or a sios moulthpice, or a outtolink( i still kind of want that), or java edition reeds
Great topic. Also, that’s a good looking sax you’re holding. Who’s the maker?
It's a 1969 Selmer mark vi!
I remember this
i own three alto mouth pieces. in the opinion of others. I have a pretty good tone. I enjoy playing and practicing with each of them because each offers very distinct sound (tone) attributes. One has a smaller tip opening and it is great to play because it requires less air, and is quite mellow and easy for dynamic changes, one is brass with a wider tip opening, it is great for rock music and has very distinct piercing quality. Third is a tip opening between the other two, it is made of a composite , from same manufacturer as the brass, with a rounder full sound. I understand and agree with the point about improvements come from personal; practice and developing individual abilities. I just want to share my experience with deafferent
gear which offers me a bit of flexibility and interest when I practice or play.
At 70 years old, I decided it was good for my brain power and lung capacity to take up the saxophone. I started out with a John Paul 400 as several of your pendants and yourself suggested. I sounded terrible, so I must be that I needed a Yamaha 62. Some better but not much… Then of course everybody has the shoot out on mouthpieces. I now have enough mouthpieces to buy another Yamaha 62. I think the biggest thing you can do for your tone is something you cannot buy. Practice. Now go practice.
A word of caution before citing “The Most Dangerous Game” anecdote to students. I had recently encouraged one of the more talented youngsters that I’m a (tor)mentor to, to “move up” from his 3* tenor piece to a “big boy” tip opening. He was ready. I referred him to a mpc from an outstanding manufacturer and was certain it would be a great fit… so sure, that I was quick to cite a similar anecdote when he said he wanted to try another. Then I shut up and looked at the mpc. Apparently, even great manufacturers make boo boos. It had uneven curves and a side rail that stepped down to the tip rail. Yikes! The point of my caution? If you aren’t experienced with mpcs and you feel disappointed with the results you’re getting, don’t be afraid to ask someone who knows mpcs. I felt like such a jerk for initially brushing the kid off that I paid for his piece to be refaced to-spec and the kid sounds remarkable on it. You live, you learn.
I've been playing for almost 1,5years. And I don't roll my lips on the teeth at all. Is it bad? I dont really have a big problem with my sound, but I don't have a teacher so i need to ask.
Great video as always.
Lip over the teeth provides (for most) a good deal of stability and support needed for vibrato. If you're happy, don't change!
Dr. Wally - "Don't go changing gear"... until next week when I demonstrate some classical mouthpieces!!! Epic! - 😏, Larry
Do as I say, not as I do. We'll do both, but don't point out my contradictions. Yeah, that sounds good :)
As a former professional sax player, I can say, please pay attention to this instruction of this man. He knows what he's talking about!!
I agree with almost everything you said, except one thing. It’s the one thing that people always, always talk about, the “time spent looking at gear should be spent practicing” line is just absurd. It assumes that someone would be or even could be practicing during that time. There is a small minority of people who can practice after like 9pm, and I’m not one of them, i doubt anyone reading this really is. Personally, I spent a few minutes of that time everyday looking for an affordable tarogato, or any absurd deals on nice saxophones. Even when I have a day off everything and spend some time on eBay in the middle of the day, not all that time could reasonably have been spent practicing. Saxophone isn’t the only thing in my life, and if someone enjoys looking at mouthpieces or whatever, that’s not time they were going to practice anyways. That said, any decent mouthpiece on any decent (bundy or better) saxophone and you are set for quite a while. My mouthpiece that I use to this day is something some website sent me by accident when ordering a Bari mouthpiece.
Chipped reeds lol- Once i think i accidentally chipped like the very top of my reed off. like it was really really hard to noticed. I could barely get a sound off and while troubleshooting, i switched reeds and all of a sudden my problem was gone.
I want to know your take on bad embouchure days. Like yesterday I played great and today Im unable to get the low B sound. This has happened with me a few times on totally random days.
Im almost 2 yrs into playing, practice enough to progress in all aspects of playing, sound included.
But why am I having these kind of days?
(Ill try to focus on breathing and relaxing when this happens next time but is there any explanation for this?)
Can anyone else relate to this?
How did I murder my tone? When I was younger I equated playing on harder reeds to being a better player. I ended up playing on my trusty selmer C* with a vandoren blue box 4. I made it work. But the truth is it made me work much harder to achieve the results I wanted. Eventually I moved back to a 3 1/5 and then to a 3 and I realized the error of my ways. Some people should play on a 4... but I am not one of those people.
I feel that story (in my lower lip).
I find I play the lower notes, much louder than midrange, I assume because it takes more air. But in this case, if it’s not the intent, it doesn’t sound good.
When I do Exercise Zero, I'm getting quite flat up the scale - is it possible to compensate this by only using your throat, palate and tongue, without changing the tightness of the embouchure at all? If yes, I just have not yet figured it out :(
I definitely have a problem with strangulation. It's a compulsion. I can't help myself! I could probably crack open a walnut with my embrasure! I've only been playing for 4 months and haven't been able to get out of the habit of tightening up when I feel myself running out of air. I want to sound like Paul Desmond, but I sound more like Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, with the feedback and artificial harmonics.
Yep, Ex0 is very beneficial 🎷 👍
It's the bees knees. If bees had very loud honky knees.
Over use of soft reeds - Sure, they're buzzy, respond quickly, and need less warming up.... but they make you pitchy when you haven't practiced controlling them precisely.
Zoot Sims is fantastic!!
Love his alto playing as well (what tracks I can find)!
This video improve my breathing technical ...but I very a lot of work on my skills...
Cant seem to find the link with the excercizes?
click the link in the description (it's below that video).
whats the reasons i squeak sometimes on sax!?
What sax & mpc you have in this video🎵🎶🎷
My trusty Selmer mark vi and the 56 Select mouthpiece!
I'm fairly new playing the tenor sax (been a flute player then fell in love with the tenor sax sound) and am still learning -- higher fingerings, intonation and speed. Last Tuesday at community band practice, I asked my tenor partner how to finger a high F. I couldn't hit the F. Then a few days later I was at sax quartet practice and had to hit some sequential high Ds. I felt like I was strangling the note, but I couldn't figure out why -- very frustrating. Suddenly I felt my tooth sticking in place and noticed my tooth had worn through my BG mouthpiece patch. Surprise! I took it off and thought all was right -- not. I think by then I was frustrated and tired and my confidence was at a low point. I'm not happy with my intonation in the high register (and I don't think the soprano sax player was helping). Am wondering if I need to find someone for some in person instruction to help me level set my intonation and other habits. I love your improv lessons and look forward to working through the pdf book and other lessons. Your thoughts on my high note issue?
Excercise 0 + overtones to help develop a relaxed embouchure and throat. Keep in mind that to hit the high notes in tune and with beautiful sound you need to adjust the tong position, try the syllable (eeee) , nothing too extreme though. You need good air support and a concentrated airflow. And however tempting never bite the reed. Hope it helps. Another excercise that might help: try playing a middle d without the octave key, and climbe upwards the scale till you can hit the high d without the octave key. This requires sufficient air and will expose many problems. Good luck!
@@aggeloslampadaridis3123 thanks for your reply, Aggelos. I have been practicing playing upper notes without using the octave key and some of them actually work very very well. I will try your ideas about playing high notes. Also, I thought I would let you know that I took my tenor saxophone to my instrument shop, and they found several leaks. After the leaks were repaired, the instrument played entirely differently, and I am very pleased with the outcome now.
@@lynndarcey7161 excellent news! Always inspiring when someone genuinely strives to improve. We all need to keep practicing!!
trying to play 'mid' intonation. Not bending the tone to the higher end so you have a reference point to work from. Playing mid tone can mean tone drift up and down becomes possible. Ok when you are fresh but 1/2 through a tough gig pitch can go out the window.
Ah hut, he said “Ligature marks” 😉
teehheheheheheh
"Hey, Larry." Was that Larry Teal?
I would never besmirch the great Laurence Teal! It's a generic Larry :)
I started on French Horn and tongued on the top of my upper teeth for years of saxophone not knowing any better.
You're a saxophonist now, we got you.
👍🏾🎶🎵🎶🎷
I put a razor blade between the Reed and the mouthpiece plate to sound like David Sanborn 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Zoot is my copilot.
Trying Too Hard. I think this is a variation on strangulation. But the advice to beginners rang in my ears: FIRM embouchure. DRAW up the corners of your mouth like a drawstring. DEVELOP those mouth muscles. Frankly, I not only strangled my tone I put it in a body bag. Then I saw someone who said to be gentle, to relax, to coax the sax not bully it etc and I chilled out totally to see what happened and the sax wasn’t killed but the honking goose was. 20.15 UK time.
It's a balance for sure! Too loose - HONK, too firm..sqqeeeeahonk!
Detective Wally?
Only on weekends :)
Go-Go Gadget Sax Hack!
(Nothing happened...)
(Oh, I suppose I need a saxophone first.)
😂
Not listening to myself. Playing is a control loop in technical terms. The ears inform the brain which controls the technique.
Trying to play b flat killed my sound
You were playing an A#, that's the problem
Gear hunt. Guilty!
but it's so much fun :(
First to comment 🎉
Beginners murder their tone by using a super soft reed with a super narrow tip opening.
thin buzz, yup!
I don’t know what this hunting stuff is you are talking about. I only have 3 altos, 3 tenors and about 12 mouthpieces for each. 😅 clearly that doesn’t apply to me. 🎷😎
Third
second
Third
It appears, according to the time stamp, you are in fact: fourth