Getting a smooth, rounded tone… any tips, Johnny?

[Jazz Cat]

Hey Johnny, good to see you’re back. Great sound on ‘Moon River’.
I like how nice your tone is; you produce a warm, rounded full sound that’s nice to listen to.

I’m practicing more, trying different reeds (mainly vandoren java 2 1/2s w/OL 6/8 mp)… but
my overall tone is nowhere as nice sounding as yours.

Any tips on getting a soft/full/round/smoother sound? exercises to help? I’m trying long tones,
standing vs sitting, different embouchure/amt of mp in mouth, still sounding ‘just ok’, not pro
level like you.

thanks,

-ken

[Dazza]

Hey JC. That is going to sound to most like a really broad question but I feel your pain!. i am playing away and getting more songs and scales embedded but I am still not happy with what i hear when I play. I realise JF’s recorded sound to what I hear in the room when I play is not comparing apples with apples but my sound is sort of thin and in the high register, quite harsh.

JF – i revisted the Daily Routine Video and continue to practice long tones as this seems to be the common nmessage out there – LOOOONG TONES, play them til you are bored! Knowing sound is a combination of MP, Reed, Sax, embouchure, amount of MP in mouth, air support etc etc how do you pin point what needs changing?

[john]

Listen to weeknesses in your tone, like a waver is quite common.
a waver means you’re not producing enough air support and/or your bottom lip is weak or tired.

could be a combination of both so always play loud from your gut, that’s why I say practice louder than you should be, at least for much of your sessions.

amount of mp in mouth can be part of the problem. the more we take in the more chances of a bigger sound, of course there is a line because too much in there and we start to lose control of everything! so take in a little too much to where you do loose control and then pull it back a little to where it’s still a little further in than before. do this every day and soon your default position will be a little more mp in your mouth…and if so, you will start to notice a bigger sound as opposed to that small, choked sound we hear so much from beginning students.
I was taught this as a young student… it was weird and uncomfortable at first but it really helps.

[Jazz Cat]

thanks, that helps…. I’ve expanded my range to where I can now easily get large solid low tones down to Bb, and play up to high E ok….though the only place I sound good, soft is mid-range. High notes too thin, low notes too loud, I need to balance it out. Will do re trying more mp; thx for the tip on doing a bit more, slowly over time…that makes sense. I get a small choked newbie sound, or too-loud honking, not the full, lush sound that you & other pros have. Will keep practicing; thanks very much for your insights!

-k

[john]

JC, it’s the high’s and low’s that are the problem as you have said so only work on those.
you are already sounding good in the middle so only work on the other areas for a while.
I have a lesson vid in the blog section dealing with weak high notes.
It’s pretty much opening up everything and blowing more as I mentioned above. but adding more control as you do this.

[Michael]

Hi Jazz Cat, good post you’re putting here for sure. Like Dazza says I think many of us share your pain. On your last upload you had mentioned that you recently made the transition from Alto to Tenor Sax–these things that you’re talking about are going to take some time to develop on the Tenor, so keep honkin’ away and be really patient about it. It’s really cool that you’re taking note of these smaller details in your playing; I’ve always felt that it’s the little things that make a big difference in our playing. Johnny is addressing some key points that we had talked about in your last upload, I pasted the link to your last upload here for you below. Check out your groovy playing here and think about the points that Johnny has given above. I also pasted the link for you that Johnny posted in the blog of his exercise about helping us to address those high notes sounding thin and flat…great exercise to say the least. This exercise alone can really help fatten up your tone. Make sure when your playing to keep your neck and shoulders totally relaxed. If our shoulders are ‘scrunching’ or moving upwards while we’re playing, that’s an indication that were not using enough of our abdominal muscles/diaphragm to supply the Sax with air and it will certainly cause the neck to tense up and choke the air that we’re trying to push into the Sax. For me, when I’m pushing really hard I can feel the air literally traveling upwards into my Oral Cavity. From that point it’s just a matter of making the adjustments in my Oral Cavity to make sure my Oral Cavity is totally open to get those big, honky notes to come out 🙂 In addition to my abdominal muscles/diaphragm, when I’m pushing the air upwards I can also feel the lower muscles in my back and on the sides my abdomen come into play to help push the air upwards. When you do this right, you can also feel your lungs expand and get really big, full of air and that’s because were using these lower muscles to push the air upwards, they’re way stronger than the muscles in our chest. Another little trick you can do to fatten up the tone is to take the corner of your lips (when the MP is in your mouth) and think about pushing them inwards slightly towards the MP–it kind of forces your embouchure into a small type of “o” position and helps to ‘funnel’ air into the MP. Keep up the great work JC, doing great 🙂

Classic blues on Tenor … :-p

High Notes on Your Sax Sound Thin & Flat?

[Mel]

I am new but I can tell that by practicing long tones everyday my tone gets better. Also being new I have found that the tip Johnny gives by taking more mouthpiece in your mouth and backing up a little has helped very much also. I have found I can handle more of the mouthpiece now and my tone seems fuller.

[Jazz Cat]

thanks; good points guys… seems like alto was overall easier to play, but I like tenor’s sound better, so working to improve tone at highs/lows is a challenge.

a tip I saw on youtube vid: try letting cheeks puff out a bit like dizzy g. for softer tone on low notes; good vid:

[Mel]

2 new ways I have been blowing long tones –

1. Blowing a note as low as possible and hold – then bring up to medium or louder.

2. Blow out a note medium or louder and bring it down to as low as possible and hold. ( the note should be a controlled lower and not the note going lower because you are running out of air.)

These two added ways plus blowing a strong long note really help me with my breathing.

[Author]

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