Problem with taking more mouthpiece into your

[Anonymous]

Here’s what i’ve done to avoid shoving more mouthpiece into my mouth and allows me to play with a more open mouth…

Take an old fibre reed and cut off all the vamp and throw away the vamp, this leaves you with the part of the reed that normally sits under the ligature (ie the bark/stock)

Now cut the bark/stock into the same shape as the rubber patches people stick on top of their mouthpiece that they bite down on with their top teeth to stop their top teeth sliding along the mouthpiece.

Now stick the fibre bark/stock shaped patch onto your mouthpiece.

The result gives you a fibre patch which will be raised 2/10ths of an inch above the mouthpiece. When you put your lips on the mouthpiece, this will open your mouth a lot more than playing the mouthpiece with out a rubber patch. This will save you from trying to play by shoving more mouthpiece into your mouth.

[john]

wow new one for me…how’s it working out?

[saxomonica]

Heya James that’s certainly one way of getting the oral cavity and throat open, and, thanx for sharing!
Working good for ya?

What do you stick the vamp on with, Superglue?
Could i use several rubber mouthpieces affixed atop one another, that is being for the same effect?>

I gonna try it and report back, cheers. Indeed, whatever will Linda say.
🙂

[Anonymous]

one of the problems i’ve had is playing a note that bends down (falls off) either slowly or fastly while at the same time the note decreases in volume to silence. For me this takes a lot of breath control either by lung control or dropping the lower jaw.

The problem with dropping the lower jaw is very limited and the bend down can be too short lived.

What i found with the fibre patch, because my mouth is more open, i can either slowly curl up my tongue (looking like a spoon shape) or slowly raise the tip of my tongue to the roof of my mouth and bend it back to my tonsils. This allows me another way to slowly slow down the airflow to the reed and create that slow bending down fall off.
This type of tongue movement, needs a more open mouth to move the tongue around.

Obviously a more open mouth holds more air and combined with a pair of lungs full of air increases the length of time a note can be played.

I glued it on with a very tiny spot of super glue in the middle of the patch, this allows me to prise off the patch later on, don’t put masses of super glue on the patch otherwise it will be harder to get the patch off.

Try playing the patch without gluing it on the mouthpiece first.

Another advantage is i can play a breathy sound a lot easier, with air escaping from the front top lip while playing. A more open mouth also gives a larger and stronger attack sound compared to a more closed mouth. Had no problems playing notes, just slight embouchure adjustments higher up the altissimo.

[Anonymous]

the only problem with rubber patches is my top teeth slowly bite a ridge into the patch and i have to replace them, also i found rubber patches create a dull pitch compared to a clear sounding pitch without any patch.

years later i started creating wooden patches out of old cane reeds and found the pitch to be more clear classical sounding pitches with the cane reed. Also i could file down the patch to exactly the same shape and size as a rubber patch – ie the mouth was open exactly the same way as the rubber patch. The only problem is the cane patches wore out after a few months.

So i switched to creating a patch out of an old fibre reed, this is a stronger material and harder to bite through so hopefully this type of patch will last me longer. Pitch wise the sound is still a lot clearer than a rubber patch. The only problem i couldn’t file down the fibre reed so i ended up by accident with a very highly raised patch which opened up my mouth slightly more.

[Anonymous]

i guess someone will take my idea and start selling raised patches and make a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

sent my idea off to D’addario by email…

“High i started creating wooden patches out of cane reeds in the same shape and size of rubber patches players use on saxophones.

However i discovered if you create a patch out of cane reed or fibre reed – this allows you to create a patch that is raised a lot higher than normal rubber patches (2/10 of an inch above the mouthpiece) .

This very highly raised patch above the mouthpiece results in the sax player player having to play with a more open mouth and jaw than normal – increasing the mouth chamber size and allowing more flexibility in the sound.

There might some profit to gain by marketing these type of patches?”

lol – i wonder what they will say.

[saxomonica]

Haha! There will probably say there be a limousine awaiting to take you to the Airport, maybe an Eldorado Cadillac or Rocket 88 awaits you at the other end ya, James, sure to be lotsa dancing girls, champagne, big wads of cash, fireworks, caviar and fine cheeses, fame and International acclaim. Fortune is within your grasp, just reach for it.
Every person is the fashioner of their own fortune.

Good job well done sx poet, cool for cats and donkeys

https://www.daddario.com/search/?query=saxophone+mouthpiece+patches

[Anonymous]

D’addario weren’t interested, so i’ve gone to Vandoren. A small time operator could produce these raised patches and make money out of them.

[saxomonica]

Go for Gold, sx poet !! 🙂 From little things big things grow.

D’addario do not appreciate it, donkeys to ’em then, moving on!
They’ve selective hearing?

What do you call a donkey wearing ear muffs?
Anything you like; he can’t hear you.

A loss can be a gain.

SEE ~ https://vandoren.fr/en/

[Author]

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