Take lessons from a singer to improve our tone on the Saxophone?

[Michael]

Hi Johnny,
Earlier today my wife and I were out dining and there was a male singer on the Karaoke Stage (I do plan on playing on this very stage soon to come, have already talked to the restaurant manager) and this person had the absolutely most unbelievable voice I’ve ever heard…it was pretty amazing to say the least. After his performance I made it a point to go talk to him to ask him a few questions and he told me he used to play the Bari Sax. Of the 4 most popular Saxophones, he told me he felt the Bari was the most “demanding” because it’s a big horn and it makes the Tenor feel “small” I told him about my playing in the 5th Octave range of the Saxophone and he said the thought I would do well on the Soprano because of being able to hit notes that high. To make a long story short, he has agreed to meet with me once-a-week to teach me some exercises that singers use which he says will make my tone on the Saxophone even better because, as he put it, the Saxophone is the closes thing we have to the human voice and singers will do many of the things that we as Saxophone players do like playing with an open throat, supply the Sax with air from our diaphragms, etc.. I’ve never thought about taking lessons from a singer…man oh MAN could this guy sing. But to me what he’s saying makes a lot of sense. Can taking lessons from a singer like this help you improve your tone on the Saxophone? I would think absolutely so, but maybe I’m wrong.

[Anonymous]

Michael, I think you are on to something, because although I have only been playing the alto sax for two years. I have noticed that I am now able to whistle more accurately than before, and my singing ability has also improved. This can only be due to the exercise to my throat and tongue from playing the saxophone.

[Anonymous]

Michael if you are serious about improving your tone then do what Dazza is doing – go and get 4/5 months worth of one to one lessons with a qualified sax teacher – far better than beating around the bush, pond hopping from course to course.

I can gaurantee in less than half a year you will start playing in tune, better intonation. Teachers sort out all this with beginners in their 1st year of playing.

Thats my 5 cents worth – i was playing in tune after 6 months with a teacher, i had to relearn my embouchure twice in the first couple of months. You wont find that in books or skype lessons – you only get that in front of a teacher, a qualified teacher and not a bunch of players in a blues society (unless they are teachers themselves)

only trying to help pal.

The singing is usually introduced after a couple of years playing, when you start improvising and playing along to chords. One of the main benifits of singing is breathing control.

What you normally find is that people who start playing the sax – their singing starts to improve.

Hope i’ve been helpful – have a good xmas

[Michael]

Hey, thanks Sxpoet, always open to suggestions for sure to improve 🙂 About a year ago, I actually went to a local music academy and sat down with their Sax teacher. After our initial consultation, he told me in regard to tone he didn’t feel there was much more he could teach me to do that would help me other than what I was already doing/learned and told me to “keep doing what you’re doing” and what he meant by that was he wasn’t saying my tone didn’t need improvement but rather I was learning the right things to improve my tone and that getting a rock-solid, beautiful tone (like we all want) can take many years. So he told me to be patient and keep at it, but that his door was always open with questions/concerns I have. One thing that blew me away was his honesty…he could have said something purely to accept me as a student to take my $…the guy is really nice! I’ve sent several people his way here locally, as well as mentioning to them Johnny’s site. I’ve stopped by from time-to-time to visit..I actually stopped by his place 2 weeks ago to ask him questions and he gave me demo on something I asked about regarding developing vibrato. He knows I’m heavily into Blues and what right now and told him soon I was going to start Johnny’s Major Scale course. He told me that was a real plus because, as he says, the thing about Blues Scales is that sometimes we can hear something in our heads and we’re trying to express that idea we hear in our minds with the various types of scales we use when Improvising with the Blues and we just can’t seem to express that idea in a way that sounds great, satisfies us, etc.. He told me this is where learning to Improvise with Modes will help me; it will give me something else in my “arsenal” to pull out and make sound good when we can’t get that idea to come out with the things we do with the Blues.

[Anonymous]

Michael – i would see another profession qualified sax teacher and get a second opinion.

Doctors spend 6 years training and yet people go and see another Dr to get a second opinion as some of them are often incompetent in their diagnosis, or just cant be bother to deal with some patients.

imho – i feel, judging by your uploads, and comparing you to fellow sax players who have only been playing a year with a teacher, i’m a bit confused. But if you are so sure – then good look pal – wish you all the best.

[Michael]

Sxpoet..I’m by no means saying I’m so sure of myself, I’m just stating what I was told. That is a good idea to good get a second opinion for sure; hadn’t thought about that, thanks for the advice…I don’t compare myself with anyone, the Saxophone is just about having fun and it ever gets to the point that playing isn’t fun anymore then that’s the day that I stop playing.

[john]

Yes you can learn something very important from a good singing teacher and that is how to breath properly. also known as air support or breath control. if you can get with this singer (for free) then great, find out what he can show you, it might help your breathing which is one of THE most important aspects of our playing.
I’ve recommended for people to take private lessons from a “good” teacher, so Michael, what the guy told you about not being able to help you was very bad and proves he’s not a good teacher… this is what a saxophone teacher is supposed to do!
Just because a guy gets a job teaching at a local store or shop or whatever doesn’t mean he can do a good job at it.
I would definately try a few others, you may be amazed at what the difference between each of them is.
You don’t necessarily need to take a private lesson once a week either. when I taught at a private music school most of the students that came once a week didn’t put in enough practice time to make each lesson worthwhile. when I finally hooked up with a “great” teacher everything started to improve because practicing alone in the early months and even years is kinda like learning in the dark. I did this and so developed some bad habits which my teacher saw immediately and we started to work on getting rid of them.

[Michael]

Thanks for sharing that experience Johnny, will definately look around and see if I can find an affordable instructor 🙂

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