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The Rico metallite mouthpiece has a chamber that makes the middle of the horn easy to play, but the lower and upper areas are sacrificed. Playing solid altissimo on that chamber is very limited. The lowest notes are also "choked" a lot.

@josephgiardullo7403 can you recommend a mpc?

@@carification My OPEN SKY 2 would be a big upgrade in terms of sound and response. Altissimo is quick and full. Take a look at the Sopranoplanet website. Read what players have said about it.

@@josephgiardullo7403 THANKS,!! will get back to you soon.

@josephgiardullo7403 I have no problems producing tones in the low, middle and upper ranges. It's the altissimo that makes the horn go into a spasm mode that's difficult to produce. Would a curved neck taken from instrument ake any difference?

Bad mouthpieces are the primary cause of the "soprano is a beast" myth. The Yamaha 4C acts like "training wheels" act on a 2 wheel bicycle. It keeps you "on track" until you don't need it anymore.

Many thanks, Robert. All the best!

On soprano, the mouthpiece is so important. There are many good soprano mouthpiece designs but shockingly few soprano mouthpieces that are produced with care and accuracy.

845-417-6909

Hope you look at the other videos, too. Soprano is not hard. But it requires some precision from your mouthpiece and some attention from the player. That's it. Have fun.

Getting in proper tune on soprano pays big dividends in terms of response and overall intonation across the range of the horn. The soprano is, in many ways, a Ferrari. A baritone is more like a pick-up truck in comparison. Spend time finding out for yourself. Nothing compares to first-hand experience.

Many thanks! Music is a journey for me, and when I can move things forward, I try to do that. The Open Sky SL is really the highpoint of my soprano mouthpiece work, especially for players that play tenor or alto primarily. It changes everything! Let me know when you're ready! best- Joe

Maybe 15% of mouthpieces are even close to the "stated" tip opening. Unless you can measure the tip, the engraved "opening" is meaningless.

Yes. There are a few major artists who play without any teeth. There is a facing style that would work best.. Email if you have any questions. But the answer is yes, if you mouthpiece is preoperly set up for your situation.

@@josephgiardullo7403 thank you very much for the response. I ordered an inexpensive Soprano to work with. If I find myself needing help I will email

@@sweetbushstudiochannel4606 Great. Good luck!

Glad it helped!

I think there are two distinct classical traditions on soprano: the Rascher school and what I call the French school. For somebody that comes from the Rascher school, I'd recommend my Signature Model mouthpiece. But the French school has a much more focused, brighter sound in general and that lends itself to having a mouthpiece that can work well in that classical circumstance and also work well in a jazz setting. For that situation, I would recommend my Open Sky 2. The primary reason is that the Signature has a larger chamber than the Open Sky 2, so the Signature would lean to the Rascher side and the Open Sky 2, with a smaller chamber, would lean to the much more focused French side. I hope that makes sense. let me know if you have any questions.

Be sure to post your results. Let There are a lot of folks who need to know what works and what doesn't work. :-)

Can't hurt. But, I don't know if many alto players tend to play with a short air column, like a lot of soprano players do. The goal is tuning up the HORN not one particular note. Get the horn warm and in tune and then the rest will follow, unless the player introduces issues or the horn has some peculiarities in its scale. My 1927 King soprano has a middle A ( concert G) that was flat and I had to vent the g# key sometimes to nail it.

Typically, folks tune to concert A440. On Bb saxophones ( soprano, tenor), that note is a B, and tuning soprano to the low B helps to get the whole horn in tune with itself, as I described. On Eb saxophones ( baritone, alto, sopranino) a concert A440 is an F# fingering. I don't know if that is what you are asking, but that's how I understand your question. You should learn/know the concert sound you get on your Eb alto for each note, in my opinion. Same for all saxophonists: know the concert pitch associated with the fingerings.

Thanks for your kind words. Playing soprano sax is such a joy!

It's teflon tape (plumber's tape) and I play so many different soprano mouthpieces every week, all with different shank bores, so my cork gets compressed. Then some mouthpieces are too big on the cork. The tape lets me deal with that easily. It goes on easy and comes off easy. Otherwise, I'd be changing corks every day or more.

I explain it in the video. There are different kinds of resistance. The soprano mouthpiece, being so much smaller, has less margin for error in the manufacturing and set-up of the mouthpiece. Poor or non-existent quality control means more soprano mouthpieces will have significant problems. There is also the cascading effect of these quality issues that cause players to contribute to the resistance problem. For instance, when a mouthpiece has a bad table the reed does not respond easily. Because of that, a player will play a lighter reed than usual, and that lighter reed will "sound" quicker but will also want to shut down because it is, basically, too light for the facing. But there are multiple kinds of resistance that can happen at the same time. Not least, a lot of players overblow the soprano, which can create acoustical resistance. It's complex but easily resolved.

This technique creates a slightly polished surface, leaving a duller surface on low areas. On metal pieces, it can be more difficult, sometimes impossible, to see the difference. This is true for some hard rubber pieces as well. But, for some metal pieces, yes it will work. Clean the table with water first to remove any gunk. Then proceed, doing it for a longer period of time and with some solid pressure as you work. Then, look very closely, maybe with some magnification if you have it.

Great. Being really in tune changes everything about how a soprano responds and resonates. have fun!

I play a bigger tip on soprano than I do on tenor or alto, by a lot Tip openings on soprano don't mean a lot. It all depends on what a player is after. It's also likely that your tenor and alto pieces may not actually be what they say they are. It happens all the time. Unless, you've measured the tips, or had somebody do it for you, you really have no idea what tip opening or facing you're playing. Players should, at minimum, know that information for certain, imo, unless they just love those pieces. Then, it doesn't matter.

Most soprano mouthpiece are so poorly made that it is a miracle that some play at all. It's not that the designs are bad, but that there is no real understanding of what is necessary for a soprano piece to play well.

..meant "pleasing"!

It's up on the website now.@@geneoliveri3907

Thanks. I actually refined it a little more today. I could feel it needed a slight adjustment. After I made it, the piece opened up even more.

It's up on the website now.

It's up on the website now.

It should be flattened by a mouthpiece expert because flattening the table usually means also restoring the facing curve, which is usually altered when the table is flattened.. I do that work, as do many others.

Glad they are of use! So, play But Beautiful really slow (I call it "Ray Charles" slow), give each note their full value, be attentive to the sound entering each note and also coming out of the note.. In other words, you get to decide if you like how you enter and exit each note or you don't. More progress comes from "not liking" things and working to get it to be what you want. You will recognize a lot of things in a hurry and it will become almost addicting to do this work daily for 20 minutes. or more. All's good.

Sure, But first send me an email at info@sopranoplanet.com and tell me what you are experiencing.

Thanks. Take it very slowly, almost Ray Charles slow. That's a good melody for this work.

This Missing Link is .065 with # 2 1/2 reed.

Marca American Vintage # 2 1/2

There's a lot of information in your comment. First- you should not be running out of breath. Soprano does not require much air at all. If you must blow hard, that suggests a mouthpiece that isn't working correctly or reeds that are too stiff. But, most likely, a mouthpiece with issues. Check the table for flatness (I have a video on how to check). A mouthpiece that is well made and has a high baffle will respond very quickly and easily. I wouldn't say it helps tuning. Most players experience pitch going sharp up high on mouthpieces with noticeable baffles. It's caused by a certain amount of lip pressure but more so by the shrinking space near the tip ( due to the baffle). I've "tuned" soprano mouthpieces for very accomplished classical soprano players by adjusting the area near the tip. High baffled pieces are quicker and require much less effort to speak. The other side of that is they can be "pitchy" ( intonation) and they can also produce a smaller, compact sound. And they can also create difficulties for the bottom end of the horn. So..... the baffle gives and the baffle takes away, so to speak. The "running out of breath", though, is a giveaway. Check the table of your mouthpiece. Also be sure you're using an appropriate strength reed. This is not any "rule" but.... in general a tip opening of 5 likely likes a # 3 reed. A tip of 6 or 7, probably a # 2 1/2. Check that table. That could be the source of the "running out of breath". Watch my video on "checking the table". Let me know what you find or if you have any questions. The soprano isn't the "beast" that a lot of people claim.

@@josephgiardullo7403 thanks for your time 👍❤️i will check the other videos

Send me an email and explain what is happening and your current set-up. It could be a lot of things but maybe we can narrow it down.

I make the entire table flat. That often affects the facing curve, which must be reset. Sometimes the tip opening if affected, but sometimes not. It depends on how much concavity there is on the table. Any mouthpiece worth playing should have a flat table ( or effectively flat, meaning with almost no concavity and none at all at critical places). Of course, if somebody likes playing on a mouthpiece with a bad table, that's their business. But most pieces have bad tables and most players have probably never played on a mouthpiece that is set up properly. Once they do, their perspective changes a lot. I hope that answers your questions.

@@josephgiardullo7403 thank you for your prompt reply. Your series of videos on mouthpieces are exceptionally informative.