This is the main point.i have the breathing problem also on sax.blues exercises are easy for me but slow songs are not easy for me.it is hard to keep the airflow steady.what about the inside mouth position?some says blowing like a A vocal but I am comfortable with a U vocal .i am soprano playing .
This problem for me seemed to come from not taking a big enough breath, so I would run out of air quickly, and my embouchure would compensate by tightening up, and tire very quickly. Trying to stay as relaxed as possible when breathing and blowing will help. The "vowel shape" is very subtle, and it seems that the more I'm able to focus on maintaining a strong air stream, the easier it is to "find" the correct tongue position for each note.
@@Marcimusic257 thanks again for the info.today I changed my Rico b7 with a fake Chinese vandoren 8 .all the Registers come out easily.it seems my problem was the Rico b7 .metal vandoren is really easy blowing now .looking forward to your new videos.you have good teaching skills .good luck and thank you again 🎷🙏❤️
very useful explanation thank you very much. How much air should I take in with each breath? is it a normal breath or more air than with normal breathing while we talk for example? I was surprised to discover that when I grasp for new air, my air tank is half full. So I need to quickly exhale and immediately inhale. It's exhausting, what do I do wrong? Is very difficult to play longer phrases. To compensate my embouchure tightens quite a lot. It's a real torture... I don't know if other people experience this.
I know this feeling quite well! the term "comfortably full" seems to be the best way to describe this. It may be a bit more than when you are just breathing naturally, but no so much where you feel over-full. Take in too much air and you'll feel the tension. I don't think you need to exhale all of the air before refilling. Personally, I find it difficult to refill efficiently if I've tried to squeeze out every last bit of air. How much air is actually left before inhaling again? 1/2? 1/3? 1/4? I'm not sure exactly. But I would just focus on trying to do what feels natural and relaxed, with good posture, so that you're not introducing unnecessary tension anywhere, and just let nature take care of itself. Like many things, if we overthink what we are doing, we tend to make things more complicated than they need to be.
@@Marcimusic257 thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. Is possible I am taking too much air, I practiced today and tried to pay attention to breathing. I tend to take a big breath to start. The first 2 phrases are more or less ok. Then on next phrases with the new breaths, I start getting out of breath sooner and start over tiring. I have the feeling that I forget to breath 'from belly' and I start breathing from the chest. I guess I have acquired some bad habits. I also play in the big mute white box from BestBrass which is heavy and doesn't allow correct body posture. I tried to exercise consciously playing low notes while breathing 'from belly ' and I managed to get quite a clear low C-best one ever, low B and almost low B flat. It is amazing how important is to be able to breathe and blow correctly. Your video with some science touches is awesome, one of the best I've seen adressing this important issue. Many many thanks! Greetings from Belgium :-)
Thank you for the great content. I've been getting back into saxophone and going through you videos. One thing I was hoping this video would explain more is "breath support" and the difference between limiting your air and letting it flow freely like your balloon demonstration . Right now I struggle to play full other than at top volume (apartment living doesn't help). My question is...how do I let the air flow freely, achieve a full tone, and play less than top volume? Thanks for your contributions!
Playing at full volume is to be expected when starting out. "Flowing freely" can be misunderstood as blowing as forcefully as possible. Think of playing loud by using "fast" air, and soft by using "slow air". Imagine you're blowing a cylinder of air into the mouthpiece; the cylinder is the same diameter whether loud or soft, it's just moving into the mouthpiece at a faster or slower rate. Or think of a tube of toothpaste; you can put x amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush by squeezing hard and fast, and you can put the same amount, x, by squeezing soft and slow. Those aren't perfect analogies, but it might help to visualize how the air is moving. A brass teacher I studied with taught me to play "no softer than you can get a sure sound" so as to not constrict the airway. In the beginning, when we have less fine motor control over the instrument, it's going to be louder (and not great for an apartment, unfortunately). If you can manage to find a secluded spot to play outside, and the weather permits where you are, you can experiment more liberally with volume control, and not have to worry about the neighbors. I've often gone to a parking garage or cemetery to practice with less volume constraints. Nobody seemed to mind, and I even picked up a few fans along the way! What size reed and mouthpiece are you playing on?
@@Marcimusic257 Hey thanks for the response! Last practice session I put this idea to the test of constant pressure needing to fill up the entire mouthpiece regardless of volume. I started to think about horsepower as an analogy. Correct me if this is off-track, but playing quiet at a full tone reminded me of a tractor slowly moving forward. It's slower, but it would still be able to plow through any obstacle in its way. The word "Support" is making more sense. My next battle is with reeds and mouthpiece pitch. I'm a jazz guy with the classic hard rubber Meyer 6, but I have no clue what strength would be best for me for a number of reasons. I used to play on a J16 or Java 3, but that was 5 years ago so I don't have any embouchure anymore, so I'm not sure if I should start on a 2.5 and work back up to it, or struggle with a 3 until I adjust. Also, I've always had a biting problem. My mp has teeth divets from highschool! I put work into no biting and playing was fine with decent tone at 3 strength, but I noticed my natural mouthpiece pitch was like a D instead of the accepted A-F# range. Maybe I should have been playing on a 2.5 the whole time? Currently I can't get an A out of my mouthpiece unless my embouchure tightens significantly and I do what feels too extreme with my throat/tongue. I've tried a legere signature plastic 2.5 (too hard, poor response), a vandoren Java 3 (too hard, decent response), and a rico 2.5 (immediate response, reed will close up on me, low/high notes are thin) So given that I used to play a java.3, I am out of playing shape right now, and I've never been able to hit the proper mouthpiece pitch, what size do you suggest I restart with? Or what questions should I ask myself that could help me figure it out?
@@zachyoutube213 that's a great analogy! The reed just has to be soft enough to vibrate, and hard enough to provide resistance. The most important thing is to feel relaxed at all times when you play. I would stick with the 2.5 for now. Don't try to force the pitch up, just let it sit where it's comfortable. It should come up on its own over time as you unconsciously adjust. Watch this video when you get the chance: th-cam.com/video/K-0N7XETP5M/w-d-xo.html
Yes, long tones can help strengthen the blowing muscles. I have heard both Lenny Pickett and Jason Marshall say that the practice of loud long tones contributed to their facility in the upper register. Another benefit of just sitting on one note is to improve the quality of the tone.
Thank you ❤️🎷
Thank you very much
Best explanation I have yet heard and I will use the exercise. Thank you!
This is really well done!
Thank you very much!
Awesome video, very informative.
Very helpful good thing I subbed 👍👍👍👍👍👍
This is the main point.i have the breathing problem also on sax.blues exercises are easy for me but slow songs are not easy for me.it is hard to keep the airflow steady.what about the inside mouth position?some says blowing like a A vocal but I am comfortable with a U vocal .i am soprano playing .
This problem for me seemed to come from not taking a big enough breath, so I would run out of air quickly, and my embouchure would compensate by tightening up, and tire very quickly.
Trying to stay as relaxed as possible when breathing and blowing will help. The "vowel shape" is very subtle, and it seems that the more I'm able to focus on maintaining a strong air stream, the easier it is to "find" the correct tongue position for each note.
@@Marcimusic257 thanks again for the info.today I changed my Rico b7 with a fake Chinese vandoren 8 .all the Registers come out easily.it seems my problem was the Rico b7 .metal vandoren is really easy blowing now .looking forward to your new videos.you have good teaching skills .good luck and thank you again 🎷🙏❤️
Great job!
very useful explanation thank you very much.
How much air should I take in with each breath? is it a normal breath or more air than with normal breathing while we talk for example?
I was surprised to discover that when I grasp for new air, my air tank is half full. So I need to quickly exhale and immediately inhale. It's exhausting, what do I do wrong?
Is very difficult to play longer phrases.
To compensate my embouchure tightens quite a lot.
It's a real torture... I don't know if other people experience this.
I know this feeling quite well! the term "comfortably full" seems to be the best way to describe this. It may be a bit more than when you are just breathing naturally, but no so much where you feel over-full. Take in too much air and you'll feel the tension.
I don't think you need to exhale all of the air before refilling. Personally, I find it difficult to refill efficiently if I've tried to squeeze out every last bit of air. How much air is actually left before inhaling again? 1/2? 1/3? 1/4? I'm not sure exactly. But I would just focus on trying to do what feels natural and relaxed, with good posture, so that you're not introducing unnecessary tension anywhere, and just let nature take care of itself. Like many things, if we overthink what we are doing, we tend to make things more complicated than they need to be.
@@Marcimusic257 thank you very much for taking the time to answer my question. Is possible I am taking too much air, I practiced today and tried to pay attention to breathing. I tend to take a big breath to start. The first 2 phrases are more or less ok. Then on next phrases with the new breaths, I start getting out of breath sooner and start over tiring. I have the feeling that I forget to breath 'from belly' and I start breathing from the chest. I guess I have acquired some bad habits. I also play in the big mute white box from BestBrass which is heavy and doesn't allow correct body posture.
I tried to exercise consciously playing low notes while breathing 'from belly ' and I managed to get quite a clear low C-best one ever, low B and almost low B flat. It is amazing how important is to be able to breathe and blow correctly. Your video with some science touches is awesome, one of the best I've seen adressing this important issue. Many many thanks! Greetings from Belgium :-)
@@sbooontheroad Ah, Belgium, the birthplace of the saxophone!
Thank you for the great content. I've been getting back into saxophone and going through you videos. One thing I was hoping this video would explain more is "breath support" and the difference between limiting your air and letting it flow freely like your balloon demonstration . Right now I struggle to play full other than at top volume (apartment living doesn't help). My question is...how do I let the air flow freely, achieve a full tone, and play less than top volume? Thanks for your contributions!
Playing at full volume is to be expected when starting out. "Flowing freely" can be misunderstood as blowing as forcefully as possible. Think of playing loud by using "fast" air, and soft by using "slow air". Imagine you're blowing a cylinder of air into the mouthpiece; the cylinder is the same diameter whether loud or soft, it's just moving into the mouthpiece at a faster or slower rate.
Or think of a tube of toothpaste; you can put x amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush by squeezing hard and fast, and you can put the same amount, x, by squeezing soft and slow.
Those aren't perfect analogies, but it might help to visualize how the air is moving.
A brass teacher I studied with taught me to play
"no softer than you can get a sure sound" so as to not constrict the airway. In the beginning, when we have less fine motor control over the instrument, it's going to be louder (and not great for an apartment, unfortunately). If you can manage to find a secluded spot to play outside, and the weather permits where you are, you can experiment more liberally with volume control, and not have to worry about the neighbors. I've often gone to a parking garage or cemetery to practice with less volume constraints. Nobody seemed to mind, and I even picked up a few fans along the way!
What size reed and mouthpiece are you playing on?
@@Marcimusic257 Hey thanks for the response! Last practice session I put this idea to the test of constant pressure needing to fill up the entire mouthpiece regardless of volume. I started to think about horsepower as an analogy. Correct me if this is off-track, but playing quiet at a full tone reminded me of a tractor slowly moving forward. It's slower, but it would still be able to plow through any obstacle in its way. The word "Support" is making more sense.
My next battle is with reeds and mouthpiece pitch. I'm a jazz guy with the classic hard rubber Meyer 6, but I have no clue what strength would be best for me for a number of reasons. I used to play on a J16 or Java 3, but that was 5 years ago so I don't have any embouchure anymore, so I'm not sure if I should start on a 2.5 and work back up to it, or struggle with a 3 until I adjust.
Also, I've always had a biting problem. My mp has teeth divets from highschool! I put work into no biting and playing was fine with decent tone at 3 strength, but I noticed my natural mouthpiece pitch was like a D instead of the accepted A-F# range. Maybe I should have been playing on a 2.5 the whole time?
Currently I can't get an A out of my mouthpiece unless my embouchure tightens significantly and I do what feels too extreme with my throat/tongue. I've tried a legere signature plastic 2.5 (too hard, poor response), a vandoren Java 3 (too hard, decent response), and a rico 2.5 (immediate response, reed will close up on me, low/high notes are thin)
So given that I used to play a java.3, I am out of playing shape right now, and I've never been able to hit the proper mouthpiece pitch, what size do you suggest I restart with? Or what questions should I ask myself that could help me figure it out?
@@zachyoutube213 that's a great analogy!
The reed just has to be soft enough to vibrate, and hard enough to provide resistance. The most important thing is to feel relaxed at all times when you play.
I would stick with the 2.5 for now. Don't try to force the pitch up, just let it sit where it's comfortable. It should come up on its own over time as you unconsciously adjust.
Watch this video when you get the chance: th-cam.com/video/K-0N7XETP5M/w-d-xo.html
Long tones are helpful in order to blow better .right ?thanks
Yes, long tones can help strengthen the blowing muscles. I have heard both Lenny Pickett and Jason Marshall say that the practice of loud long tones contributed to their facility in the upper register.
Another benefit of just sitting on one note is to improve the quality of the tone.
@@Marcimusic257 thanks for the info.subscribed and good luck 👍
Over talking.be précis in your words.