Conquering the Soprano Saxophone
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ค. 2024
- Taming the beast! The soprano saxophone is the most difficult of all the saxophones to gain full control and play in tune. Dr. Smith shares a lot of ideas on how to tackle the challenges of the soprano saxophone in both classical and jazz idioms. For more info see my book, The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching (available as a hard copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Outskirts Press and available as a digital copy on Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, The Apple Store iPad/iPhone version, and Outskirts Press).
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I've been playing clarinet in concert band and orchestra for years. Last week I bought a curved soprano sax on impulse and what I've taken from your video is that I really do need a few lessons. I even know an accomplished soprano sax player who teaches and tonight she agreed to take me on!
So I came back here today to say thank you, Ray, for uploading this.🎷
Good Luck with the new horn!
Been playing soprano for a good 5 months now with 10 years of sax playing under my belt, and these tips are really helpful! Thank you!
Thank you! I am so glad the video is helpful! You should also check out the book and all the other videos!
Thank you Ray. After 30 years of playing the soprano, it has now become my main sax. What an incredible instrument for almost all music styles. Like peeling a plumb, the results of working at this is super sweet.
Thanks for the tips! Helps out a lot
You really understand the instrument. Thanks for the tips.
This is an excellent demonstration on the soprano sax thank you
I've been waiting for this one, thank you!!
All right! Let me know what you think...
Excellent thanks.
Great Soprano sax----geniale--Perfekto.......
Wow that suggestion to just play the mouthpiece was amazing. I haven't done that in years with my alto. That exercise immdediatly opened up my soprano sound
As a newish sop player this has been so helpful thanks so much!
Thank you - Just trying soprano after playing alto for a few years - I knew it is a very different instrument from Alto / Tenor, but this video really pinpoints what those differences are and how to approach them. I believe it important to be aware of and realistic about, the challenges, and to be prepared to put in the time and effort. What a beautiful sound this instrument makes when played well.
You sound wonderful ! Thanks for sharing this lesson !
Thank you!
Nice tips! These are great things to think about for anyone playing soprano 👍🏼
Thank, Ben! I hope it will help a lot of soprano players.
Ray, a very informative video. Yes, Soprano is a beast. I've recently made some adjustments in playing by taking in less mpc compared to Tenor and Alto. I find that I get more control of my sound in the higher registers. I will check out your book and recordings as well.
Great video, Ray!! I’m enjoying the books a lot. Best regards,
Kent
Thanks so much, Kent! Hope all is well with you and your family.
Very instructive. Thank you.
I've signed up!
Sir, I admire and salute you for your passionate obsession. Your tone and teaching is exemplary. Thank you
Thanks so much! Hope it is helpful to you!!
Thank you!!!
Thanks Ray, such a good explanation, much appreciated. Great sound! (Sydney, Australia)
Thank you so much! I am happy to hear from Australia!
don't even play saxaphone (yet) but this is great overview, great teaching style....hope next year to take on saxaphone, in addition to many instruments i already play....
Just bought alto, but my goal is soprano. I love beautiful magic sound of this instrument, and I know that playing is a long path, but I want to go down all this way!
The death stick itself, I love it though
This is the best information I have found on dealing with a Soprano. I have played my Conn 10M tenor and Buescher 1921 Alto off and on for many years. I will be receiving a China built Soprano soon. After what I am sure will be needed adjustments (or exchange) I will be working on dealing with infamious Soprano intonation issues Thank You for this video!
Thank you, dear brother! Best Wishes with your new soprano!!
Thank you for all of the hard work and effort you put into making this video. I'm loving your sound on Snowdrift!
Thanks so much! I am glad it is helpful to you!
Cool !
I've been playing soprano on Lincolnshire Posy and it's been absolute hell for the start of Horkstow Grange, also that reference to The Old Castle on bassoon was smoothhhh
Thank you. How are you doing with your soprano now?
@@charlesrsmith7 Great, thanks for asking! The voicing has become much more natural with practice, and I can get those extremes of the range to speak without absolutely honking.
@@adanmantri5599 Fantastic! Glad to hear...
Ray, hello from Colombia. Im learning a lot from your experience. Thanks for develop this material !
Camilo, thanks for subscribing. I'm glad the videos are helpful. Check out the book! I was in Bogota and Cali last week. You have a beautiful country!!
My grandson now lives with his new bride between Cali and Santander.
@@charlesrsmith7 Ohh ray. You cant be serious. Really? My saxophone Teacher was PhD Javier Ocampo. I guess you know him. I will be so happy to stay in touch with you. Pd: Forgive my english. Im learning it... I will check the book!
Having played tenor for 45 years, I have been playing my daughter's baritone for a few months, but recently acquired a curved soprano. It is, as you describe, a completely different animal. This video gave me some excellent guidance. I am willing to work at it. I intend to buy your book(s). I subscribed to your channel and will be a regular viewer of your videos. Thank you!!!!!
Thank you! I’m so glad this is useful to you! Good luck as you pursue the soprano.
What a divine sound!
By the way, what was that beautiful piece of organ(?) music?
First time watching you, but I just downloaded your book
I'm right at the beginning.
Thank you! Let me know how it is going after you’ve had a chance to dig in!
@@charlesrsmith7 thanks I appreciate that. I went from trumpet to the tenor sax and now the soprano, mostly self taught. I will watch your videos and read the book and see how it goes.
There are other saxophones . And don't need to rush - to learn . Nice video .
Wowee. This is exactly what I am looking for. Thank you!
Having played alto (quite well) a few years ago I now have a sop to play with and it really put me in my place haha . My sister and I (main instrument being flute) had a good giggle with some of the most unhinged sop duets our neighbours are ever likely to hear.
I later come back and really tried to put some work into it and it was so fun. I found it really responded to my internal singing tone and intonation in passages leaning up to those tricky notes. A few times i got a half decent tone. Playing a note from scratch was a lotto draw. Once Im less chopped and my core recovers Im excited to put some more work in.
I found it very difficult to keep the sound full when not pumping the volume. Am I just used to being lazy with my alto and need to keep an intense air flow or should I bother getting maybe a better mouthpiece that is more responsive?
If you respond I will be thrilled! Thanks, from Australia :)
Hi Maddie, I’m glad you are finding value in the video. I’m also glad to hear you are taking on the soprano. What mouthpiece and instrument are you using? And what reeds? Where in Australia do you live? I will try to help but need a little more information. Best wishes, Ray
Is there one of your videos where you speak more about plastic reeds for soprano...I've tried it on occasion, but never could get comfortable with the results...but it certainly sounds like you have tamed that beast!
Thank you! The Legere is the only one I would try to play on classically.
Thanks for these incredible soprano approach...a great and beatiful beast ¡¡¡ Where can i get the whole albums samples you played. Thanks
SI think the music I played on that video are from the Q’d Up Zagranitsa album. You can find it at www.jazzhangrecords.com
@@charlesrsmith7 Thanks , love your content and long distance teaching
I am told I play the soprano well and in tune.
Before all the good information in this excellent video: you need a good mouthpiece and make sure it's pushed in the neck to the right spot.
My technique is practically to sing in my head what I am going to play .
Exactly! To push in adequately, you must be blowing down to a concert C on the mouthpiece alone at a loud level. Then what you are describing about singing the notes in your head is perfect. I call it pre-hearing each note. You have already discovered some very important keys to playing the soprano. Wishing you all the best!
I've been learning the soprano since last Christmas as it was a present from my husband. I'm finding it challenging, and my current problems are reeds getting waterlogged and notes squeaking. I will try putting my mouth further into the mouthpiece, but do you have any other suggestions please? I'm playing with a Hemker Strength 3 or Vandoren Strength 3 reed. I've also been playing alto sax since 1982, and I also play the flute and a little clarinet. Thank you very much.
According to the shape of one‘s jaw, thickness of one’s liips and the width of aperture and model of mouthpiece., a forward lowering of the lower lip allows me to use the standard jazz undulating lipped vibrato for jazz and bends in place of the non variable classical static lip position, relying on change of air pressure as with the flute, but regardlless of how you achieve it - your sound expression is perfect for the jazz and classical piecesyiu played .I have a 1981 Mark VI Selmer gold lacquered soprano and use a 1950s Selmer 7 Super Session ebonite mouthpiece providing excellent intonation. I will play along and try to replicate some of the exercises i haven’t yet mastered which you demonstrate on your video !
Great, wish you the best with that!
Hi. Thank you for this very helpful lesson. Any advice about avoiding thumb pain due to the weight of the soprano? I have the Cannonball VR soprano, which has a comparatively mellow tone, but it is heavy. What posture is acceptable? Is it acceptable to lean forward or lower the head? Or rest the bell on a desk?
Would a curved soprano or a straight one with a curved neck help? Thank you.
Hopefully, you are using the neckstrap. The curved neck is intended to help you put more of the weight on the neckstrap and less on your thumb. It can be possible to rest it on your knee depending on your height. Leaning forward a little is good, but I would not lower your head. Keep your head erect and then adjust the neckstrap so you are not reaching down or up for the mouthpiece.
What are the classical & jazz mouthpiece names & facings you are playing ? Also what kind of Legere reed & strength are you playing ? Last question what model & brand sax ?
Uhg glad I came across this video... my mouthpiece pitch is a Bb... im struggling to bring it up to a C...
How are you doing now? Is it helping?
@@charlesrsmith7 its improving. I've been working on breaking the habit and firming up my embachure- I've played on my aerophone while recovering from coves and lost alot of strength
I bought a soprano saxphone a couple of days ago thinking it would be simple to play as I have the basics of the fingering from the flute. Wow was I wrong, it seems there is almost a semitone of latitude on each note with the embouchure, yeah I can knock out a tune or two on it already but keeping in key is going to be a nightmare.
What is the name of your group and CD playing the song snowdrift? Just love Soprano.
The name of the group is Q'd Up. That tune is on the CD "Zagranitsa". We are about to release on June 11th, two more CDs: Going Places and Dawn Fire Mist.
wonderful tips thank you sir.i have a question what is the sax you are using in this video?
It is a Cannonball “Arc” Big Bell Series
Hello.
Thank you for your lessons, it's very helpful.
I see on all of your saxophones you use a metal part (resonator), which fit into neck screw.
Please tell what is it, and how this part affects on the sound, especially on soprano saxophone?
Thank you.
I find answer here )
Ray Smith Gear Info Video
Great! Glad you found it!
How about finding a MP
DOpe - intonation section great. I also notice the "long c-sharp" thing immediately. Been doing it for 30 years but does not work on Soprano.
No, you are right, it does not work on soprano. I have found that leaving down finger 3 (no octave key) over the break makes things smoother.
Hi Sir, could you give us some hints on how to produce so many overtones? I can't seem to get past the 2nd overtone, I mean the fifth of the root and I have a tendency to squeeze the sound when I do the overtone series...thank you in advance
The higher overtones can be difficult. A couple of things to think about and a thing you can try. It does take a little more pressure on the reed but this can only be done without squeezing the sound if you first pivot your jaw forward so you have more reed in the mouth. Second, it seems to help if the tip of your tongue is close to the tip of the reed but only underneath, not over the top and not touching. You might come through the back door by playing that second octave note as a real note and see if you can keep it when you transfer over to the overtone fingering. Good luck! The main thing is to just keep trying everyday until you discover the right combination.
Thank you very much for the tips Sir. You sound amazing on every sax and your advices are so valuable. What is the new book you are talking about?
The new book is The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching available as a hard copy from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. and available as a digital copy at the same places and the Apple Store.
Nice video Ray, very informative! I see you have a clunk of metal on your sax, presumably that helps with the 'crispness' of the notes? I've recently purchased an 'LA Sax' straight soprano, and where the F# key is situated, there are another two keys, which I've never encountered before, does your saxophone have these? Also, I've seen some saxophonists swear by 'bite patches' on their mouthpiece, but I see that you don't use them yourself, and I don't use them either, they seem so restricting to me... Another thing that I have noticed, is that I have to position the mouthpiece way down the crook to get it in tune, using a guitar tuner for reference.. Lovely sax playing on the tracks that you’ve featured on, by the way.
On some sopranos these days, there is a split key where the high F# key is. The upper key is for High G. Yes I do have it, but I rarely use it-I mostly use the front fingering for the high G. The chunk of metal you referred to is the Klangbogen (made by ReedGeek) and yes it does help with response and intonation. I do have a small bite patch that is built into my mouthpiece. It is not something I attached after the fact. However, on most of my other mouthpieces, I do have bite patches. I don’t care for the thicker black ones, but rather I would go for the thin clear ones. They are not restricting, but they help protect your mouthpiece from your teeth. They can effect vibration, so I would go thin and small as possible. The saxophone is designed for the the mouthpiece to be pushed in a lot. You should check your mouthpiece pitch when you play the mouthpiece alone at a forte level. The pitch should be “C” concert. If you are playing a lot lower, that would be rare, but get as close to the C as possible and then determine the position for the mouthpiece. Most people play too high in the mouthpiece pitch and have to pull out in an unhealthy amount.
I had no problems with mine.
Very interesting video. Would it be possible to subtitle in Spanish?. Thank’s so much.
I really wish I had that ability. I will have to look into seeing if I can get some help with that.
Ray, do you have any thoughts regarding gurgling around low G? Is driving me insane! Playing a well regulated Yamaha Custom 6 months in after 30 years of alto and tenor playing. Using Selmer Concept mouthpiece and blue box Vandoren reeds.
I am so sorry, Luke. I thought for sure I had responded to your question a while ago, but I don't see it here...? So anyway, as to the gurgling G, this can be a result of several things or a combination of them. I think the most common cause is not having the mouthpiece pushed in far enough on the neck. You may feel sharp and pull the mouthpiece too far out when what you really need to do is change your blowing. Have you checked the pitch of the mouthpiece alone. At a forte level, you should be playing a concert (piano) C. If you are playing a D like most players, you will have to pull out too far and it can cause what you are describing. It could also be caused by a reed that is not sealing on the mouthpiece (see the video on reeds, Chapter 16 part 3) or an embouchure that is too loose and unfocused. Of course, it could be a sealing issue in the instrument itself, but most of the time it is the player. Good Luck solving this. Do realize that you are not the first or only player to encounter this.
Many thanks Ray; I will work on my pitch with mouthpiece alone to get it down to C, as I’m pretty sure it’s the only variable that could be causing the problem. Thanks so much for your video series, you are a treasure trove of wonderful information. I hope to buy your book soon.
Hello! I have recently started with alto sax and was wondering if I could alternate it with the soprano, learn both at the same time
Yes, it is possible. I have had students that alternated alto every other week and soprano on the opposite weeks. In some ways, if you are just beginning, it would be good to really get your feet on the ground with alto before expanding out.
@@charlesrsmith7 very thanks!
Are there sopranos that are more likely to play in tune? Quality I understand
Truth
How does it compare with clarinet
Sorry, I just discovered your question. The soprano and clarinet look like they would be the same, but there are big differences in tone production. I have a video on clarinet in Chapter 24 that gives some comparisons and how to deal with it. The chapter on tone production, Chapter 8, I believe also makes some important observations.
What is yr jazz set up?
I’m playing on a Jody Jazz DV 6* usually with a 2.5 Legere Signature Reed and a Silverstein Ligature.
The biggest problem with the soprano saxophone is people saying "it's a difficult instrument".
Easiest imo
Let's hear you?? 😮😮😮@@militantminded7720
Intimidating, I'll stick to alto.
Mastering the soprano sax. is no different to mastering any musical instrument.The process is the same -A weekly lesson with a good teacher,and daily practice.
Pity too much talk a not enough music 🫤🫤🫤
If you want more music, I have a lot of music on my website: www.jazzhangrecords.com
This is an instructional tutorial.