Never Play Your SAXOPHONE Like A CLARINET. Here's Why...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 พ.ค. 2024
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This week we look at the differences between clarinet and saxophone and why you shouldn't be playing one like the other!
🎬 The RIGHT Bb fingering to use on sax!
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:38 Difference #1 Tone Conception
04:13 Difference #2 The Physics
08:46 Difference #3 Fingering
13:22 Conclusions
15:00 Before You Go...
15:55 Outro & Bloopers
Get Your Sax Together is a fun and informative channel, packed with free online saxophone lessons. My name’s Jamie Anderson and I’ve been a pro saxophonist since 1996. I release new content every Sunday at 7am UK so you can Sax Up Your Sunday! Subscribe and 🔔 click the bell icon (set to ALL) to get notified when new content is released. Thanks for watching! Jamie 🎷
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I started on clarinet at age 9, and in high school decided to add sax (self taught), bari of all things. In the beginning times, playing in jazz ensemble, sometimes those low notes were unreliable, so when playing in a performance, I did some preparation... chewing a whole pack of gum at once to fatigue my mouth enough to make a tight embouchure impossible. It worked! Later, I had no need for this, thank Wrigley.
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You can also play clarinet almost like sax and your clarinet teacher is probably not going to like it.
Only up to a point. They are cousins, not brothers, to quote a clarinettist who has been very helpful to me.
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One can only trY......heh heh
@@rhondahunt6148 I'm thinking more about playing style and vibe than physics though, for example in Klezmer music, I think clarinet is played with much of characteristics of how jazzy saxophone also sounds with krekhts in the ends of note, freely flowing meter etc.
Some clarinets are more conical, actually. You have a Boehr clarinet, if you had an Oehler clarinet, it would be slightly more conical.
I enjoyed this. I wanted a sax as a child and my parents bought me a clarinet as a stepping stone with the promise of a sax if I persevered. So I learned the clarinet reasonably well. Eventually I got the sax and had to relearn as you've pointed out. Recently I was asked to play something on clarinet and I found it SO HARD!
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Play bass clarinet
Learned very quickly I can’t play sax like a clarinet, played clarinet for 6 years and then added all 4 main saxes.
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As a long time flute player who has just taken up saxophone I'd be very interested in seeing a similar video comparing the flute, alto sax and tenor sax. To me there are many more similarities than there are with clarinet.
You are correct.
Aw man, I don’t think I’m gonna get into flute and sax doubling! Fingering is certainly more similar though.
It’s honestly amazing how similar woodwinds are in the first place. The only real difference is key and how you hold/play it
@@Elloliott okay. Fair enough!
Excellent review, thanks
You're welcome
Thanks a lot, Mr Anderson. Very interesting video.
You're welcome!
This explains a lot, having started with the clarinet 50 years ago and switched to the saxophone about 15 years ago, when I listen to recordings of my playing it’s apparent that I am still doing this. I must pay more attention to your total tone mastery course. Thanks Jamie.😊
You're welcome!
You do not have to decide whether you become a sax or clarinet player. You just have to have a sound concept in mind and to know the differences Jamie described. Jimmy Giuffre is an outstanding player of sax and clarinet. And s.o. who learned tenor s. and clarinet up from the beginning. … and Bill Smith, and Joris Rolefs …
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And now, Anat Cohen
You can always disregard the "rules" how an instrument has to be played or should sound, even have necks built for your way of playing (like Giuffre and I think John Harle). You can compensate the troubles you may get doing so. But in general, there are "agreements". You will not be welcome in a sinfonic orchestra if you sound like Sidney Bechet, nor will you be welcome in a funk band sounding like Nobuya Sugawa. Switching between the two instruments is always a challenge, especially for just a few bars and then going back. Besides listening a lot to top players to get the vibe it's important for me to think of playing the sax (in a jazz or rock context) a bit more with my lips - and more "relaxed" chin muscles. When playing the clarinet, I need more of the chin muscles to get a tighter, thinner lip. This way I get rid of the "dirt" and the frequencies I (normally) don't want for clarinet. To be true, I had to work on that for a long time. Cheers, Günter
Thanks. I started on clarinet back in elementary school, circa 1970 or so. I switched to alto sax and did well through college playing alto, tenor, and bari. I found that playing clarinet after that was really difficult, but the bass clarinet wasn’t so bad. I would play reeds in musical plays, but I found bass clarinet so much easier on my embouchure.
Great comment, thanks. 🙏🏻
really nice (and quite short) explanation! Interesting, constructive and not boring )
Glad you liked it!
In high school my teacher used the Klose methodfor Clarinet and I made it to first chair. Sax, switched to the Lazarus method - then flute - very confused embouchure!
I had a Selmer Mk 6 tenor sax and was never able to get the tones I was looking for (later found it was actually a bari! Your video explained a lot of that!
Fortunately, for the world of woodwinds, I switched to electric bass in 1962! But I made my first professional dollar, on Alto sax in 1961.
Nice story. Thanks for sharing
Great video, I learned a lot of the differences! Especially about the physics! Can you also make a video of the flute?
Em, no. My flute is worse than my clarinet! 🤣
Bis (again, twice, repeat) keys are generally used to facilitate trills. Clarinet Bb bis key is the thin strip of metal between the G (open hole) and A (ringed key). It opens the side pad between A and B natural. The bis (or trill) is from A to Bb. Trills between Bb and B natural should/could use the "long" Bb (using any of the 1st 3 fingers of the right hand) or the unofficial key Jamie refers to.
Thanks, Jamie. Yet another great insight for musicians of all levels.
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Love your work, Jamie. I believe it's much easier to learn clarinet first, and then transition to saxophone. The clarinet is so much more demanding than the sax, more alternate fingerings, different embouchure. Many of the best sax players started on clarinet. Each instrument has a unique voice. Then we move on to doubling on flute, which requires a different approach again. Love it all, the joy of music! I'm sure you're familiar with the great Pequito D Rivera, a fabulous clarinetist and alto sax player.
More demanding as an intermediate certainly.
Thanks for that great comment!
I thought your "playing sax as clarinet" sounded great! The instrument does not have to have a single sound. I play sop sax and sometime have to reinforce or sub for trumpet, flute or clarinet. I love the range that is possible.
Thanks 🙏🏻
Well...... the general points are correct, of course and you can only go into so much detail.
You make very good points about the differences.
There is a very good video on TH-cam explaining the acoustics and why clarinet and sax behave differently. Its to do with the cylinder/cone difference and how the wave propagates down the tube.
Fingering/key aspects, The sax more resembles an Albert (Oehler) system clarinet which doesn't have the alternate pinky keys and uses rollers to aid moving from one to the other.
Sax could have easily used a more Boehm type arrangement, but maybe the Albert system was more prevalent in France at the time and it was simpler.
Yes there are metal clarinets and (sort of) wooden saxophones, the Taragato is very similar to a soprano sax but made from wood.
Sound concept. You are essentially comparing classical clarinet with jazz saxophone.
Jazz clarinetists have adopted a range of approaches from say, Bechet, Fountain to Goodman, Defranco, and classical saxophonists (until recently) have confined themselves to a very narrow Mule influenced French approach, which do blur the distinction you illustrate. Classical sax appears to be going off in a wierd direction seemingly to prioritse making every sound effect the saxophone was not designed to make. Possible in retaliation, the jazz saxophonist now has to contend with beat boxing.
Nice comment. Thanks. 🙏🏻
I really appreciate this video as someone that played clarinet for 6 years and just picked up the sax for fun 3 days ago!! Lol it was a dream to see the fingering for the upper octave being the same as the lower ones… I felt so good learning a few basic songs in a day 😂 but I did notice my tone just sounds… well, awful 😂 definitely a huge difference between pressing the keys and actually producing a good sound. I watched your embouchure video and it’s soooo different i will have to practice being more relaxed lol. Definitely going to check out the masterclass next!
Awesome! Thank you
I am a clainet player turned saxophonist and recognise the problems you mention especially with the embouchure. I always produced a good sound on the saxophone, perhaps a sweet, centred sound, but now I've changed my embouchure and am using a softer reed I am getting a better, bolder richer tone. I also made the mistake of having few sax lessons so it was ages before I discovered little things like the G# key gem, C trill etc.
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I've just started the Clarinet as I really like the tone and being able to play more quietly in the house, but really want to play saxophone too as i tried it a few years ago and Immediately loved it and clicked with it. What are the main issues you had or was a fairly easy transition even given the points mentioned here? I intend to learn both...I know I know but hey I love them both haha
@@Teckno77 Many people double on both but are unlikely to sound great on both. For example if you play sax in a traditional big band you are sometimes expected to double on clarinet but you'll only be playing in that one genre and you might sound OK in that limited arena. I think my sax playing has improved immensely by concentrating on playing just sax, however I now want to take my clarinet on a trip abroad (for convenience) so I need to practice. It will probably damage my sax playing but that's too bad! Going back to the clarinet I have found my fingers are a bit clumsy as it is so much smaller and the issue of the different fingerings - around the throat notes, being different in the lower to upper register and different fingerings in the altissimo all add to the challenge. In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend it! I don't even like doubling on Alto and Tenor! But it's up to you. The flexibility to play both may be the most important thing to you.
Good points! The opposite is also true :) as a learned clarinetist I just have to say ;) I managed to get the sound I like on the sax because my teacher who plays both well took me aside when I started self-taught and eliminated as he called it the „childhood sicknesses“.
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So, what clarinet should we have at home, just to have one to try things out? Boehm or German fingering? Wood or plastics? What do you have in this, again brilliant, video?
Appreciate your point but there are so many nuances to this. Loosening your embouchure and letting the reed vibrate freely is far from what many saxophonists do and yet they have amazing sound, especially when talking classical. On the contrary we often create resistance with the pressure and vowels we manipulate to have a colorful sound that is both open and full.
Yeh, fair enough.
This is a great video! As I'm a professional clarinettist doubling on saxophone, I have definitely been guilty of playing my sax like a clarinet!! Especially not using the bis fingering either! (Can't get away from that damn side key) I think the thing is that as clarinettists we pick up the sax as we can then teach both and double on it for shows etc. And initially they do seem similar, single reed etc. However you're right you can spot a clarinettist-playing-sax a mile off, and I have to thank you so much for helping me sound more like a saxophonist when I play my sax! Especially making crucial embouchure adjustments both for myself and my students has been a game changer. I would also say that my sax playing has informed my clarinet playing with being able to bend notes, even do a bit of vibrato (shock, horror) and generally make my sound a bit more flexible (ok ok not that much more, I am classically trained after all!!) The bottom lip positioning has been a game-changer ie not so much bottom lip turned over with the sax (and the fish shape!). Couple of things though, first I have to disagree that the clarinet is a 'quiet' instrument...I mean, it's quieter in general than the sax but it can be very piercing and cut through a lot in middle and upper registers; and can sound pretty raspy in the lower when you give it some welly! However, it is a dream to play quiet low notes on the clarinet as you know, as opposed to those tricky low notes on the sax which haunt my dreams.....naturally the sax is louder of course though. Other thing is, a beginner clarinettist would rarely be able to play those low notes easily, or those high register ones either - mainly for the point you made that it's so hard to cover the holes properly with the pads of the fingers to start with and it can take months for beginners to do that (bit easier on adult learners maybe as they naturally have larger fingers). They couldn't get to the high notes (except by accidentally squeaking!) either for a long time as you need the breath support and resistance with a harder reed to get up there - you would just get an undertone otherwise. Oooo and last thing, I have never even considered that that tiny key on the clarinet is it's very own bis key!!!! In all these years!!! ......God love the misery stick!!! (lol, my husband calls it that too...but then he's a drummer haha) I think saxophonists hate the fingering of the clarinet coz obviously it is gnarly compared to sax fingerings which seem like a dream when you switch from clarinet (what?! It's the same in the upper octave?! Seriously!?). Anyway, I absolutely love what you do Jamie and you have transformed my saxophone technique and knowledge and I am loving getting into jazz and releasing myself from my classical straight jacket!! Thanks so much for these videos xx
ps I have to stop my clarinet pupils from pushing against the reed too much as they deaden the sound so that's not just a sax thing. Also, I have to stop them resting the clarinet on their chin as that is definitely not advisable, the angle should be wider and you should not be able to feel the ligature on your chin. In fact, biting on the clarinet is a real problem and generally the embouchure is much too tight in pupils (except when it's too loose of course......honk...).
On vibrato, do you mean clarinet is not supposed to play with vibrato?
Not really in straight classical playing, no. I use a tiny bit for colour on the occasional long note but it's not considered stylistically appropriate in orchestral playing which is what I trained in. @@ph2738
@@ph2738vibrato is harder on clarinet because you can’t really use your embouchure to bend notes. Instead you use breath pressure to create vibrato like on flute or oboe. Sax can use either breath pressure or embouchure to bend notes which gives added flexibility
The side key is hard to ignore for clarinetists because it has a parallel on the clarinet, that trill key 2nd from the top. That's not a particularly good key for making that note solid with, but it does come in quite handy for solidifying the notes right on the break.
Such an awesome comment. Thank you so much. ☺️
It will be two years in January since I began learning to play the soprano saxophone. It's been a challenge but, it has also been loads of fun. I don't know where I would be if I had chosen the clarinet. I actually never even gave it much thought. It was the soprano saxophone from the start. Your videos have been a valuable treasure trove helping me along on my journey. Thank you!
Did you play before altosaxophone? Or did you start with sopranosaxo?
People normally start on the alto, tenor if you're feeling brave, you must be a masochist to start on the Soprano! 😂
@@MariMari-to3pm I played tenor in high school but, I left it behind when I graduated. 431/2 years went by before I picked up the soprano. About all I could remember was how to read notes and the note fingerings on the instrument.
@@alexadams1836 I played tenor in high school but, left it there. 43 1/2 years went by before I picked up the soprano. I remembered how to read notes and note fingerings. Yeah, it's been challenging and takes a lot of focus but, I don't think it's been all that difficult. I'm enjoying it.
You're welcome. Glad it helps
I was just tempted to switch from alto-saxophone to clarinete. This week I watched clarinete videos and started looking for a clarinete. Your video convinced me to stick with alto saxophone. I have been playing altosaxophone for almost 5 years, classical music. It is no easy for me to have a nice musical tone and at the same time alto saxophone fascinates me. I don’t have a teacher. I am 61 years old. I took a teacher at the beginning. Thank you!
The Clarinet is great for classical music, I've been playing for 6 years and love it! BUT I think you do need a teacher to learn it, there's some stuff you would never think about by yourself
The saxophone is really underestimated for classical music. I like the classical tone of a saxophone. For me, it helped to buy a different mouthpiece. For me, it was the Backun TM, which was hard to get used to, but in the end, it was easier to get the classical tone I wanted.
Great comment. Enjoy!
Hey Jamie, thanks so much. As a saxophone teacher I have to deal with these problems very often. My question is would the saxophone embochure work on a clarinet and what would it sound like? Thanks so much. I really appreciate your work.
Yeh you can play clarinet like that but it might be a bit of an airy, windy tone that’s too flat.
would love to hear you play the clarinet like a sax to see how that sounds!
Not great I think. But my clarinet never sounds great anyway tbh!
Thanks for this vid.! As a clarinetist I have to admit: I bite to hard on sax.. So after watching many vids, it get better and better to sound good on sax. B.t.w.: there are 3 ways to play an Bb on clarinet. Tnx for your vids.! :-)
You're welcome!
Material of construction has a minor if any effect on the sound difference. it is all about the profile of the air column trapped within the instrument. Saxes have big tone holes toward the bell because the cone results in attenuation of the sound energy density as it passes down the instrument.
There you go!
Point that chin on the clarinet! LOL I think this is an important video. Many get confused, or don’t get it all together. Thanks for doing it.
You're welcome!
You just explained the intro to "Rhapsody in Blue" by sliding that note on clarinet. Very interesting.
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Hi Jamie!
I wanted to ask if you could do a tutorial on Chris Whites Solo from the song Romeo and Juliet from Dire Straits. I really love the song, but I can't find any tutorials..
It would be greatly appreciated, as in my opinion it's one of the best solos on sax.
Love your vids ❤
Thanks for the suggestion!
Love Clarinet Concerto, was thinking of giving it a go on Sax, when I have time......... 🙄
Cool!
As someone that teaches both of these to students every year, not every beginner can play low notes and altissimo notes on clarinet with ease lol. If anything, students are more likely to play high and low on sax than clarinet. Just an observation though. Love all your videos!
I think he was referring to soprano sax particularly. 4 octaves on clarinet is a breeze compared to anything beyond the middle 2 octaves of soprano sax
Yeh, sometimes I lie to make friends. 😉
I call side Bb the clarinettist key. I use it for lots of things, particularly Sanborn grunty F#, but I never use it for Bb.
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Woody Herman and Tony Scott had great, appropriate tones on both.😊
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I think upper partials are more important on clarinet.. Without working on those it's impossible to project the sound beyond a simple chamber setting. Playing "bright" in a full orchestra actually sounds "dark" at the back of a concert hall, but it's having strong upper partials that actually carries the sound far enough, even if playing quiet. School directors are always yellin at clarinetists to play louder, mainly because they aren't taught about partials, just "dark" sound, which is impossible to actually project.. The way you support the air on both instruments is the same mechanism, from the lower abdomen, which helps push out those partials.
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Where was this video a year ago when I needed it😭😭 I still have the bad habits from the clarinet
It's here now. Keep at it
So funny, LOL...I'm sticking to my funky horn thanks!!!
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Great video. Just the other day....
My alto has to go into the shop. Wife says, hey you can learn the clarinet until it gets back.
What clarinet?
Her: The one (my step-daughter name) played for a while and gave up.
Sure enough, a student Yamaha in excellent condition appears from 17 years ago... 😂
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15:52 - So worth watching to the end! So, why didn't we give some love to the Altissimo similarities? It's like wondering why the saxophonist is late to the party when the clarinetist has been on the "beyond basic fingering" train since forever. It's like musical chairs, but the sax player always ends up standing!
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I have a question about the tone conception for the saxophone. Is that really the way adolphe sax intended for the sound to be conceived, or was it a tone color the instrument was capable of that was used by jazz musicians (who had a major hand in popularizing it), and they said that it should sound this way?
When you played the sax like a clarinet it was still much louder and brighter than the clarinet. It wasn't a bad sound at all. In fact I liked it a lot.
I want to make something clear here, im not asking this because im a clarinet player trying to be a snob. Hell im not even a clarinet player. I play the guitar and tin whistle mostly (though I can play several instruments).
I'm asking this because I genuinely want to know if adolphe sax actually intended the instrument he created to be played the way it is, or if that's something people discovered it could sound like and then insisted that that's the only way it should be played. Jazz musicians do tend to be gatekeepy, and a bit pretentious about all things involved in the music they play (instruments, tone color, etc).
And "if you don't like it, then you aren't smart enough to understand it" is a common phrase i here from them. And it bothers me because I do understand the music, I just don't like most of it.
Sorry for going off on a tangent.
I also apologize if I sounded argumentative. That was not my intention. I'm autistic and sometimes things don't come across the way I intend them to.
The way we play sax now is not the way Adolf Sax intended it, no. Classical sax is more like that. Great comment.
I took a year of clarinet lessons as a kid, but didn't start on flute and sax until 10 years later, so I didn't have any "clarinet habits" to unlearn. Nice finish with a "Roland Kirk" 2 horns at once! Ha.
Speaking of Kirk, he would play sax and larinet at the same time (e.g. "Blue Rol"); also sax and oboe ("The Black and Crazy Blues", I think); and even trumpet and sax, and flute and sax! A truely miraculous phenomenon.
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I played clarinet for 1 year then switched to Tenor sax and yes I made the mistake of playing it like a clarinet at first but I just want to say to those that clarinet and saxophone are NOT the same thing good video. 👍
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The only advantage to the clarinet is the glissing! LOL! I started on sax and then ended up majoring on clarinet in college which was a struggle to say the least. Yes, I see this all the time with the embouchure problems and it's really hard to fix. LOL! Thanks to you I used to just say, relax, RELAX! (Intenesely yelling RELAX doesn't help). Now i've learned to say, no, GOLDFISH! It really does help!
Great!
I wonder what would Nigel McGill say about this 😅. He recommends the classical embochure
Why don’t you ask him, not me? 🤣
@@GetYourSaxTogether 🤣
What about from oboe to soprano sax?
Oof. Double reeds are a whole thing.
My problem is that I play my clarinet like a sax even though I've never played sax before. Can you tell me what am I doing wrong or am I better off switching to sax?
Bit hard to know over a comment!
Those of us who were taught by college professors that were woodwind teachers that were clarinet players but also played saxophone - it explains so much why we had issues getting that “sound” we have all been chasing. [insert bad language here]
Right?! 🙏
Clarinet player here who got serious into sax about 3 years ago.... I'm VERY intersted in this video....!!!!
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@@GetYourSaxTogether lol. No worries. You did a great job! Two small things.... 1) interesting thing too is how different instruments are taught differently. Overtone exercises aren't really taught on clarinet. and 2)... don't be hatin' on my side Bb choice on sax! I'll still get around the horn pretty well! 🤣🤣🤣
Great video as usual 👍. "Gold clarinet" is much more polite than my "tin clarinet" nickname for the soprano! 😂
I borrowed a friend's clarinet for a couple of weeks to see if I could get on with a reed instrument before buying a sax but that's as far as I went with it. You may guess that the experiment was a success and I haven't ever regretted buying a sax.❤
Great!
Interesting!
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Does anyone know a saxophone with a clarinet key-system? Please let me know!
Sounds like a nightmare! 🤣
It is safe to say that i got rid of my clarinet a while back. My granddaughter has it now. But i think she has her mind on switching to alto saxophone. Jamie, i think you might have helped her with her decision. 🎷🎷🎷🎷🎷
Awesome Carlos!
Is there a reason you don't use rubber teeth cushion on top of the mouthpiece?
I do.
Not all clarinets are made of wood. I have a metal Noblet, Silver King is a famous metal model. They sound the same as wooden ones. I changed my sax embouchure to lip out 2 years ago and it was a game changer.
Cool!
But if you are going for a classical tone on saxophone as maybe in that case it's fine I don't know
Maybe!
I always thought the difference in shape of the instruments was also responsible for the way low and high notes play🤔. I believe a metal clarinet still plays way more like a wooden clarinet than a saxophone
Yeah, material doesn’t make much of a difference
That’s what I said in the video. It’s the shape.
When I had to get a wisdom tooth extracted, the dental assistants said, “We noted on your forms that you play a wind instrument. Do you have any concerns.” I was mainly concerned that the extraction might create a different mouth cavity volume that would take a while to adapt to. But I asked, “Yes. How long do you think it will be before I can play the clarinet?” They told me “Oh, a week, maybe ten days, depending on how it feels for you.” That gave me the set up to say “Wow, great. I’ve always wanted to try the clarinet. Sounds easier than I thought!”
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Jamie why a lot of great sax player move from Clarinet to playing sax and get so good very quick ?
Because the sax is easy to finger. You just have to master it.
I dunno really to be honest. Theres also many who didn’t.
I know how to play saxophone but clarinet is hard for me because I can’t get the notes out
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@@GetYourSaxTogether how come your shocked? It’s true
i love palm keys
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Blowing. I tried to play on clarinet but I could not blow through it and play any tone.
Impossible to diagnose over a blind TH-cam comment I’m afraid. 😧
I went from sax to clarinet and when I listened back to the recordings my higher register sounded more like a soprano sax than a clarinet LMAO
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Why are we up at 2:00 a.m. in New york?
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@@GetYourSaxTogether I was up to watch your video
@@deadmanswife3625 dedication!!
Not designed as a marching band instrument Jamie. Designed as an orchestral instrument that had it all. Big dynamic range which could blend well. The Parisian instrument makers, scared of these beneficial properties, dictated that any instrumentalist that played in an orchestra with saxophones would lose their endorsement deals. It really was quite political. Great vid by the way!
Thanks for the correction.
@@GetYourSaxTogether Fascinating stuff mate, have a gander.
Can someone identify all the albums on the back wall?
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I don’t play clarinet. I double on flute, and I think flute is vary similar in fingering with sax. The registers are an octave apart. There are some similar side keys. The fingerings start diverging in the third octave where sax goes into palm keys and altissimo, flute goes into, well, third and higher octave fingers. My flute even has solid pads, not open hole pads, making it even more like a sax.
Two ways I play sax like a flute player is I skip the octave key on some passages, and I throw more arpeggios into improv, while sax players seem to play more scale type moves.
Why is the physics on flute like this, so, even though the body of the flute is cylindrical, the registers are an octave apart and not an octave and a fifth?
Good comment, thanks!
I'm sorry, but I cannot agree less in your first point. In your tone conception demonstration, you are basically biting hard the soprano, thus implying that the clarinet tone conception strangles the sound, and this is plain wrong. This tells me that probably you are approaching your clarinet playing in the wrong way. You definitely need a more focused air stream, but you achieve this through your voicing, not by taking too little mouthpiece in and biting harder on the reed. Your clarinet embochure should be as relaxed as your saxophone one. Maybe you need to approach your clarinet more like your saxophone... ;-)
Fair enough.
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Hi Jamie! Respectfully disagree with the concept of this video. The clarinet and the saxophone do have differences in construction, fingering and embouchure. I 100% agree with your points there. But you are really just comparing "jazz sound" vs "classical sound" in a quite biased way.
Your basis for this video is incorrect. You've stated that the saxophone is MEANT to have a "bright" sound (full of higher partials). If we were to consider that idea, it's actually the opposite! - the saxophone was devised by Adolphe Sax as an *orchestral* instrument, also being picked up by marching bands.
So, the saxophone is "meant" to have that dark, round, centered sound, just like orchestral clarinet does. At its core, the saxophone *is* a classical instrument, with that classical timbre. The bright, fat tone and some ad-lib techniques you have demonstrated do not fit in an orchestral context.
Of course, throughout history, boycotts have created prejudice against the saxophone in an orchestra. It has become really popular in jazz instead, with an entire different sound concept, which is the bright tone you've discussed.
So, this notion of "clarinet sound" versus "saxophone sound" is not correct. This "saxophone sound" you speak of is actually, simply, a JAZZ sound; and the "clarinet sound" is a CLASSICAL sound. Is one type of sound more popular on one instrument than the other? sure! but both instruments are perfectly capable of playing either classical or jazz (even if both were made for classical); some people really like jazz clarinet!
What I did not like the most is your demonstration of the classical sound (see 3:09). That is not the proper classical sound; it's thin and uncentered. Sure, you are a jazz player, but that's the thing - you're saying "don't play classical saxophone" while (respectfully speaking) not producing a satisfactory classical tone yourself! That's a flawed and biased comparison.
A more appropriate example of classical saxophone would be, for example, Valentin Kovalev; Rob Burton; Aiwen Zhang; Wonki Lee; all of them being, undoubtedly, greatly accomplished and knowledgeable saxophone players who have dedicated a great part of their time to achieve that round, velvety, focused and expressive tone. I simply cannot say they have a "pinched" sound at all!
At its core, classical VS jazz is simply a matter of taste and context. If I play classical in a jazz band, the audience isn't going to be very thrilled; if I were to play jazz in an orchestra, I would be kicked off the stage!
Again, with all due respect, I am not attacking you, Jamie. I simply think that the video ends up being a heavily biased comparison that could induce novice classical saxophonists into thinking they are playing their saxophone WRONG, among other things. Thanks, and all the best to you!
You do not have to decide whether you become a sax or clarinet player. You just have to have a sound concept in mind and to know the differences Jamie described. Jimmy Giuffre is an outstanding player of sax and clarinet. And s.o. who learned tenor s. and clarinet up from the beginning. … and Bill Smith, and Joris Rolefs …
@@wilhelmfaber2863 No doubt, my friend, both of us agree on that one. You do not have to be stuck with just one instrument, or even with just one sound concept (only classical or only jazz). It's entirely up to the player.
However, my main point is that Jamie has done no justice to the classical saxophone sound (or, as it's called in the video, the "clarinet sound") in his comparison at 3:09. This is the main point of the video, and to get that wrong invalidates a lot of points along the way. The "classical sound" he has showcased is simply not the classical sound that we all know and love in the classical saxophone repertoire. The one in the video is pinched, thin and unfocused; that's not a "sound concept", that's just lack of mastery of that kind of sound, probably because Jaime practices only jazz instead of classical. Therefore, that can't be a fair comparison, right?
It's like me playing a piece on my saxophone, which is my main instrument; then playing the same piece on a bassoon, even though I barely know how to play bassoon at all. Then I say "see how bassoon sounds bad? don't play bassoon". Of course it will sound bad - I haven't practiced enough on the bassoon to get a good sound out of it! I need to spend more time developing a good sound.
Plus, even if I thought that a **well-played** bassoon sounded "bad" (I do not, it's a beautiful instrument with a beautiful, rich sound!), it's my opinion, sure, but I cannot tell people "do not play bassoon". That's not up to me to decide. Hope that clears some things up. Cheers Wilhelm!
Fair enough. Good points well made. I AM biased, that can’t be denied. 🤣
I know you’ll probably say “yeh right”, but I’m making videos for a certain audience and ratings love controversy. If I was writing a book on this I’d have a totally different level of balance.
One thing though, the demonstration wasn’t classical vs jazz. It was “person I typically see who plays sax like clarinet” vs “person who plays sax like modern commercial/jazz player”. I don’t think great classical saxophonists bite.
Maybe it’s not a clarinet-sax problem, just a biting-on-single-reed instrument thing. Not such a catchy video title though. 🤣
man, are they different!!!
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Ok I deleted my previous comments that you considered rude. However, you are very confidently stating an opinion, as if it were fact, that is misleading. I would like to counter that you can in fact play it straight or play it classical and there are many excellent examples of people doing so. I will quote you if I may, ‘Get over it’
Ok fair enough. I respect that opinion. The thing is, it’s TH-cam isn’t it, and there’s always gonna be an element of controversy inducing entertainment in there as opposed to an official academic appraisal of the topic! Polarise to mobilise. 😉
That's all well and true but shall we talk about those freaks who can play both sax and trumpet!?
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This man tries to play with bad pseudo classic embouchure on clarinet, and says that his bad-pseudo-classic embouchure is not good for jazz saxophone.....it is pretty interesting.... maybe Eddie Daniels can say something about it.....also you can look at Ewan Bleach and Johnatan Doyle that play pretty good not only the clarinet but also the saxophone.....it is one of the greatest myths about a GREAT SECRET DIFFERENCE between saxophone and clarinet playing....
Fair enough. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍🏻
I also know many sax players who are weak, lame Flute players. Because they don’t put the work into it
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Tapered vs Conical bore...different blows.... Sidney Bechet
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Designed for marching band, hmmm….😞
Not sure what your sentiment is but thanks for commenting.
Too late...........
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They're two different critters. WTF?
Exactly!
They’re different. Clarinets are trash, played by even the best they still sound like a cat being run through a wood chipper. How to play clarinet. Step 1 throw it in the fire. Step 2 get a saxophone, you’ll make way more money
okaaaaaaaaaay! 😜