Hi Nigel, thanks for Sax School, since joining in November I have been improving on all of those 5 things, and have really made so much progress from since I first started, doing things I never thought i was capable of. I am generally pleased with my progress in such a short time. Glad I switched to tenor recently, love the sound, love the tone, it was a game changer, my old alto was really holding me back.
Hey Nigel, thanks for your videos! They have been very inspiring to me as a 43yr old beginner. I've been struggling with low notes below low D not the fingering but the sound. One day I finally had it. They were coming out nicely but I can't seem to find that sweet spot again, and palm key notes. Fingering for high E is tough and sound wise i can play them only if I'm working up from high C but can't just start out in them.
Hey Anthony. Great to hear the videos have been helping you. Don’t worry, the consistency will come you just need to be patient and “consistent” with your practice. I’m still working on long tones and low notes after 40 years!
Thanks for another great video Nigel! I've been playing for around 3 weeks now and the thing I struggle the most is playing clear high and low notes. Highs seem to be coming flat and lows seem to have this weird delay or sometimes a squeak at the start. Long tones are a struggle when I get further in my practice sessions and my embouchure gets tired and my form starts to suffer. Besides that it's really consistency - some sessions I'm quite pleased, while others I seem to struggle. Can't figure out why 🤔
Scheduled regular practice is vital. I learned this the hard way over the years of playing other instruments. Great advice as always. I'd just like to add into the "keep it simple" is to take small steps. Learning any instrument is a lifelong pursuit, and every musician is always looking to improve or add new techniques, style etc. For me, the hardest thing is intonation, Middle D, C#, and high F#, C and C# are real problems for me. It's weird if I'm just thinking about the music, I seem to be able to hit those notes a bit easier, but if I'm practicing with the tuner, and trying to hit the notes, it goes horribly wrong. I work on long tones and strengthening my embouchure every day (using Nigel's warm-up routines) but so far those notes, especially in the high register, are a source of frustration. Thankfully I have very understanding neighbors who are also musicians and who like to hear me practicing..
Hello Nigel You are right on with the practice, my sound is getting better since I practice long tones. I have problem with lower notes from D down. I practice my embouchure but still, I guess it will have to go at the shop. The only decent repair and sales is 3 hours from where I live. Shipping by bus the cost $40 one way. Your videos help a lot, Keep up the good work.
Hi Guy, glad the videos are helping and you are making progress. Shame the repairer lives so far away. If you’re really struggling with those notes below D, then perhaps leave them until you can get your sax looked at. There are lots of other notes to focus on!
Thanks Nigel. My biggest difficulty is that I am in a situation where I do not have a set time when I can practice. Therefore it is important for me to have a list of things (& tracks or sheets) ready to work on when the time does appear, otherwise my practice time is not usually productive. I have occasional gigs (before lockdown started, that is) that I need to have my repertoire ready for, but when there are no upcoming playing engagements I am working on learning to read better (especially rhythms) and learning to improvise over chord changes that I can't figure out just by listening. Changing chords or related scales every bar or every 1/2 bar --- I find very difficult. (Kind of the way my mind works: I speak 7 languages, but have a hard time switching from 1 language to another.)
Great video. I liked #5 tip the most. I heard Kenny G talking about how he has had the same soprano sax and mouthpiece for a long time. He said even though it is a metal mouthpiece that he has worn a groove in it with his teeth. That's how much this dude played on that one mouth piece. While other guys are changing things all the time Kenny G is over there biting through a single metal mouthpiece. Proof is in the pudding so to speak.
Iam a beginner I just started before 3 months with the alto saxophone and have some problems in reading the notes and playing the high notes and sometimes very low notes that's all. Cheers 🙂
Moe Shamas To get out those low and high notes, practice playing long tones everyday. Set your timer on your phone for five minutes and choose five notes diatonically or chromatically and play just those five notes with a metronome on, blow each long-tone for 4 to 8 beats. Don’t expect to get it in one day or one week as your embouchure needs strengthening and development, give yourself at least a month and the longer you do it the easier those low notes will come out. The most important point, be consistent. “Mastery loves consistency. So, do it every single day. I’d suggest you start at your low G and ascend descend chromatically. I trust this helps.
@@KadrianThomas thanks bro and this is what I ve heard about long tones and i am practicing as a 39 years old new sax player but not only that is iam trying reading notes and playing the God father song trying to finish it if I am a biginner and I have a teacher started from 3 months is I have a good tone Thanks anyway and I really appreciate your advice
Another great video, I’m a member of Sax school working through Moving on Pathway, and currently working through classical section. My biggest practice challenge, even though I have a room to practice, is the noise for the rest of the family, especially in lockdown. I have considered some of the mutes, but they seem variable in quality from expensive and bulky to small and questionable difference. I have also thought of a mouthpiece silencer to work on embouchure, a Roland Aerophone to work on fingering and then remainder time on sax to try to reduce overall noise. Any advice or guidance on not perhaps eliminating, but reducing noice pollution from my Tenor Sax whilst still developing? I want my family to still be on speaking terms with me after lockdown. 😊
Great question Mark. A lot of us struggle with keeping our family happy while we are practicing (me too!). Playing in a room with heavy furnishings like carpet, a sofa or curtains will always help to absorb some of the volume and hard floors, big blank walls or lots of windows will make you sound even louder. Some people find playing into an open wardrobe helps or if your’e really struggling, try stuffing a towel or shirt down your bell. It’s not ideal but will keep the volume down (even though it makes the sax less fun to play!). Hope that helps.
As always, great video and tips Nigel. I feel that I don't have enough air especially when playing the low notes in tenor. Perhaps because of my asthma? Memorizing music is a struggle. I can learn one tune and play it ok for a week or so, move on to learn the next tune and begin to forget the previous tune I learned. So now I've learned a few tunes but need to take a couple of runs playing them before getting them right again. What do you do to remember all your repertoire? Is it age related? I'm 61 :-) The other problems are the same as those shared below, playing with metronome, noise, finding time to practice etc.
I struggle mainly with tone and having a good sound. I believe technically I can play pieces nicely and I understand the melody, however my sound from the saxophone isn't right yet. Thanks, these videos and the resources on ur site are really helpful.
Hi Harry, don’t worry, just about every player on the planet is wanting to improve their sound! The only real shortcut to achieving this though is plenty of focused practice on slow melodies and long tone type practice. It doesn’t need to be boring though. I have a bunch of “5 minute workouts” inside my Sax School that really help students with tone development. A little each day and you’ll be amazed at the results!
ive only just started but for me my struggle is embouchure and producing a good strong sound without my mouth getting sore after half an hour, and also to produce a good long tone without it breaking or squeaking, also moving through the keys without just blowing air or honking...lol
Subdivide sections maybe even 1 bar at a time then try singing the melody first then playing it. If you’re really struggling listen to it on TH-cam but try not to become to reliant on playing it with TH-cam!!
I started playing August 2019, your videos has been helpful thus far. However, I struggle with tone and at times I'm out of breathe after playing a song.
Hi Elliot, great to hear my videos have helped you! Tone and even your breathing will get better if you spend a little time each day working on lovely slow melodies and long tone type exercises. I have some really cool “5 minute workouts” inside Sax School that really help with this (and make it fun!). Check them out if you’re interested.
Elliot Lambert tone is all about your embouchure, oral cavity and breath support. You haven’t been playing long it’s something everyone needs to work on - practice overtones to build your oral cavity/ embouchure muscles and dexterity, long tones are good practice but not just puffing out long notes there’s more to them than that.
Playing lower notes on my tenor, and not being really loud. When I play low notes it’s really loud. I am a clarinet player and went to tenor. I still work on clarinet.
Hi Hael, that’s one of those things that we all need to work on LOADS! It does get easier though with plenty of long note practice in the low register.
Since quarantine I can't play relaxed and full volume in my apratment and because of that I have to use softer reed which makes my sound really fuzzy and unfocused. This kinda makes me want to practice less, but I hang on. I also can't play low notes since they are way louder than the rest of the range.
I felt like that to at 1st. I have kids. It's been impossible to keep them quite or to stop running so why should I be quite lol I go in a room with the fewest adjoining walls to other Apts and try to practice during the day. We're all quarantined so they have to deal. You pay rent just like everyone else and have to right. To my surprise I've had no complaints lol live your life, we have to spend our time doing the things we enjoy. I also ordered some sound foam from Amazon so it's not like I'm just being completely inconsiderate
I struggle when I need to improve a melody after working on it for a couple of week even when I still making mistakes playing by ear. It's very difficult because I get bored or start thinking that it's not the right tune for me.
carlos chalfon Hang in there my brother. When a tune is difficult it will always feel like the wrong song. To get rid of the mistakes isolate them. Meaning-the parts where you mess up every time, take that part of the melody and slow it down to the slowest level where your fingers literally cannot hit the wrong key because you have enough time to think about the notes that are coming next, and practice that over and over. So as not to get bored, set your timer on your watch or phone for five minutes. You would have rinsed that section several times without realizing because the 5 minutes will hop up on you very fast. Use a metronome if you know how to use one and once you have that part locked at a certain speed below the normal speed, increase the metronome by 2-3 beats and hit five more minutes. Repeat that same process for all the parts that you make the mistakes at and once you have those sorted out, put the whole song together. BTW, never try learning the whole song in one practice session, take a few bars, seconds, phrases whichever works for you and space out the whole song over a week or two. Only move to a new section of the song after your fingers get that section right without mistakes.
Hey Mike, I think the trick with breathing is to be strategic about where you take a breath in your practice. Mark it on your music and work gradually towards longer phrases. You’ll get there!
i also struggle with breathing. The first phrases are ok but after 4 or 5 I cannot control the air anymore and sound is weak and shaky. I still didn't figure how much air I need to take in and how much I need to exhale without losing control of my breath. Breathing is strongly related with embouchure, any tip on sustaing breath while maintaining correct embouchure will be welcomed. Thank you.
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As a beginner I struggle with my embouchure, it's difficult to play notes with the octave key and the high E I can't even get it to sound. Also my tone overall, it doesn't sound so nice haha I've been playing for 11 months :$ is it normal at this stage? Or should I focus more on something?
Hi Juda, definitely good at your stage to spend plenty of time playing nice slow melodies and some long tones to build your embouchure. Also moving up to a slightly harder reed may make those high notes clearer.
I have been learning from scratch, including reading music for approx 15 months. I still struggle with timing. I cannot seem to get the hang of a metronome. I can't listen to that and play at the same time. Am I missing something?
Hi Sandra. I see this a lot in students coming to Sax School. It is easy to fix though if you approach things the right way. I’m a huge fan of using your metronome for everything , from your long tone warmup to scales and for every other part of your practice. You really need to “make friends” with the metronome instead of struggling against it.
I use metronome at very slow speed, start at 60, sometimes even at 50. Need to slow down until you find the spot where you can control. Then one playing correctly at low speed, increase gradually and master next speed. I think there's nothing more to it, no magic tricks ;-) I like to be slow
My biggest struggle is on my alto and playing notes with the octave key and going from lower notes to octave key notes and finding a bit more resistance when I press the octave key and the notes sounding a little thinner sometimes compared to middle C and lower sounding fuller. Also I have an issue with a gurgle/fuzzy sound when playing an A with the octave key. It starts of sounding OK, then after a while of playing, I get this kind of fuzzy almost gurgle sound when I play it and can't seem to fix it and makes my tone bad when playing middle and high notes when I need to play that octave key+A note.
Dave's Nature Productions notes sounding thinner means you need to develop your tone, work on tone exercises like overtone and long tones. Normally it’s palm keys and above that sound thin but maybe you’re strangling the notes with your embouchure and oral cavity?
Hi Dave. Ok a couple things to check. Firstly make sure you are cleaning everything out after each practice session. It’s really common to get lots of moisture inside your sax, particularly if you are pretty new to sax. Also, if you are finding the transition up to “octave key” notes, then it’s a great idea to spend some time on nice long tones starting from your C and moving gradually up to octave D, back to C, up to octave E, back to C and so on. Do it slowly and try to keep your embouchure in the same position. The more you do it the more confident you will become with the higher notes. Hope this helps you!
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Thanks. I have been playing for nearly 2 years but have been playing nearly every day for about 5 months now and every day for the past month and do make sure to keep my saxophone well cleaned. I think the A fuzzy sound I get comes from moisture building up in the body octave pip and after cleaning it out, it fixes it. I will spend time on long tones on those notes and I think I need to relax my throat on those notes as I have noticed I tend to tighten my throat slightly when going from lower notes to octave key ones.
@@DynamixWarePro cane reeds always soften after 10-15 mins. Rico plasticover or synthetic don't and are more constant, softer reeds don't produce the best soundbut don't go crazy hard though otherwise you'll do your jaw in.
IJ Official to get out those low notes, practice playing long tones everyday. Set your timer on your phone for five minutes and choose five notes diatonically or chromatically and play just those five notes with a metronome on, blow each long-tone for 4 to 8 beats. Don’t expect to get it in one day or one week as your embouchure needs strengthening and development, give yourself at least a month and the longer you do it the easier those low notes will come out. The most important point, be consistent. “Mastery loves consistency. So, do it every single day. I’d suggest you start at your low G and descend chromatically.
embouchure. I think that can sum up 80% of practice in just one word "embouchure". As it becomes stronger. Everything is almost done automatically. Well, by the time your embouchure is strong you will have pretty well mastered all the mechanical aspects (the plate and and side keys. You probably haven't learned the mechanics of altissimo at this point. But that is not the mission. If I play a good practice for several weeks and my embouchure is strong, all is easy. If I don't play, like at Christmas, for a month. Then embouchure is gone. Play is difficult, again.
McGill Music Sax School my issue for the past 4 weeks? Financial markets, active clients and long, intense home working nearly 6 days/week. Knackered after 7pm!
Hi Harold, In this video I’m talking about having a simple framework or “strategy” for how you approach improvising. It’s something I teach and focus on a lot inside my Sax School Members area. Thanks for watching.
Lots of us struggle with that Bobby, but even if you only have a few minutes a day, if you use that time properly you can still see progress. Most important is grabbing that couple of minutes regularly.
Hi Nigel, thanks for Sax School, since joining in November I have been improving on all of those 5 things, and have really made so much progress from since I first started, doing things I never thought i was capable of. I am generally pleased with my progress in such a short time. Glad I switched to tenor recently, love the sound, love the tone, it was a game changer, my old alto was really holding me back.
Hey Nigel, thanks for your videos! They have been very inspiring to me as a 43yr old beginner. I've been struggling with low notes below low D not the fingering but the sound. One day I finally had it. They were coming out nicely but I can't seem to find that sweet spot again, and palm key notes. Fingering for high E is tough and sound wise i can play them only if I'm working up from high C but can't just start out in them.
Hey Anthony. Great to hear the videos have been helping you. Don’t worry, the consistency will come you just need to be patient and “consistent” with your practice. I’m still working on long tones and low notes after 40 years!
Thanks for another great video Nigel!
I've been playing for around 3 weeks now and the thing I struggle the most is playing clear high and low notes. Highs seem to be coming flat and lows seem to have this weird delay or sometimes a squeak at the start. Long tones are a struggle when I get further in my practice sessions and my embouchure gets tired and my form starts to suffer.
Besides that it's really consistency - some sessions I'm quite pleased, while others I seem to struggle. Can't figure out why 🤔
Scheduled regular practice is vital. I learned this the hard way over the years of playing other instruments. Great advice as always.
I'd just like to add into the "keep it simple" is to take small steps. Learning any instrument is a lifelong pursuit, and every musician is always looking to improve or add new techniques, style etc.
For me, the hardest thing is intonation, Middle D, C#, and high F#, C and C# are real problems for me. It's weird if I'm just thinking about the music, I seem to be able to hit those notes a bit easier, but if I'm practicing with the tuner, and trying to hit the notes, it goes horribly wrong. I work on long tones and strengthening my embouchure every day (using Nigel's warm-up routines) but so far those notes, especially in the high register, are a source of frustration. Thankfully I have very understanding neighbors who are also musicians and who like to hear me practicing..
such brilliant and useful advice. keeping it simple like most lessons in life is paramount. Great advice Nigel
Thanks John.
This is something I needed to hear.. Thanks Nigel!
Cheers John!
Hello Nigel
You are right on with the practice, my sound is getting better since I practice long tones. I have problem with lower notes from D down. I practice my embouchure but still, I guess it will have to go at the shop. The only decent repair and sales is 3 hours from where I live. Shipping by bus the cost $40 one way. Your videos help a lot, Keep up the good work.
Hi Guy, glad the videos are helping and you are making progress. Shame the repairer lives so far away. If you’re really struggling with those notes below D, then perhaps leave them until you can get your sax looked at. There are lots of other notes to focus on!
Thanks Nigel. My biggest difficulty is that I am in a situation where I do not have a set time when I can practice. Therefore it is important for me to have a list of things (& tracks or sheets) ready to work on when the time does appear, otherwise my practice time is not usually productive. I have occasional gigs (before lockdown started, that is) that I need to have my repertoire ready for, but when there are no upcoming playing engagements I am working on learning to read better (especially rhythms) and learning to improvise over chord changes that I can't figure out just by listening. Changing chords or related scales every bar or every 1/2 bar --- I find very difficult. (Kind of the way my mind works: I speak 7 languages, but have a hard time switching from 1 language to another.)
Great video. I liked #5 tip the most. I heard Kenny G talking about how he has had the same soprano sax and mouthpiece for a long time. He said even though it is a metal mouthpiece that he has worn a groove in it with his teeth. That's how much this dude played on that one mouth piece. While other guys are changing things all the time Kenny G is over there biting through a single metal mouthpiece. Proof is in the pudding so to speak.
Great comment! It’s about finding what works for you and sticking with it while you focus on your skills. Cheers.
Iam a beginner I just started before 3 months with the alto saxophone and have some problems in reading the notes and playing the high notes and sometimes very low notes that's all. Cheers 🙂
Moe Shamas that’s because you’re a beginner, everyone’s been there..keep practicing..👌
@@ian_s7481 yes I know that but I need the best stratigy to correct my readings and other things I mentioned
@@banderassax why can't you read the notes?
Moe Shamas To get out those low and high notes, practice playing long tones everyday. Set your timer on your phone for five minutes and choose five notes diatonically or chromatically and play just those five notes with a metronome on, blow each long-tone for 4 to 8 beats. Don’t expect to get it in one day or one week as your embouchure needs strengthening and development, give yourself at least a month and the longer you do it the easier those low notes will come out. The most important point, be consistent. “Mastery loves consistency. So, do it every single day. I’d suggest you start at your low G and ascend descend chromatically. I trust this helps.
@@KadrianThomas thanks bro and this is what I ve heard about long tones and i am practicing as a 39 years old new sax player but not only that is iam trying reading notes and playing the God father song trying to finish it if I am a biginner and I have a teacher started from 3 months is I have a good tone Thanks anyway and I really appreciate your advice
So,so good advice’s. And they are all so true!👍🏼
Cheers Mats!
Another great video, I’m a member of Sax school working through Moving on Pathway, and currently working through classical section. My biggest practice challenge, even though I have a room to practice, is the noise for the rest of the family, especially in lockdown. I have considered some of the mutes, but they seem variable in quality from expensive and bulky to small and questionable difference. I have also thought of a mouthpiece silencer to work on embouchure, a Roland Aerophone to work on fingering and then remainder time on sax to try to reduce overall noise. Any advice or guidance on not perhaps eliminating, but reducing noice pollution from my Tenor Sax whilst still developing? I want my family to still be on speaking terms with me after lockdown. 😊
Great question Mark. A lot of us struggle with keeping our family happy while we are practicing (me too!). Playing in a room with heavy furnishings like carpet, a sofa or curtains will always help to absorb some of the volume and hard floors, big blank walls or lots of windows will make you sound even louder. Some people find playing into an open wardrobe helps or if your’e really struggling, try stuffing a towel or shirt down your bell. It’s not ideal but will keep the volume down (even though it makes the sax less fun to play!). Hope that helps.
That’s a very difficult problem to solve. I tried shirts on the bell too. It’s reduce noise, but interfere on intonation.
As always, great video and tips Nigel.
I feel that I don't have enough air especially when playing the low notes in tenor. Perhaps because of my asthma?
Memorizing music is a struggle. I can learn one tune and play it ok for a week or so, move on to learn the next tune and begin to forget the previous tune I learned. So now I've learned a few tunes but need to take a couple of runs playing them before getting them right again. What do you do to remember all your repertoire? Is it age related? I'm 61 :-)
The other problems are the same as those shared below, playing with metronome, noise, finding time to practice etc.
Hi Mahendra. I think we all struggle with memorising lots of tunes. The only thing that works for me is repetition, repetition, repetition!
I struggle mainly with tone and having a good sound. I believe technically I can play pieces nicely and I understand the melody, however my sound from the saxophone isn't right yet. Thanks, these videos and the resources on ur site are really helpful.
Hi Harry, don’t worry, just about every player on the planet is wanting to improve their sound! The only real shortcut to achieving this though is plenty of focused practice on slow melodies and long tone type practice. It doesn’t need to be boring though. I have a bunch of “5 minute workouts” inside my Sax School that really help students with tone development. A little each day and you’ll be amazed at the results!
I struggle mostly with improvisation, fast finger movements, and proper articulation
ive only just started but for me my struggle is embouchure and producing a good strong sound without my mouth getting sore after half an hour, and also to produce a good long tone without it breaking or squeaking, also moving through the keys without just blowing air or honking...lol
I struggle with playing with the metronome.
I think an explanation on how to practice with a metronome.
Same here
Subdivide sections maybe even 1 bar at a time then try singing the melody first then playing it. If you’re really struggling listen to it on TH-cam but try not to become to reliant on playing it with TH-cam!!
Same too
I started playing August 2019, your videos has been helpful thus far. However, I struggle with tone and at times I'm out of breathe after playing a song.
Hi Elliot, great to hear my videos have helped you! Tone and even your breathing will get better if you spend a little time each day working on lovely slow melodies and long tone type exercises. I have some really cool “5 minute workouts” inside Sax School that really help with this (and make it fun!). Check them out if you’re interested.
Elliot Lambert tone is all about your embouchure, oral cavity and breath support. You haven’t been playing long it’s something everyone needs to work on - practice overtones to build your oral cavity/ embouchure muscles and dexterity, long tones are good practice but not just puffing out long notes there’s more to them than that.
Please any practice routine for me.
Playing lower notes on my tenor, and not being really loud. When I play low notes it’s really loud. I am a clarinet player and went to tenor. I still work on clarinet.
And I run out of breath and my neck and thumb hurt after playing for a short time.
Hi Hael, that’s one of those things that we all need to work on LOADS! It does get easier though with plenty of long note practice in the low register.
Same thing with low notes!
Since quarantine I can't play relaxed and full volume in my apratment and because of that I have to use softer reed which makes my sound really fuzzy and unfocused. This kinda makes me want to practice less, but I hang on. I also can't play low notes since they are way louder than the rest of the range.
I felt like that to at 1st. I have kids. It's been impossible to keep them quite or to stop running so why should I be quite lol I go in a room with the fewest adjoining walls to other Apts and try to practice during the day. We're all quarantined so they have to deal. You pay rent just like everyone else and have to right. To my surprise I've had no complaints lol live your life, we have to spend our time doing the things we enjoy. I also ordered some sound foam from Amazon so it's not like I'm just being completely inconsiderate
I struggle when I need to improve a melody after working on it for a couple of week even when I still making mistakes playing by ear. It's very difficult because I get bored or start thinking that it's not the right tune for me.
carlos chalfon Hang in there my brother. When a tune is difficult it will always feel like the wrong song. To get rid of the mistakes isolate them. Meaning-the parts where you mess up every time, take that part of the melody and slow it down to the slowest level where your fingers literally cannot hit the wrong key because you have enough time to think about the notes that are coming next, and practice that over and over. So as not to get bored, set your timer on your watch or phone for five minutes. You would have rinsed that section several times without realizing because the 5 minutes will hop up on you very fast. Use a metronome if you know how to use one and once you have that part locked at a certain speed below the normal speed, increase the metronome by 2-3 beats and hit five more minutes. Repeat that same process for all the parts that you make the mistakes at and once you have those sorted out, put the whole song together. BTW, never try learning the whole song in one practice session, take a few bars, seconds, phrases whichever works for you and space out the whole song over a week or two. Only move to a new section of the song after your fingers get that section right without mistakes.
Breathing is a big challenge. I find myself playing long sections with one breath and am gasping at the end.
Hey Mike, I think the trick with breathing is to be strategic about where you take a breath in your practice. Mark it on your music and work gradually towards longer phrases. You’ll get there!
i also struggle with breathing. The first phrases are ok but after 4 or 5 I cannot control the air anymore and sound is weak and shaky. I still didn't figure how much air I need to take in and how much I need to exhale without losing control of my breath. Breathing is strongly related with embouchure, any tip on sustaing breath while maintaining correct embouchure will be welcomed. Thank you.
As a beginner I struggle with my embouchure, it's difficult to play notes with the octave key and the high E I can't even get it to sound. Also my tone overall, it doesn't sound so nice haha I've been playing for 11 months :$ is it normal at this stage? Or should I focus more on something?
Hi Juda, definitely good at your stage to spend plenty of time playing nice slow melodies and some long tones to build your embouchure. Also moving up to a slightly harder reed may make those high notes clearer.
rhythm and transcription (where do you even start?)
That’s a great thing to improve on though Bruce! Better rhythm can help so many different parts of your playing.
My trouble is how to play with a backing track a metronome and tempo. I have dyslexia so struggle reading music and play better with letter notes
Improvisation and altissimo
I have been learning from scratch, including reading music for approx 15 months. I still struggle with timing. I cannot seem to get the hang of a metronome. I can't listen to that and play at the same time. Am I missing something?
Following. Same with backing tracts.
So do you mean, try backing track instead?
Hi Sandra. I see this a lot in students coming to Sax School. It is easy to fix though if you approach things the right way. I’m a huge fan of using your metronome for everything , from your long tone warmup to scales and for every other part of your practice. You really need to “make friends” with the metronome instead of struggling against it.
I use metronome at very slow speed, start at 60, sometimes even at 50. Need to slow down until you find the spot where you can control. Then one playing correctly at low speed, increase gradually and master next speed. I think there's nothing more to it, no magic tricks ;-) I like to be slow
finger spped, already getting better with your five minutes workout
I struggle with playing a middle c.
My biggest struggle is on my alto and playing notes with the octave key and going from lower notes to octave key notes and finding a bit more resistance when I press the octave key and the notes sounding a little thinner sometimes compared to middle C and lower sounding fuller. Also I have an issue with a gurgle/fuzzy sound when playing an A with the octave key. It starts of sounding OK, then after a while of playing, I get this kind of fuzzy almost gurgle sound when I play it and can't seem to fix it and makes my tone bad when playing middle and high notes when I need to play that octave key+A note.
Dave's Nature Productions notes sounding thinner means you need to develop your tone, work on tone exercises like overtone and long tones. Normally it’s palm keys and above that sound thin but maybe you’re strangling the notes with your embouchure and oral cavity?
Hi Dave. Ok a couple things to check. Firstly make sure you are cleaning everything out after each practice session. It’s really common to get lots of moisture inside your sax, particularly if you are pretty new to sax. Also, if you are finding the transition up to “octave key” notes, then it’s a great idea to spend some time on nice long tones starting from your C and moving gradually up to octave D, back to C, up to octave E, back to C and so on. Do it slowly and try to keep your embouchure in the same position. The more you do it the more confident you will become with the higher notes. Hope this helps you!
@@ian_s7481 I found one reason I had an issue was my reed was softening, tried a new one today and it fixed the thinner sound I was getting.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Thanks. I have been playing for nearly 2 years but have been playing nearly every day for about 5 months now and every day for the past month and do make sure to keep my saxophone well cleaned. I think the A fuzzy sound I get comes from moisture building up in the body octave pip and after cleaning it out, it fixes it. I will spend time on long tones on those notes and I think I need to relax my throat on those notes as I have noticed I tend to tighten my throat slightly when going from lower notes to octave key ones.
@@DynamixWarePro cane reeds always soften after 10-15 mins. Rico plasticover or synthetic don't and are more constant, softer reeds don't produce the best soundbut don't go crazy hard though otherwise you'll do your jaw in.
I struggle at times playing with accompaniment.
finding to make good tone
Please I find it really difficult to play low notes on my Alto Sax. All my keys are all okay. Please I need personal assistance.
IJ Official to get out those low notes, practice playing long tones everyday. Set your timer on your phone for five minutes and choose five notes diatonically or chromatically and play just those five notes with a metronome on, blow each long-tone for 4 to 8 beats. Don’t expect to get it in one day or one week as your embouchure needs strengthening and development, give yourself at least a month and the longer you do it the easier those low notes will come out. The most important point, be consistent. “Mastery loves consistency. So, do it every single day. I’d suggest you start at your low G and descend chromatically.
How do you take off a stuck mouthpeice
embouchure. I think that can sum up 80% of practice in just one word "embouchure". As it becomes stronger. Everything is almost done automatically. Well, by the time your embouchure is strong you will have pretty well mastered all the mechanical aspects (the plate and and side keys. You probably haven't learned the mechanics of altissimo at this point. But that is not the mission. If I play a good practice for several weeks and my embouchure is strong, all is easy. If I don't play, like at Christmas, for a month. Then embouchure is gone. Play is difficult, again.
You are dead right there! Lots of peop miss this point though.
I get a problem in tuning the sound
I used to make 8 mistakes 🤪
Ha!
Practice time, practice time, practice time
You’re right there Thierry ( but also have some fun with it!)
McGill Music Sax School my issue for the past 4 weeks? Financial markets, active clients and long, intense home working nearly 6 days/week. Knackered after 7pm!
I don't know what you mean by having a "solo strategy"
Hi Harold, In this video I’m talking about having a simple framework or “strategy” for how you approach improvising. It’s something I teach and focus on a lot inside my Sax School Members area. Thanks for watching.
I biggest struggle is practice time. I just can't get the time to practice.
Lots of us struggle with that Bobby, but even if you only have a few minutes a day, if you use that time properly you can still see progress. Most important is grabbing that couple of minutes regularly.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Thank you so much for that and I will MOST defiantly work on this to get better.
Emboucure, Emboucure, Emboucure, Emboucure.....this is my achilles hill....
17 different teachers. Lol. If you're asking that many teachers probably none of them were that good.