Never heard about this rolling the tong to have it done, but after a long time, I finally got it of growling sound with this technic. Thank you so much for that.
Cool Bryan. You should have a go at the singing growl too - it is useful if you’re playing more high energy styles like Blues, Pop etc. Thanks for watching.
Being a bit of a singer, my natural preference is to roll my tongue when I growl to distinguish clearly between all my other auditory effects. When I sing, the growl sounds more subtle and lost in the performance. I think the challenge is that the sounds I make vibrate in my skull so what I hear is not what the audience hears. My challenge with growling is figuring out when to do it. Maybe you could talk about that. There are so many growls I like. Too many come to mind but for some reason, the sax solo with Billy Ocean's, "Caribbean Queen" stands out at this time. Lovely video Nigel. Thanks!
Cheers Alex. Caribbean Queen is a great example. I am a huge fan of great blues players like Sam Butera, Jnr Walker, Sil Austin etc. All those guys use the singing growl a load. Also for the “rock sax” sound, Clarence Clemons is a great example of singing growl. Thanks for your comments.
Got a great growl on recently Nigel, say the word vooo whilst blowing air through, keep a loose baggy embouchure to allow the reed to vibrate, I can growl through some of the c major scale.
Hi Nigel! I'm an intermediate player and I use the singing technique for growling, except that I learnt that if you sing the same note as you play, you get a small growl (if at all). My trick is to sing different pitches than the note I play and this causes a distortion between my singing frequency and the reed vibration frequency, delivering a hefty growl.
Nice one Stephan. I actually don’t try and sing a pitch at all - for me it works best, particularly for a powerful blues or rock sax sound, to just make an “aaah” sound and not a specific pitch.
Thanks, Nigel! I suspect you intuitively do not use the same pitch. I think it may be the case that people finding this singing technique difficult are, on the contrary, intuitively singing the same pitch they play and therefore generating no growl.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Do you not change your singing pitch with every note you change on your sax? Your growl will be so much more consistent if you do.
There is a fantastic solo by Boots Randolph in Reconsider Baby rendition by Elvis. In fact this Blues sax solo is the very best (not only in my opinion) in all history of Rock & Roll. It's really worth to know it.
Eddie Money's great song Wanna Go Back has an awesome sax sound in the beginning with a little bit of the growl sound. That sound got me hooked on buying a sax even though Iv'e listened to the sax for years. I'll be getting one in a few weeks for the first time. I'm 56 so obviously I'm a little late in learning but your never to late to learn something new. I can't wait to get started and thank you for all of the info and tips that you give out about the sax and your an awesome sax player by the way!
Thanks Nigel! I have only tried the growl a few times, but never seem to be able to sustain it for more than a few seconds. The other problem I have is when I sing the same note as I am playing it sometimes gets out of my vocal range, and if I try to sing a different note (or hold a single note to accompany whatever I am playing) I get mixed up, because my mind is fixed on the notes I am playing --- I can't seem to get my mind, voice & sax to do 2 different things at the same time. Maybe I just need to keep trying. I haven't tried the tongue trill yet, maybe that's the best method for me (even though the singing growl sounds better.)
Thanks for your comments Rob. I don’t try and sing the same note I’m playing. You can get the growl effect by just making more of an “Aaah” sound than an actual pitch. Have a go at that and see if it helps you.
Pink Panther? Nope. Subtone to the max. But “Tequila” by the Champs and “One Step Beyond” by Madness that you quoted are great examples of rolling growls. As well as “Shotgun” by Jr Walkers (both kinds) and everything that Lenny Pickett ever played. Thanks for posting this tutorial!
Agreed - great growl on that track.Actually it was played by UK saxman Snake Davis. Check out our lesson with him on the blog: saxschoolonline.com/articles/how-to-play-sax-with-more-feeling/
I took quickly to singing/humming while playing, I'll have to try and incorporate rolling the tongue. At first it's difficlt fo rme, which is ineresting because I can roll my r's naturally. I love Grady Gaines from Little Richard's material, and Eric Demmer as well.
Hi Nigel, I have had trouble with the tongue rolling method so have been using the singing/humming technique exclusively. Having watched your short video I think perhaps I have not been moving my tongue back when trying the rolling tongue so I’ll put a bit of work into that. My favourite example is really a whole style I guess in The Big Man. Clarence just got that great rock, rough raunchy sound that could also go along with a ballad and get enormous feeling into it. His version of Resurrection Shuffle is perhaps my favourite and would be a great addition to your Clarence Clemens lessons. On a side note, I played at the local market a couple of weeks ago and some young guys , 10 to 12years old, really enjoyed the sound. I finished the first set with Paradise by the C and they were transfixed and said it was great. Perhaps a few young converts to the world of Saxophone
Wow, that’s awesome Bernie! I added a few more tips on how to get that tongue rolling technique on my blog. See if this helps you: www.mcgillmusic.com/articles/2-easy-growl-techniques-for-saxophone
The sax solo in The Wanderer by Dion was the first memorable time hearing this technique. But King Curtis is still the best at it to me. I use the tongue technique because I've never liked my growl.
I use the singing technique. Funny that you say growling by singing is difficult on low notes. I easily growl the entire range of the bari. I think I started on the low D.
I have a question: A lot of times I hear a saxophone player playing with mildly raspy sound, but I'm not sure if it's actually growling or they just gets some amount of distortion somehow. This is mostly on tenor btw. So my question is: Is it possible to play with some amount of rasp in the sound without actually growling? Or is it that those players are just growling all the time?
Cool. I think for me one of the things that made the singing technique work better was to use a load more air an play with lots more energy. That was holding me back at the start - not sure if you’ve tried this.
McGill Music Sax School it’s just that you’re not used to producing fast air while talking. As an exercise, sing a note and create the saxophone embouchure with your mouth and blow as much air as you can. You’ll eventually get used to it.
Hey Joey. I roll my tongue (flutter) kind of the same way I would if I wasn’t playing my sax. The trick is to relax your embouchure and keep your mouth cavity as big as possible when rolling AND playing. Takes a bit of practice.
Great question. Technically I guess rolling your tongue is “flutter tonguing” but lots of people use this for a growl technique as an alternative to using their voice.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool I only do the clearing your throat one. I know there is one where your make a noise similar to rolling an r, or gargling, except you dont use your tounge, you only use the top of your mouth. And also one where you push all of your bottom lip to one side with the mouthpiece and you play like that, then when you want to do the growl you let a bit of air escape through that part of your lip thats on the side making a "pppppppp" sound and that creates the distortion. These are the best sounding techniques in my opinion although i need to practice them, they are pretty hard. But if your interested i can look for the videos of where u saw them and give you the links
Never heard about this rolling the tong to have it done, but after a long time, I finally got it of growling sound with this technic. Thank you so much for that.
Leo Pellegrino with great growling
Favorite growls.... simply the best tina turner solo and tequila
Also, Jr. Walker's solo in Foreigner's - Urgent.
I've never really been confident enough to try the singing growl but I've done the rolling toung growl which is pretty fun to do.
Cool Bryan. You should have a go at the singing growl too - it is useful if you’re playing more high energy styles like Blues, Pop etc. Thanks for watching.
Being a bit of a singer, my natural preference is to roll my tongue when I growl to distinguish clearly between all my other auditory effects. When I sing, the growl sounds more subtle and lost in the performance. I think the challenge is that the sounds I make vibrate in my skull so what I hear is not what the audience hears. My challenge with growling is figuring out when to do it. Maybe you could talk about that.
There are so many growls I like. Too many come to mind but for some reason, the sax solo with Billy Ocean's, "Caribbean Queen" stands out at this time.
Lovely video Nigel. Thanks!
Cheers Alex. Caribbean Queen is a great example. I am a huge fan of great blues players like Sam Butera, Jnr Walker, Sil Austin etc. All those guys use the singing growl a load. Also for the “rock sax” sound, Clarence Clemons is a great example of singing growl. Thanks for your comments.
Jubel by Klindgande - been playing 8 months and am just about there with it - definitely needs growling
Oh yeah, that’s a great example. I have actually made lessons about that solo inside Sax School Membership.
Got a great growl on recently Nigel, say the word vooo whilst blowing air through, keep a loose baggy embouchure to allow the reed to vibrate, I can growl through some of the c major scale.
Hi Nigel! I'm an intermediate player and I use the singing technique for growling, except that I learnt that if you sing the same note as you play, you get a small growl (if at all). My trick is to sing different pitches than the note I play and this causes a distortion between my singing frequency and the reed vibration frequency, delivering a hefty growl.
Nice one Stephan. I actually don’t try and sing a pitch at all - for me it works best, particularly for a powerful blues or rock sax sound, to just make an “aaah” sound and not a specific pitch.
Thanks, Nigel! I suspect you intuitively do not use the same pitch. I think it may be the case that people finding this singing technique difficult are, on the contrary, intuitively singing the same pitch they play and therefore generating no growl.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool Do you not change your singing pitch with every note you change on your sax? Your growl will be so much more consistent if you do.
Wow thanks Nigel Sax school student here,, fantastic explanations I will be practising this as part of my technique session of my practice.
Glad you enjoyed it!
There is a fantastic solo by Boots Randolph in Reconsider Baby rendition by Elvis. In fact this Blues sax solo is the very best (not only in my opinion) in all history of Rock & Roll. It's really worth to know it.
I love the last chorus of that solo - rockin’!
Eddie Money's great song Wanna Go Back has an awesome sax sound in the beginning with a little bit of the growl sound. That sound got me hooked on buying a sax even though Iv'e listened to the sax for years. I'll be getting one in a few weeks for the first time. I'm 56 so obviously I'm a little late in learning but your never to late to learn something new. I can't wait to get started and thank you for all of the info and tips that you give out about the sax and your an awesome sax player by the way!
I tried, its super fun! Also a lot of work for me to master it but still - FUN!
I find the singing one really difficult to add so I think the lip roll might help a lot! Trying when I can next play :)
Thanks Nigel! I have only tried the growl a few times, but never seem to be able to sustain it for more than a few seconds. The other problem I have is when I sing the same note as I am playing it sometimes gets out of my vocal range, and if I try to sing a different note (or hold a single note to accompany whatever I am playing) I get mixed up, because my mind is fixed on the notes I am playing --- I can't seem to get my mind, voice & sax to do 2 different things at the same time. Maybe I just need to keep trying. I haven't tried the tongue trill yet, maybe that's the best method for me (even though the singing growl sounds better.)
Thanks for your comments Rob. I don’t try and sing the same note I’m playing. You can get the growl effect by just making more of an “Aaah” sound than an actual pitch. Have a go at that and see if it helps you.
Thanks Nigel-sensei! I was looking about how to make my sax sound better, I guess this video is exactly what I was looking for.
Greetings from MX.
:D
Cool!
Pink Panther? Nope. Subtone to the max. But “Tequila” by the Champs and “One Step Beyond” by Madness that you quoted are great examples of rolling growls. As well as “Shotgun” by Jr Walkers (both kinds) and everything that Lenny Pickett ever played. Thanks for posting this tutorial!
You have a very nice tone. I also am a saxophone player in Korea. I like to play old popular songs
Awesome! Thank you!
In "Coming to America" the Soul Glow commercial, but it may be a synthesizer sax....
This is something that I'm just learning on the Soprano Saxophone. Also how do you get a more jazzy sound?
Jubel! Off to try it!! Thank you 😁
Nice techniques...
Cheers!
The sax part from the song Jubel by Klindande has a GNARLY growl
Agreed - great growl on that track.Actually it was played by UK saxman Snake Davis. Check out our lesson with him on the blog: saxschoolonline.com/articles/how-to-play-sax-with-more-feeling/
The wanderer by Dion has got a fantastic tenor sax solo!
That’s a great one.
I would say my favorite growl so far is that I've heard because it moves is the growl in Urgent from Foreigner
That is a classic solo Monika!
I took quickly to singing/humming while playing, I'll have to try and incorporate rolling the tongue. At first it's difficlt fo rme, which is ineresting because I can roll my r's naturally. I love Grady Gaines from Little Richard's material, and Eric Demmer as well.
Wonderful....I like the singing way, but still hard. Need lots of practice. I will now try the rolling tongue. See if that is better for me.
Cool. I hope this helps you.
Hi Nigel, I have had trouble with the tongue rolling method so have been using the singing/humming technique exclusively. Having watched your short video I think perhaps I have not been moving my tongue back when trying the rolling tongue so I’ll put a bit of work into that. My favourite example is really a whole style I guess in The Big Man. Clarence just got that great rock, rough raunchy sound that could also go along with a ballad and get enormous feeling into it. His version of Resurrection Shuffle is perhaps my favourite and would be a great addition to your Clarence Clemens lessons. On a side note, I played at the local market a couple of weeks ago and some young guys
, 10 to 12years old, really enjoyed the sound. I finished the first set with Paradise by the C and they were transfixed and said it was great. Perhaps a few young converts to the world of Saxophone
Wow, that’s awesome Bernie! I added a few more tips on how to get that tongue rolling technique on my blog. See if this helps you: www.mcgillmusic.com/articles/2-easy-growl-techniques-for-saxophone
The sax solo in The Wanderer by Dion was the first memorable time hearing this technique. But King Curtis is still the best at it to me. I use the tongue technique because I've never liked my growl.
Ok cool. King Curtis is brilliant.
My favorite all time sax number is "Sleep" by Boots Randolph
I love tenor sax solo in Money from ping floyd that growl is great theeere
Definitely!
I use the singing technique.
Funny that you say growling by singing is difficult on low notes. I easily growl the entire range of the bari. I think I started on the low D.
Jr. Walker's solo in Foreigner's - Urgent really uses this effectively.
Yes!
“Europa”, is a great song for the raspy sound by Gato Barbiery! I’d like to hear you play it! Cita really a great song!
thanks Nigel
Cannonball - Uptown Funk cover at 4;12 is a crazy good growl
the klingande - jubel solo ist incredible could you maybe explain how it works?
Yes, that’s a great example. I think the sax player (Snake Davis?) is using a tongue roll technique for that one.
I have a question: A lot of times I hear a saxophone player playing with mildly raspy sound, but I'm not sure if it's actually growling or they just gets some amount of distortion somehow. This is mostly on tenor btw. So my question is: Is it possible to play with some amount of rasp in the sound without actually growling?
Or is it that those players are just growling all the time?
Johnny Ferriers for growling is my fav player
Cool, he is a great player too.
Leo p’s white lava is a great big growl
I do both
I've been rolling my tongue for years. I have a hard time trying to sing while playing.
Cool. I think for me one of the things that made the singing technique work better was to use a load more air an play with lots more energy. That was holding me back at the start - not sure if you’ve tried this.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool I haven't tried that, yet.Thanks for the tip!!
McGill Music Sax School it’s just that you’re not used to producing fast air while talking. As an exercise, sing a note and create the saxophone embouchure with your mouth and blow as much air as you can. You’ll eventually get used to it.
The second option is not "growl" but "flatterzunge", isn't it ?
Yeah it’s more of flutter tongue in English
Can you please give a tutorial on Dance Monkey ?
Cool tune.
I am prefer to the second option (a.k.a flutter tongue). I don't know why I can't use the first one.
Saxophone solo of Touch me by the doors
I use the second when I play. Seems easier to me.
Awesome.
Rockin around the xmas tree by Brenda lee
I just found out that I already knew how to growl because I tried rolling my tongue before
Ok cool.
jubel has a great growl
Tequila by The Champs is amazing
Classic!
How do you roll your tongue? Like totally backwards?
Hey Joey. I roll my tongue (flutter) kind of the same way I would if I wasn’t playing my sax. The trick is to relax your embouchure and keep your mouth cavity as big as possible when rolling AND playing. Takes a bit of practice.
Comanche from Pulp Fiction, I wanted to do that since I was 17 and I'm 44 :-/
when you roll your tongue, is that still growling or is that flutter tongue?
Great question. Technically I guess rolling your tongue is “flutter tonguing” but lots of people use this for a growl technique as an alternative to using their voice.
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool I used flutter tonguing for years. Not quite a growl. The gargle technique is the way to go.
my sax teacher tells me that the reason i can’t produce that “growl” effect is because i don’t play loud enough and i’m not confident enough :(
Richard Elliot can blow amazing deep growls. And Mario Perrett's sound is entirely filthy.
Richard Elliot is brilliant.
Leo P solo in Buyo and also fish and chips
Cool
I find if I snore 😴 through a saxophone it's more consistent. Lol that's just my interpretation.
Oh hey this is convenient
Theres also 2 other more advanced techniques
What’s your preferred technique Gonzalez?
@@McGillMusicSaxSchool I only do the clearing your throat one.
I know there is one where your make a noise similar to rolling an r, or gargling, except you dont use your tounge, you only use the top of your mouth.
And also one where you push all of your bottom lip to one side with the mouthpiece and you play like that, then when you want to do the growl you let a bit of air escape through that part of your lip thats on the side making a "pppppppp" sound and that creates the distortion.
These are the best sounding techniques in my opinion although i need to practice them, they are pretty hard.
But if your interested i can look for the videos of where u saw them and give you the links
Urgent Foreigner please! Haha
That’s a good one - I’ve done a lesson on that solo inside my Sax School.
McGill Music Sax School yes! I have to sign up haha. It’s on the website?
I’m crushing Baker Street after a few days haha
Night train
how do you do it with tongue?
You can get a similar sound by “rolling” your tongue (also called “flutter” tongue)
boots randolph
Love it!
Pepsi man theme
Lol😁
Money! Dick Parry
Got to be Rat Trap boomtown rats
This...didn't explain much
Can you shave your beard
I like my beard!