2 weeks in...

FastFred · Nov 3, 2007

Bought a Saramande Tenor with Yamaha 4C mouthpiece a week last Sunday (from Saxhire) /11/2 reed and made good progress in the week. I was playing a couple of octaves in Cmajor and was at the end of book one 'The Complete Sax Player'. Seemed to be going quite well...
Took the sax back last Sunday as the crook wouldn't tighten properly and upgraded for a new Yamaha 275, same mouthpiece. Spent Sunday until midweek coaxing the same range of notes out of it as the Saramande, it was just so much more difficult to play? Notes just disappeared as I went from the G to F?
By Thursday I was getting a quite nice sound out of it, quite mellow and controlled. I think my embouchure is ok and I am definitely not biting. Bought the Larry Teal book and seem to be set-up about right.
Last night I was leafing through the songbook and suddenly realised that to play the William Tell overture I have to tongue very rapidly and that I was playing nearly all the tunes ligato. Made me realise how important the tongue technique is and so I have arranged a lesson for Monday with a local guy before I get into bad habits. On telling the tutor on what I had bought he said I should be using a 6C mouthpiece and a number 2 reed.
Bearing in mind he has never seen me and that I only told him I was a 13 day experience player does this sound right?
I also have noticed that I lower the jaw slightly as I go down the lower notes, is this normal?
Great instrument and really enjoying it.
Thanks

frankb · Nov 3, 2007

Excellent! Good to hear you're enjoying it, Fred!

Getting a tutor is definitely a good move. Asking the tutor the reasons behind his advice may also be a good move. The Yamaha 4C is regularly recommended on the forums by people who know a darn sight more than me (i.e. everybody!).

That's not to say your tutor is giving bad advice. Just that understanding the reasons for the advice is always a good idea.

If you're having problems going from G to F (and below F), a good place to start looking is your G# pad (the one in the middle of the body that's normally closed. If that's leaking at all it'll knacker the lower notes.

All the best and let us know how you get on,

Frank

Saxlicker · Nov 4, 2007

FastFred wrote:
On telling the tutor on what I had bought he said I should be using a 6C mouthpiece and a number 2 reed.
Bearing in mind he has never seen me and that I only told him I was a 13 day experience player does this sound right?

Thanks

I can't think of a reason that the YAS275 why a would be more effort unless there is something out of adjustment.

But getting back to the mouthpiece size, a 4C on tenor is very common to start with however it is mighty close (small). I can't quite grasp the logic yamaha use in the equasion from alto to tenor.(to me a 4C for alto is a better match than a 4C is for tenor in terms of tip opening)
So, you might do well to try a larger tip opening but there is no 'should' about it. For many people the 4C will work.

I'm not one of them. I preferred larger tip openings from the start and went for a :-
5C on soprano,
Stuck with 4C on alto for a while but eventually moved to a 5C,
Tenor, had I stuck with a yamaha piece would have been equivilent to a 7C