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Mouthpieces Advice on an easier blowing mouthpiece!

Melissa

Melissa

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Northamptonshire UK
Hi all :)

I have been using a Berg 100/1 sms since I began but I do tend to find it a bit hard,I can blow it ok,but I really get jaw ache:( and then my bottom lip falls apart hehe-or not so! Please excuse my ignorance but which way do I go for an easier blowing mouthpiece? up or down the scale?:confused: I like the bergs though have not tried much else though one was a Brilhart no 5 was very open and it took me all my breath to get one note out! btw.I play Tenor.

I am grateful for any advice from you Guru's!
 
I agree with Nick try a softer reed before you start thinking about a different mouthpiece,if that doesn't improve things i would say try some different mouthpieces. I'm sure that Tom will be along soon with a few suggestions
 
If you have tried a softer reed without any look i would suggest getting a Guardala, one of the cheaper ones from WWBW i got one secondhand a while ago and was astonished how easy it was to blow, it more or less blew itself! thats how easy it seemed, mine is the mb11 nice and bright but without the resistance of the Berg.
 
Nick Wyver said:
Have you tried a softer reed?
Click to expand...

Well I have,I tried to go to a 1.5 and just could not get on with it,lower notes suffered tremendously,a 2 is ok,I was playing a Vandoren 2 today, and I rather feel it is about the same as the Royal 2.5,not quite, a little easier blowing but not too far away.I have some Rico orange 2's and again it's ok but I just cannot manipulate it like the 2.5 Royal.

I am relatively new on the Tenor,on and off for two years now-or when I have the time,my heart is in it,but I am not completely comfortable with my set up,my sax could do with a re-pad.I can play "That's all" rather Webster style though it is a bit hard from low and straight up on my sax as I think I have not quite mastered it,it's ok,but the lower notes vibrate a bit or "fluff" prior to going up,some days are good,others poor, but always have the jaw ache!
 
Jaw ache/lip falls apart.... Maybe it's not the reed or mouthpiece, but your embouchure. Sounds as if you're biting, possibly because you're taking too much in. Get that bottom lip away from your teeth, and relax...
 
kevgermany said:
Jaw ache/lip falls apart.... Maybe it's not the reed or mouthpiece, but your embouchure. Sounds as if you're biting, possibly because you're taking too much in. Get that bottom lip away from your teeth, and relax...
Click to expand...

Hi Kev,

er,away from my teeth?!:shocked: I was told to place my bottom lip over my teeth,if this is the case,then what have I been doing for 2 years?! I play many tunes now but I am normally white faced and hot flushing afterwards,help!
 
I prefer the lip out method. Look in a mirror and suck your thumb, then replicate that embouchure with your sax. You should not be white faced and hot after playing your sax. So far as mouthpieces go I like my Selmer C"" with Rico Royal #2 reeds. Selmer are quite pricey these days and a Yamaha 5c would be a cheaper alternative. So would a Fobes Debut. Playing the tenor is a lot more fun than you are having, so you need to get to the bottom of this.

Jim.
 
Melissa said:
Well I have,I tried to go to a 1.5 and just could not get on with it,lower notes suffered tremendously,a 2 is ok,I was playing a Vandoren 2 today, and I rather feel it is about the same as the Royal 2.5,not quite, a little easier blowing but not too far away.I have some Rico orange 2's and again it's ok but I just cannot manipulate it like the 2.5 Royal.
Click to expand...

Good guess. According to the comparison charts, a blue Vandoren 2 is about the same as a Rico or a Rico Royal 2.5.

I am very pleased with my Vandoren T20 mouthpiece.
 
Melissa said:
Hi Kev,

er,away from my teeth?!:shocked: I was told to place my bottom lip over my teeth,if this is the case,then what have I been doing for 2 years?! I play many tunes now but I am normally white faced and hot flushing afterwards,help!
Click to expand...

Most teachers tell you to start with bottom lip curled over your teeth. Very much like a clarinet embouchure. It gives you time to build up muscles in your lips, so that they get strong enough to control the reed without biting.

Larry Teal's the Art of Saxophone playing: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Saxopho...0577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311136949&sr=8-1 has some great exercises to develop the embouchure muscles (but don't do them in public) and a lot more general info.

The other's comments about mouthpieces with smaller tip openings also seem to fit. Rico Royal B3 or Tom M's Runyon 22 would be other inexpensive, but good choices, as well as the Yamaha mentioned above. Selmer S80 C* (often just called the Selmer C*) is a great choice as well, but a little more expensive. They come up on ebay often.

What's a little confusing is your easier blowing title - generally this implies bigger tip openings, because you're having to blow too hard. But if you're straining & tensing up in your mouth, a closer tip and sticking with the Rico Royal reeds should sort you out. On tenor you shouldn't need to squeeeze down hard on the reed, or blow very hard. Which leaves you free to concentrate on fingers and notes.
 
kevgermany said:
Most teachers tell you to start with bottom lip curled over your teeth. Very much like a clarinet embouchure. It gives you time to build up muscles in your lips, so that they get strong enough to control the reed without biting.
Click to expand...

Ahem.

Most generic woodwind teachers or clarinet teachers might, but I don't think most saxophone teachers would.
 
Just as an alternative point of view....

I have tried to play various metal berg's that are just plain hard work!
No direct relation to tip sizes, its just my experience that some are poor or at least don't suit me where as others blow freely enough. That includes new ones.
It's not something that I have experienced nearly as often with other mouthpieces I am sorry to say!
I do have a good berg now so I'm not trying to advise against one but it may actually be a good idea to try other pieces.
Generally I go along with the reasoning that we shouldn't just splash cash on another mouthpiece with out persevering but in this case, I have seen enough of them to think it could be part of the problem.
The only thing that contradicts that is knowing you didn't get on with the brillhart piece you mention in your thread.
I don't have any particular recommendations except to say you don't have to spend the earth.
You could try a slightly larger tip opening...you may be squeezing too hard and closing an already small lay.
Good Luck.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A Berg Larsen 0.100” tip opening is about a #7. It seems a pretty standard size that most folks can blow with ease. If you were getting a mouthpiece I would have recommended a #6 but that said you have quite a large baffle so it probably blow’s like a 6* anyhow so I would say stick with your current mouthpiece.

Strange that you struggle with the bell notes on a 1.5 yet can get them on a 2. The softer reed should have made it easier not harder! My guess is your biting, like Kev said.

Do you have a teacher? I would highly recommend you seeking one out just so they could check you’ve got everything set-up right. The position of your sax can affect you’re embouchure. Best nipping the problem in the bud now before you develop some bad habits that could take years to shake off!

You need a relaxed playing position and the correct posture to get a relaxed embouchure. If your fingers are tense then your embouchure will be too.
 
Get an experienced player to play your tenor with their mouthpiece to make sure the sax isn't just leaking badly - something sounds wrong here! Pete
 

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