Playing the saxophone How to growl on saxophone - please help find examples

Examples of the saxophone growl​

Growling is one of the most popular effects on the saxophone. We often associate it with rock and pop playing but it's also a very legitimate technique in jazz, used by the greats from Ben Webster through to David Sanborn.

Before I go on the describe it, here are some audio examples:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGrg57RbqBE

Although we think of the saxophone growl as an effect, it can be applied with different intensities. You can use it here or there on one or two notes or add it quite extensively. It's up to your taste and judgment how you use it. It can be anything from a slight edge to brighten the tone to a full on snarling roaring tiger growl.

It is a sort of equivalent to a guitarist using a distortion pedal.

How do you growl on a saxophone​

First of all one of the misconception is that you growl while playing. That is not likely to work. Another misconception is that you roll your RRRs. Again, that won't work either - BUT - it does give a different but related effect: flutter tongue.

To growl you simply sing, or rather hum, while you are playing. It's not actually possible to sing of course because there is a mouthpiece in the way, but humming (which takes place in your throat) works well.

Which note to hum?​

That's the $1000 question. Some people say to hum the same note as you are playing but slightly (or very) out of tune, others to hum a specific harmony or interval relative to the note you are playing.

I have found that either of those may work, but nobody I know of has yet come up with an explanation of how out of tune or which interval. The way it works is that the note (being out of tune or different to the one you are playing) causes interference with the sound wave of the saxophone to cause the distortion. It may be that not all saxophone notes growl based on the same amount of pitch variation or harmony in the hum.

My preferred method of learning is via a sort of subconscious process of trial and error. Trying to sing along, whether out of tune, or in harmony is just too difficult a process.

So try this:

• Play a note on the saxophone
• While playing, hum any note and while keeping on the same saxophone note, vary the pitch of your hum
• Listen carefully to the note and as your hum varies and note when it causes the tonal interference - and the resulting growl.
• Play that note again (asa long note) while humming that same pitch if possible
• Repeat a few times and then move on to a different and do the same process over again

This way you will gradually find you automatically hum whatever note works best for each note or series of notes you are playing.

Another very quick example...Happy growling evybody!



PS: We are pleased to also bring you a a soundcloud tutorial from our very own cafe member Taz.

https://soundcloud.com/taz-16%2Fgrowl-tutorial

View: https://soundcloud.com/taz-16/growl-tutorial

 

[Bobby G]

You can get some interesting effects, or experiment, by holding one note for as long as possible and growling at different pitches while playing it, causing different amounts of interference to the basic note. You may find an effect you like, or you may run screaming for the hills. Exit pursued by a bear.

 

[Taz]

Well this is exactly as the title says. I was doing some recording and as I'd been asked how to growl by someone else, I thought I'd have a go at producing an audio guide. I hope you find it helpful.

https://soundcloud.com/taz-16/growl-tutorial

 

[saxismyaxe]

Great help for those just learning this technique Pete.

 

[jbtsax]

Well done. Interesting way to mike the hum with the sax in the background. For those who have difficulty with humming and playing at the same time, it have found it useful to have them hum and blow an airstream without the sax at first. It makes a "V V V V V . . . ." sound. Once they can do that "growling" is a piece of cake.

 

[Linky Lee]

Thanks for the audio guide, very nicely put together!

I struggle with humming and playing a the same time and find myself following the pitch of the note I'm playing as well, which doesn't give the best effect, definitely something I need to work on!
A little technique I've doing something similar to a gurgle. It gives an aggressive growl effect almost like flutter tongue but also lands you with a sore throat, so not highly recommended!

 

[miss-saxophone]

Cheers for that Taz. 🙂

 

[Veggie Dave]

I'm working on my first sax song and I've learnt so much just by trying to record it - such as how difficult it can be to keep your intonation when you can't hear what you're playing - but the one thing that's really stood out is how vital the ability to growl is.

I hadn't realised just how huge a weapon in a sax player's arsenal the growl actually is.

Certain players appear to growl almost every note they play ... or do they? For example, if someone is playing a metal mp and blowing hard, would that produce a light growl-like sound? I'm thinking of someone like Candy Dulfer, who appears to growl constantly.

Or are they really growling almost every note and simply varying the strength of the effect?

 

[Colin the Bear]

The material of the mouthpiece makes very little difference to the sound. The internal shape and shape of the lay has most affect after you. Growling is achieved by adding voice. Anything from a gentle hum to a gertcha. The clip in my sig has me growling through the whole piece. I was having problems with a sticking pad or two the tenor. Apart from being scared to death with nerves that is.

 

[altissimo]

I don't think Candy Dulfer is doing much growling, she uses a very bright sounding mouthpiece - I think it's a Lebayle Studio, although other high baffle mouthpieces may get a similar tone

 

[Colin the Bear]

Perhaps a Rico Metalite?

 

[Veggie Dave]

The material of the mouthpiece makes very little difference to the sound. The internal shape and shape of the lay has most affect after you.

I discovered this last night when I was researching my question. The site also spoke about how the size of the mouthpiece affects the embouchure, which has a much stronger effect on the tone than the material. There really is a lot more to this saxophone lark than meets the eye.

The clip in my sig has me growling through the whole piece.

Ah, so it's not actually unusual for players to growl an entire song?

I don't think Candy Dulfer is doing much growling, she uses a very bright sounding mouthpiece - I think it's a Lebayle Studio

I may be right then? My ear must be getting better at listening to how people play. The funny thing is, when I tried to push my mouthpiece when recording the thing I'm working on to try and achieve that rasping sound, I just got much louder, while the high notes became even less rounded and less powerful than normal. I believe this may be because my reed is too soft for how I'm playing?

 

[Jeanette]

There really is a lot more to this saxophone lark than meets the eye.

There certainly is, as many find out 🙂

Jx

 

[jimmylh]

The trouble I have with growling is, I can only growl on certain notes. For example, I can growl easily on A2, but when I go to other notes my vocal chords will stop vibrating like being cancelled out by a different resonance.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The funny thing is, when I tried to push my mouthpiece when recording the thing I'm working on to try and achieve that rasping sound, I just got much louder, while the high notes became even less rounded and less powerful than normal. I believe this may be because my reed is too soft for how I'm playing?

No pushing required. Everything stays the same and you just add voice. You can hum or surprise surprise...growl Grrrr

when I go to other notes my vocal chords will stop vibrating like being cancelled out by a different resonance.

You need to change the note you're singing while playing. Try sliding up and down on your voice while holding the same note to find the best pitch to give you the effect you're looking for.

 

[Veggie Dave]

No pushing required. Everything stays the same and you just add voice. You can hum or surprise surprise...growl Grrrr

I'm going to have another go at recording again tonight - but without playing as though I'm at a gig and can't hear anything because of the guitars, and after an hour or three of growling practise.

I've just been listening to Dulfer and Maceo again and that rasping sound I really like is, I believe, just the natural sound of a sax when played with a very bright mouthpiece. Then you add a growl to really accentuate.

I think the problem I'm discovering, thanks to recording myself, is that my lower register has a huge amount of bass (so much so that when I recorded 'Intro' that I posted a couple of days ago, I had to EQ almost all of the lower frequencies out to stop it from shaking my speakers apart) while the top end loses both volume and colour, which is precisely what I don't want if I want to play in a bright, funky way.

While I'm sure a new mouthpiece and different reeds would make a huge difference, I'm betting more practice would help, too. 😉

 

[altissimo]

you could experiment with adding more baffle to your mouthpiece using blu tack, wax or something similarly non permanent - this kind of experimentation was not uncommon in the 1940's and 50's when high baffle mouthpieces were rare and players wanted more edge and projection. Some of the players who were successful in their experiments went into mouthpiece manufacturing - Bobby Dukoff, Santy Runyon, Elmer Beechler etc

 

[Veggie Dave]

you could experiment with adding more baffle to your mouthpiece using blu tack, wax or something similarly non permanent - this kind of experimentation was not uncommon in the 1940's and 50's when high baffle mouthpieces were rare and players wanted more edge and projection.

I wish you hadn't told me this - I see months of faffing around with wax and blutack in my future...

😀

 

[Veggie Dave]

Thanks everyone for your help.

After playing with growling and recording it tonight I think I can say with reasonable certainty that the sound I was trying to describe is simply what a bright saxophone sounds like - something my £25 plastic Yamaha 7C doesn't have a lot of. 😉

 

[kevgermany]

Stick with it for now. You'll be surprised what it'll do as you get more experience. You'll also have a much better idea of what you want.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I'm definitely going to continue trying to improve my growling ability, particularly as I'm betting it's a lot more versatile than I realise.