Tone or Sound I squeak more on alto than on clarinet

[MikeM70]

I guess this is more an observation than a plea for help, though if anyone does have any insight it will ofcourse be welcomed, but I've noticed since I got my alto that, when I get tired, I tend to produce a lot more squeaks on alto than on my clarinet. I've heard the clarinet called, among other things, the squeaky stick of doom, so I'm a bit surprised I squeak more on sax. I find when my embouchure is tired I lose control of the reed a lot easier on alto than on clarinet. Is this normal or is there an issue with my technique or gear?

 

[Pete Thomas]

You are right about the squeaky stick of doom. The squeaks in that case are usually leaks that are caused by fingers not properly sealing the holes.

On alto could be leaks so get that checked, but if it happens when tired more likely it's embouchure or a reed that swells after a while and so becomes squeaky

 

[MikeM70]

I did wonder if it may be the reed as it felt a bit spongy, but changing reeds didn't seem to fix it so I guess it's just technique. I do note that my jaw/mouth kinda tense up a bit when I start to fatigue.
EDIT: what I find odd is that I don't squeak on clarinet when I start to tire.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Different embouchure and the mouthpiece has a different design. Could be the reed is too far forward on alto. Could be the mouthpiece is too wide or the reed is too hard or fudging side/palm keys.

 

[MikeM70]

the MPC is a Yam 4c, reeds are rico 2. I'll try moving the reed back a bit, see if that makes a difference. Through experience I've learnt how not to hit the side keys.

 

[Colin the Bear]

It sounded in your post that you were new to alto. A dry reed will squeak. A soak may help.

 

[MikeM70]

been playing alto about 2 weeks, spent the 1st week hitting the palm keys, even someone as slow as me sooner or later makes a connection between that and bad noises.
I normally soak the reeds when I 1st get them, but after that just wet them in my mouth, is it worth soaking them properly every now and then?

 

[Jeanette]

I usually pop my reed in a glass of water before playing

Jx

 

[MikeM70]

OK, I will try that, thanks.

 

[jbtsax]

A squeek can have many causes. One of the most common on saxophone is an unbalanced reed that is thicker on one side than the other. The same effect can happen when biting with the embouchure putting more pressure on one side of the reed than the other. In normal circumstances the reed couples with the resonant frequency of the length of the tube to the first opening and vibrates at that pitch. When the player prevents one side of the reed from vibrating, the reed can no longer vibrate at the frequency of the body tube, and so it says, "what the heck, I'll just vibrate at my own natural frequency which is the pitch of the squeak.

A good exercise to develop control is to play long tones on just the "tone producer" mouthpiece and crook producing the note Ab concert. One should use lots of air, and focus on pushing inward with the corners of the mouth against the sides of the reed as if saying "OO" (rhymes with two) To reduce the tendency to "bite" one should feel the jaw and chin pulling downward while the lower lip pushes up against the reed. When the embouchure muscles begin to tire it is important to take a break and let them rest so bad habits don't take over.

 

[MikeM70]

ok, think I may have identified and hopefully solved the issue. It seems that the octave pad/thing wasn't sealing properly, which may have been caused by the mechanism being slightly too flat (if that makes sense) a quick search on youtube seems to show this being not uncommon, so I've slightly bent it, and it does seem now to be moving and sealing correctly.
We'll put this down to a beginners error. I'm not keeping score of these, but I suspect I must be in double digits by now.