Mouthpieces Is the transition that difficult?

[dexdex]

Welcome here, and keep going !

The V16 line is designed to fit musicians playing pop and jazz as soloists, versus the Yamaha 4C designed for beginners and rather polished orchestral section playing.
This implies more freedom, more power, and less safety. An excellent way to progress.
It is like taking off the side wheels on a kids bicycle.

Caution: learning the saxophone without blowing strong air isn't, by far, the best way.
Everyone here will recommend you to find a place where you can play as loud as possible, blow a strong flow, without restraint. At least once or twice a week. This is the ONLY way to build a solid tone on the horn.

 

[cappers]

This implies more freedom, more power, and less safety. An excellent way to progress.
It is like taking off the side wheels on a kids bicycle.

Kids' bike training wheels - great analogy!

Having recently switched from a Yama 4C to a PPT5M on alto it is just like that for me.
The 4C stopped me from wobbling, kept me on the straight and narrow and was 'safe'.
The PPT is far more flexible and manoeuvrable, more likely to lose control or tip over until one's balance is attained. Now I'm beginning to zoom around on it, leaning into the corners as it were. In comparison the 4C seems like riding on rails.

Had the same switching from 5C tenor to Selmer Soloist - far more flexible and responsive but needs some care at first. The PPT is so nice I'm wondering if the tenor version might be worth a punt one day!

 

[wakyct]

A thing happened with V16, never heard about it and don't know if it is a thing. Usually we can get higher tones while playing low notes (overtones). Here I was able to have lower register notes while playing the higher register notes (like low E instead of high E), using voicing.

Yes, in fact this is a good voicing exercise. Play the middle notes with the octave key but voice them so that they sound an octave lower.

 

[ner]

Welcome here, and keep going !

The V16 line is designed to fit musicians playing pop and jazz as soloists, versus the Yamaha 4C designed for beginners and rather polished orchestral section playing.
This implies more freedom, more power, and less safety. An excellent way to progress.
It is like taking off the side wheels on a kids bicycle.

Caution: learning the saxophone without blowing strong air isn't, by far, the best way.
Everyone here will recommend you to find a place where you can play as loud as possible, blow a strong flow, without restraint. At least once or twice a week. This is the ONLY way to build a solid tone on the horn.

Thank you.
Totally agree. I used to go everyday in my car and train on the road.
But now it is impossible as the temperature now in Saudi Arabia reaches more than 40 degrees Celsius.

 

[ner]

Yes, in fact this is a good voicing exercise. Play the middle notes with the octave key but voice them so that they sound an octave lower.

Interesting

Kids' bike training wheels - great analogy!

Having recently switched from a Yama 4C to a PPT5M on alto it is just like that for me.
The 4C stopped me from wobbling, kept me on the straight and narrow and was 'safe'.
The PPT is far more flexible and manoeuvrable, more likely to lose control or tip over until one's balance is attained. Now I'm beginning to zoom around on it, leaning into the corners as it were. In comparison the 4C seems like riding on rails.

Had the same switching from 5C tenor to Selmer Soloist - far more flexible and responsive but needs some care at first. The PPT is so nice I'm wondering if the tenor version might be worth a punt one day!

It seems that it's the same road for all of us.
Is weird how we torture ourselves, just to have this great feeling afterwards of producing music that touches our souls.

 

[ner]

Day 4 updates (sorry for the updates but I think they might help someone in the future)

. A lot easier today. Can play low Bb and palm keys a lot easier, playing then directly today without the need to gradually go down or up to reach the notes.
. Virtually no more squeaks.
. Started to get back my techniques back like vibrato, bending, tonguing, double tonguing, muted tonguing, subtones.
. Reached 1 overtone (instead of 3 overtones on C4).

. I can just complete 1 phrase at a time as the embouchure strength needed is important, with subsequent fatigue and relaxation of the lower lip.

Just a word on how I achieve this transition from 4C to A5 (I am not an expert, just sharing my thoughts)
As I told before the strength needed for 4C is very minimal.
With A5, I am tightening my lips all around BUT what was lacking is the strength of the lower lip pushing up against the reed, WHILE lowering the chin and having the lower teeth far from the reed and the lip.
This is where the fatigue is. The lower lip needs to get more muscles to sustain a whole song.
Once the lower lip relaxes even a bit, no more good sound or the teeth will come to help unconsciously thus ruining the sound.

Lowering the chin even more was essential to get those low Bb and B notes.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Keep at it. 👍

 

[nethanpaul86]

Yes, that can be a completely normal transition. The V16 A5 is a very different mouthpiece from a Yamaha 4C, with a larger tip opening and a design that demands more control of your embouchure and air support. Many players experience squeaks and difficulty with low B and Bb when switching, especially during the first few days.

I'd also check whether your reed strength is a good match for the new mouthpiece, as an unsuitable reed can make the low register much harder to speak. Give yourself a couple of weeks before judging the setup. If low C is coming out consistently, you're probably on the right track. The key is relaxing, using steady air, and letting your embouchure adapt gradually.

 

[ner]

Yes, that can be a completely normal transition. The V16 A5 is a very different mouthpiece from a Yamaha 4C, with a larger tip opening and a design that demands more control of your embouchure and air support. Many players experience squeaks and difficulty with low B and Bb when switching, especially during the first few days.

I'd also check whether your reed strength is a good match for the new mouthpiece, as an unsuitable reed can make the low register much harder to speak. Give yourself a couple of weeks before judging the setup. If low C is coming out consistently, you're probably on the right track. The key is relaxing, using steady air, and letting your embouchure adapt gradually.

Thank you very much for the encouragement.
Doing far better now.
I like playing the sax again.
But still can't train more than 30 minutes due to embouchure fatigue.