palm key technique

[pianomanricky]

hi i have just joined this group ,ive been a pro piano playing singer for many many years playing piano bars all around the world ,but when i got a little bit too old to play 4/ 5/ sometimes 6 spots a night i decided to settle down ,hard for a muso i know ,i have always admired good saxophone players and decided to teach myself , i did take a teacher after a while and too be honest i was better than him ,and i am not that good ,so i have carried on by myself , i am lucky that i still do live gigs and i can play some sax live which i thnk has really helped me progess, i came upon this site and straight away i got some great advise ,one thing i was noticing was that the sax moved when i used the d palm key and some one suggested that his teacher had told him to push the key down rather than pushing it in , problem solved thanks very much ,im sure i will get some great pointers from this site

 

[Justin Chune]

Hello Ricky, welcome to the cafe. I've never had a problem with the sax moving when I play palm D. I just let it go with the flow. Operating the key with a downward stroke seems like a good idea.

Jim.

 

[kevgermany]

I think quite a few saxes have a springs that are over tight on the palm keys. A well set up sax doesn't have this problem. But there's a balance between sealing and ease of play, and cheap saxes with uneven tone holes need a lot more spring tension to keep the palm keys sealing.

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

I took a bit of advice from the player known as Colin the Bear. Adjust the sax hight so you can play C# comfortably no hands. It has helped me.

 

[jbtsax]

A good exercise to learn to navigate the palm keys is to play a chromatic scale beginning on high C and going up to high F (or F#) and back down. Think of "massaging" the palm keys rather than "pushing" them open while keeping the fingers curved.

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

Going to the music lair now to tackle Lily again. Will certainly use that tip.
Cheers

 

[Steve Marshall]

I agree with jeremy - I line the sax up by balancing the sax on the thumbrest and thumbhook with the sling height adjusted correctly. Turn the neck so that it points towards you. If the neck isn't pointing towards you then when you take your fingers off the front keys you can't hold it in position and it'll rotate around. To play an open C# or palm keys it needs to be at rest - so set the neck angle.
There seem to be a couple of ways people attack the palm keys which can depend on how long your fingers are and how much your finger tips are on the pearls. A curved hand may have to bend down to the palm key whereas I like the palm keys close to my palm so they just need minimal movement. The movement I use is inward.
If the keys are a long way off your hand you should maybe think of trying a palm key riser. If you have the pressing down motion the riser can slide off. If the riser feels better though you can fit a silicone putty for a more permanent solution.