jrintaha
Member
Now that I've been recording some stuff, I've really been struggling with a couple of notes on my tenor. Second octave (that is, with octave key pressed) A through C to be exact, C# to a much lesser extent but still sometimes a bit problematic.
2nd octave notes from D to G# pretty much spot on, the whole 1st octave plus bell notes pretty much spot on, but 2nd octave A to C very very sharp. So sharp that as I try to adjust them down with my embouchure, the notes start getting really shaky and bad sounding, as just lowering my larynx and raising the back of my tongue is not enough, and I have to start reducing lip pressure on the reed so much that it's barely enough to produce a tone. Without the octave key, I can bend down the C# to a B without the tone suffering, just by adjusting my airstream, larynx, and tongue position.
What are my options here? I've tried pushing in the mouthpiece and relaxing my embouchure even more, but then the 2nd octave notes get really stuffy, and A through C# almost impossible to play in tune, as they get so stuffy that it feels like the horn is blocked up altogether. Pulling back the mouthpiece makes the problematic 2nd octave notes slightly more workable, but then high D through F# get very flat, as do the 1st octave A through C#.
I'm guessing adjusting the key heights of the upper stack keys might bring some sort of workable compromise, but I don't want to try that out just yet. Could this just be that the A is not well vented enough, and the resulting stuffiness (which I suppose carries over to B, C and C# to some extent) causes me to automatically tighten my embouchure to produce a decent tone?
I've tried cleaning the neck octave pip, making temporary adjustments to the pip and key with partially covering the pip and raising the octave key with my finger, to no avail.
Or should I just write it off to being a cheap G4M tenor and go buy a Yamaha?
Cheers,
Jori
Edit: addendum: I have no such problem with my Vito (made in Japan by Yamaha) alto. I imagine the alto should be even more susceptible to player-induced intonation problems, so I'm not entirely buying that option either...
2nd octave notes from D to G# pretty much spot on, the whole 1st octave plus bell notes pretty much spot on, but 2nd octave A to C very very sharp. So sharp that as I try to adjust them down with my embouchure, the notes start getting really shaky and bad sounding, as just lowering my larynx and raising the back of my tongue is not enough, and I have to start reducing lip pressure on the reed so much that it's barely enough to produce a tone. Without the octave key, I can bend down the C# to a B without the tone suffering, just by adjusting my airstream, larynx, and tongue position.
What are my options here? I've tried pushing in the mouthpiece and relaxing my embouchure even more, but then the 2nd octave notes get really stuffy, and A through C# almost impossible to play in tune, as they get so stuffy that it feels like the horn is blocked up altogether. Pulling back the mouthpiece makes the problematic 2nd octave notes slightly more workable, but then high D through F# get very flat, as do the 1st octave A through C#.
I'm guessing adjusting the key heights of the upper stack keys might bring some sort of workable compromise, but I don't want to try that out just yet. Could this just be that the A is not well vented enough, and the resulting stuffiness (which I suppose carries over to B, C and C# to some extent) causes me to automatically tighten my embouchure to produce a decent tone?
I've tried cleaning the neck octave pip, making temporary adjustments to the pip and key with partially covering the pip and raising the octave key with my finger, to no avail.
Or should I just write it off to being a cheap G4M tenor and go buy a Yamaha?
Cheers,
Jori
Edit: addendum: I have no such problem with my Vito (made in Japan by Yamaha) alto. I imagine the alto should be even more susceptible to player-induced intonation problems, so I'm not entirely buying that option either...
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