Squeaking

[tom93]

Hi this is my first post so go easy!

Well basically i have started to squeak quite a lot when i play. I am currently just about to start doing grade 4 (having done grade 2 (with merit 8) )) . I still have the first saxophone that i bought and i also still use the ligature and mouthpeice that came with it. Could it be that i need a new something or am i doing something wrong?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Jules]

the easiest fix is to go up half a reed strength. This seems to cure a lot of squeak issues. A try out of new mouthpiece and lig set ups is worth trying, to see if it throws up any combination which works significantly better with your playing, but the reed thing should hopefully fix your squeakage

 

[Pete Thomas]

Most "mouthpieces that came with it" are not very good. You can't go wrong with a cheap yamaha 4C (and the ligature that goes with it.

Try some different reeds or different strengths as nachoman has suggested.

 

[griff136]

You could also have a few minor leaks on your sax but like nacho and pete I would try different reeds firts then maybe a mouthpiece up grade.

take your sax along to a shop and try a different mouthpiece to confirm that its the mouthpiece and not a leak.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Assuming you have one ask your teacher to try your saxophone with his mouthpiece/reed. That can narrow the possibilities. He/she should also be able to advise you on mouthpiece/reeds. That's partly what you pay for.

 

[milandro]

this has been affecting me all of a sudden after a while I started playing on my new (then new) mouthpiece a Tenor Vandoren Blue Java T75. I normally play with Alexander DC #3 reeds but this thing happens also with some other reeds.

My teacher told me that it was me using too much throat or tightening my embouchure too much but I had never had that before.
I should say that I do double on Alto. My teacher thought that it messed up my embouchure to play both.

However I got crazy and couln't work it out. I've been trying a fibra cell and all of a sudden squeaking disappeared. Also, New reeds don't squeak nearly as much as old ones.

 

[Bobby G]

If you are relatively new to the sax, squeaking could come about as a result of your embouchure tiring after playing for longer than usual.

I play mainly alto, doubling on tenor and dabbling on soprano, and don't find switching from one to another, especially between alto and tenor or vice versa has any adverse effect on my embouchure for either, which seems to go against what Milandro's teacher is saying.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Linky Lee]

I play flute and sax.
If anything were to wreck the embouchure, it's be that. It's completely different!
I don't believe in this nonsense. It's just muscle development. If you've developed it and regularly exercise it, doesn't matter what you do to the rest of your muscles.

 

[Bobby G]

I was speaking to a brass player the other day, he plays trumpet and valve trombone, and he maintains that playing brass and reed instruments is a sure-fire embouchure wrecker, but he thought doubling on reeds and flute should be ok. It's certainly not unheard of (Eric Dolphy for instance, and Pete Thomas).

Cheers, Bob

 

[Pete Thomas]

The only player I know to double effectively on saxophone and brass is Herb Hardesty, plays great on tenor and trumpet.

 

[philthd]

anyone ive seen doing it is a better brass player

i dont know how brass players do it - a couple of scales on a cornet and my lips are a whole world of pain