Saxophone beginners Voicing

[Guenne]

But how does it improve your sax playing over what you would practice on the saxophone itself?

For me, it's not something I would practice too much.
It's just a reference point where I would be in the registers, which is useful for me as a doubler.
Beginners on the other hand often have troubles in my experience to keep the pitch down to Ab oder E - they tend to go sharp.

 

[Pete Effamy]

For me, it's not something I would practice too much.
It's just a reference point where I would be in the registers, which is useful for me as a doubler.
Beginners on the other hand often have troubles in my experience to keep the pitch down to Ab oder E - they tend to go sharp.

Reference point? Your ear adjusts your embouchure and throat in a split second should the sound not be what it should be.
No?

 

[Pete Effamy]

Reference point? Your ear adjusts your embouchure and throat in a split second should the sound not be what it should be.
No?

Or are you saying that it’s a quick reference when you pick up say, the clarinet after having played sax only for ages?

 

[Guenne]

Or are you saying that it’s a quick reference when you pick up say, the clarinet after having played sax only for ages?

Yes, good example.
Adaption is good, but sometimes I tend to compensate, making one or the other more tiring than necessary.

 

[Pete Thomas]

What/how do you think this improves on what you would do on the saxophone itself?

I found it improved control over palm key notes intonation, which previously I had done by "lipping" ie lower jaw position. What you do with the mouthpiece exercises is a way of controlling something that is very hard to describe without trying it. It's a bit like bending notes on a blues harp (which is totally different to being notes on a saxophone).

 

[Colin the Bear]

It's just a little thing that some find useful and interesting and some find pointless and puzzling. It's nothing to get worked up about.

 

[Guenne]

If find that we got messed up with MPC alone and MPC and neck.
My Ab or E is with MPC and neck.
MPC alone is great for balance of pressure against the reed and air pressure.

MPC alone also is a good indicator for how you will sound - more classical or more "jazzy".
You surely are familiar with with the Hasbrook thesis:

Hasbrook Thesis

 

[mizmar]

I'm often a little cautious about some special exercises. Sure people try this, or suggest to a student to try that, to overcome a problem; and if it works go "well everyone can try that"

Re: voicing, I got so much out of conquering overtones and then some altisimo etc. took a goof while and, as wakyct has not even been playing a year, that's still to come!


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