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Elevate Your Sax Section: Tone, Technique & Harmony

Learn how to improve your saxophone section's sound quality through tone production, blend, and balance techniques. Discover the secrets to eliminating tension, improving embouchure equilibrium, and selecting the right equipment. Dive into topics such as buzzing the mouthpiece, voicing, and pitch control for enhanced flexibility and relaxation. Master saxophone embouchure fundamentals, mouthpiece handling, reed selection, and ligature adjustments. Enhance your section playing skills with insights on harmony distribution, vibrato usage, and handout organization for effective ensemble performance.

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Elevate Your Sax Section: Tone, Technique & Harmony

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  1. TMEA 2012 Making Your Sax Section Sound Great by Dr. Michael N. Jacobson Professor of Saxophone Baylor University

  2. Tone Production • Section Playing, Blend & Balance

  3. Tone Production • Eliminating Tension • Lower Jaw • Throat (vocal chords) • Equilibrium of Embouchure & Air • Equipment (reeds – mouthpieces – ligatures)

  4. Buzzing the Mouthpiece • Tongue Position (Voicing)

  5. Buzzing the Mouthpiece • Pitch = Jaw Pressure Embouchure Support Voicing (oral cavity / tongue position) Reed Strength

  6. Buzzing the Mouthpiece • Bending Pitch = Jaw, Embouchure, Throat, Voicing • Enhances flexibility, pitch control, embouchure control & relaxation.

  7. Buzzing the Mouthpiece • Pitch References for SATB Saxophones

  8. Mouthpiece Voicing • Tongue Position  Whistling • Relationship to: • Low Register Response • Pitch / Portamento / Pitch Bends • Tonal Control / Consistency • Getting settled on different horn (alto  tenor or alto  bari)

  9. Saxophone Embouchure • Shape: round or oval • Corners: in & towards mouthpiece • Lower Jaw: down, away from reed • Chin: relaxed, not flat or pointed • Upper & Lower Teeth Alignment

  10. GOOD: • Corners in towards mouthpiece • Lower jaw down and chin relaxed • Upper & Lower teeth aligned NOT: • Corners • Flat chin NOT: • Corners • Upper lip • Teeth / jaw

  11. Mouthpieces • Brands: • Selmer: S-80 C* or D S-90 180-200 • Vandoren: Optimum 3 or 4 • Rousseau: R3 or R4 NC 3 or NC 4 (0riginal) (New Classic)

  12. Reeds • Strength: 34 for IntAdv Players • Brands: • French Cut Vandoren & V12, Rico Reserve & Royal • Regular Cut Vandoren Java & ZZ Jazz, La Voz, Rico regular

  13. Reeds • Storage: flat surface with grooves • Synthetic  Legere Regular – run ½ size hard (compared to Vandoren) Studio Cut – true to size (compared to Vandoren)

  14. Reeds • Placement and Adjustment (seal) • Lower Placement = less resistance • Higher Placement = more resistance • Take care that reed tip stays in contact with and seals to the tip rail of the mouthpiece

  15. Normal Lower Higher

  16. Ligatures • Full Coverage = Darker Tone • Minimal Coverage = Brighter Tone • Brands: Louis  standard/Benade  Rovner (Minimal <--------------------------> Full)

  17. Section Playing • Examples from Grainger: • Lincolnshire Posy 2. Horkstow Grange 6. The Lost Lady Found • Irish Tune from County Derry

  18. Section Playing • Lincolnshire Posy 2. Horkstow Grange • Melody in top voice Full harmony distributed among voices Frame inner voices with Melody & Bass Use vibrato depending on other ensemble doublings

  19. Section Playing • Lincolnshire Posy 6. The Lost Lady Found • Tutti voices Unisons and octaves Equal balance among voices No vibrato

  20. Section Playing • Irish Tune from County Derry • Melody in inner voices Full harmony distributed among voices Enhance Melody and diminish other voices Vibrato options: Use on Melody and not other voices Use as a section with a similar approach among voices Don’t use due to doublings with other instruments

  21. Handout Layout Page groupings: 1 – 2/3 – 4/5/6/7 – 8/9 – 10/11 – 12/13 – 14/15/16/17 – 18/19/20/21 Total: 4 front  back pages

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