Once you have your saxophone set up correctly, the next step is to learn how to play it. When playing the saxophone, you have to have a good embouchure in order to get a good sound. The most common embouchure for saxophone is as follows:
Fold your lower lip over your bottom teeth. This is the most important part of this type of saxophone embouchure. The reed should lay on top of your bottom lip, and not touch your teeth. Your upper lip sits naturally on the top of the mouthpiece, and when you put the mouthpiece in your mouth, you form a seal around the entire mouthpiece. In doing so, you will want to squeeze your lips together slightly, but not too hard; if you squeeze too hard, you will stop the reed from vibrating. This will cause your saxophone to squeak, honk, and create other undesirable noises. Although this is very common when you are first starting off on the saxophone, if you develop a bad embouchure, it will be difficult to play harder notes as you start playing more complex pieces. For more information on the saxophone embouchure, visit http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-embouchure.
Now that you have your embouchure, the next step is learning how to properly blow into it. When you blow into your mouthpiece, be very careful to maintain your embouchure. This means keeping your face tight, and not puffing out your cheeks. This will be difficult in the beginning, but if you develop a bad habit of puffing out your cheeks, it will be more difficult to play faster and more complex pieces, as stated before.
One final thing to remember is air control. When you first start, your sound will be loud, obnoxious, and squeaky. However, with practice, and proper posture, your sound will gradually develop to become a more mellow, soft, and overall thing to listen to.
Now that you have your embouchure, the next step is learning how to properly blow into it. When you blow into your mouthpiece, be very careful to maintain your embouchure. This means keeping your face tight, and not puffing out your cheeks. This will be difficult in the beginning, but if you develop a bad habit of puffing out your cheeks, it will be more difficult to play faster and more complex pieces, as stated before.
One final thing to remember is air control. When you first start, your sound will be loud, obnoxious, and squeaky. However, with practice, and proper posture, your sound will gradually develop to become a more mellow, soft, and overall thing to listen to.
Articulation is a key part in playing the saxophone. This is where you clearly define the point between two notes by using your tongue, instead of bursts of air. To do this, you have to follow a few simple steps:
1. Breathe in, so that you have air to blow out.
2. Place the tip of your tongue against the reed, slightly in from the tip.
3. Create pressure behind your tongue. Do this by forcing a small amount of air out of your lungs and into your mouth. This air is what will start your note.
4. Without losing air pressure, quickly remove your tongue from the reed. Notice how the beginning of your note sounds crisp and precise.
5. Without stopping your air, quickly place your tongue back where it was on the reed. This will give the note a nice crisp and clear ending.
When articulating a note, try imagining yourself saying 'du' or tu'. However, instead of placing the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, place it against the tip of the reed. This creates a valve of sorts, with your tongue controlling the flow of air through your mouthpiece and your sound. If you have good articulation, your notes will sound crisp and clear. There are, however, different kinds of articulation. If you would like to read more about those, visit http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-articulation-tonguing.
The final thing to remember when you are paying the tenor saxophone is good posture. Good posture on a tenor saxophone is as follows:
2. Place the tip of your tongue against the reed, slightly in from the tip.
3. Create pressure behind your tongue. Do this by forcing a small amount of air out of your lungs and into your mouth. This air is what will start your note.
4. Without losing air pressure, quickly remove your tongue from the reed. Notice how the beginning of your note sounds crisp and precise.
5. Without stopping your air, quickly place your tongue back where it was on the reed. This will give the note a nice crisp and clear ending.
When articulating a note, try imagining yourself saying 'du' or tu'. However, instead of placing the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, place it against the tip of the reed. This creates a valve of sorts, with your tongue controlling the flow of air through your mouthpiece and your sound. If you have good articulation, your notes will sound crisp and clear. There are, however, different kinds of articulation. If you would like to read more about those, visit http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-articulation-tonguing.
The final thing to remember when you are paying the tenor saxophone is good posture. Good posture on a tenor saxophone is as follows:
- Back straight, leaning forwards slightly
- Feet flat on the ground (Sometimes, the left foot is placed out slightly farther than the right foot for better support)
- The saxophone on the right side of your body, as seen here: