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Question: Improving alto sax tone quality and tonguing!.!?
What's a good way to improve alto saxophone tone quality and tonguing!?Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
To have a good tone on saxophone you need a few things:
1!. Good breath support!. You don't need a lot of air to play the saxophone but you should be using a fast cool air stream!. Support it from your diaphragm (stomach area)!. I always tell my students to think of the tension in your midsection when you are doing sit-ups!.
2!. Proper posture!. You need to be sitting up straight!. If you are slouched over, you cannot fully support the air stream!.
3!. Proper embouchure!. This includes having the correct amount of mouthpiece in you mouth and the formation of the embouchure itself!. A lot of time your upper teeth should be near where the reed starts to separate itself from the mouthpiece!. The embouchure should look like your sucking your thumb!. Make sure your upper teeth are on the mouthpiece and that half, at most, of your lower lip should cover the bottom teeth!.

Once you have a correct embouchure, practice tone!. I would spend at least 5-10 on long tones!. Play one note as long as you can support it paying close attention to how it sounds!. If it sounds thin, push faster air!. If it sounds "airy", the corners of your mouth probably aren't tight enough!.

As far as tonguing, always use the tip of your tongue!. I always remind my students that they are trying to stop the tip of the reed from vibrating not the whole thing!.

I hope this helps!. Good luck with all of your musical endeavors!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Idea 1: get a mouthpiece and ligature that will support the tone you want!. Classical players like a tighter lay and a harder reed; jazz and rock players more often go for open lay and softer reed!.

Here's a site that tells you what the top jazz saxophonists use:
http://www!.du!.edu/lamont/Mpce!.html

I got a hard rubber mouthpiece and a Rovner ligature for my soprano on ebay, and it greatly improved my enjoyment when playing!.

2) Experiment with taking in more or less mouthpiece!. Make sure you're using a good soft embouchere!.

3) Go to a library and find books on sax technique!. Find tonguing exercises!. also consider shopping for instructional books and cds on ebay, or look online for tutorials (youtube will offer some)!.

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Me and my friend have played saxophone in band ever since we were in 6th grade!. We got a new band teacher last year in 8th grade and he told us that we were glottal- using our throat in between the notes instead of tounging!. I was really mad because i'd been doing it like that for almost 3 full years and i'd been in solo & ensemble and none of the judges ever mentioned that there was a problem!. But we practiced a lot and at first sounded really slaptongue but now it sounds a lot better!. It's a lot better to do it that way, especially when there are like 16th notes!.Www@QuestionHome@Com