Saxophone - Lesson 1

The RESONATORS
1. How the Saxophone works
2. The second Resonator
3. Experiment
4. PAVE your way to a Superior Tone
5. Getting started
6. Practice
7. Lost in Space
8. Practice Material

Practice Studio

Lesson : Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ??

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SAX 1.1 - How the Saxophone works

The saxophone has a reed that, when made to vibrate , beats against the mouthpiece opening
('window'). This alternately opens and closes the mouthpiece which in turn sets up a vibrating
air column in the resonator (the brass part) of the saxophone.

Here is a diagram of the vibration of the low Bb in a straight soprano saxophone :

(All figures in this Course are diagrams. They are intended to explain concepts, not to show
instruments, waves, anatomies, etc. realistically.)

When the player lifts one finger, a key pad opens. This reduces the wave length of the
vibrating air column and raises the pitch of the sound. As the vibration of the air column
changes, the vibration of the reed also changes instantly.

This is an essential point.

Although the reed starts and maintains the energy of the vibration, the resonator determines
the wavelength and frequency.

The saxophone operates therefore under the principle of resonator control, combined with an
obedient reed.

Whenever the resonator is shortened or lengthened, the vibrating air column changes its
frequency, and the reed changes its vibration in sympathy with it.

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SAX1.2 - The second Resonator

Once this is understood, the next point is inevitable.
For what provides the energy to start and maintain the reed's vibration ? The air flow from the
human body.

By blowing on the saxophone a second

resonator is automatically connected to the
system. This is the cavity within the body,
consisting of the interconnected.

mouth
throat
trachea
and lungs

Sound waves travel in all directions, regardless

of the direction of air flow. Therefore the reed
sets up vibrations in both resonators, the
saxophone and the human body.

Both resonators send out their own vibrations to the reed. The reed, trying to serve both
masters, combines the two directives into one average vibration, which is spread through both
resonators.

This point was experimentally proven by the late Dr. Peter Clinch. ('Oral tract fluctuations
in clarinet and saxophone performance : An acoustical analysis' - Ph.D thesis, Monash
University, Melbourne, 1980)

Clinch installed :

1. one sensor in the saxophone resonator

2. one sensor on the reed
3. and one sensor in the mouth of the player.

Wave frequency and shape were identical for all

three sensors at all times.

When the (professional) player deliberately

adapted a twisted poor playing position, the wave
quality of all three sensors deteriorated markedly
 and identically.

When the player sat in a 'good' playing position the

wave shapes improved instantly.

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SAX 1.3 - Experiment

Let us conduct a simple experiment on the saxophone.

1. Play on your instrument one tone, the low G for example.

2. Now sing through the mouthpiece the same tone ("daaaaa", a full sound) while
maintaining the G fingering on the saxophone.

3. Then, under continued singing of the low G, change the fingering down to F, E, and D.
Then up through E, F, G, A, to B, and finally back to A and G.

What did you notice during this exercise ?

While both singing and fingering the low G you can feel a strong vibration through your body.
As soon as the fingering moves away from the G the body vibration reduces considerably.
When it comes back to the G it increases again.

What happens ?
When the saxophone resonator is in phase with the tone produced by your body the sound
waves (vibrations) are amplified.

In saxophone playing you aim to do the opposite to what you did in the experiment.
You must bring the body resonator in phase with the saxophone resonator.

No matter how good the instrument is, if the body sends out poor vibrations to the reed the
overall sound will deteriorate. The body resonator then acts as a mute, it muffles the sound and
reduces its quality.

If on the other hand the body resonator sends out the same or even better quality vibrations to
the reed than the saxophone, the sound quality will be enhanced.
The tone will be in focus, amplified and projected forward.

The incorporation of tone, colour and feeling are elements exclusively produced by the body
resonator.
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SAX 1.4 - PAVE your way to a Superior Sound

A good tone requires therefore a well developed body resonator.
A good instrument, mouth piece and reed all can contribute to tone quality. But without a good
body resonator the best accessories money can buy will not produce a good tone.

To develop a good body resonator one must work on four aspects.

Posture - Air support (breathing) - Voicing - Embouchure

P
A good posture is essential.
The body resonator must not be twisted, contracted or blocked. It must be stretched, but
relaxed.

A
The body resonator must also be fully inflated.
This is achieved by good breathing and air support.

V
The pitch changes from note to note represent changes of wave length and frequency in the
resonator. On the saxophone this is easily done by opening or closing key pads.
With the body this is (fortunately) not possible.
The body resonator therefore varies its shape from note to note to accommodate the shape
(nodes and 'anti-nodes') of the wave form. This is referred to as voicing.
This is an essential part of the Saxophone Course. You will follow a series of tone and
overtone exercises to develop flexibility and control of your oral tract over a wide pitch range
(including the altissimo register) of your instrument.

E
The word embouchure is derived from the word 'bouche' which means 'mouth' in French.
Embouchure means the placement of lips and facial muscles around the mouth piece of the
instrument.
The embouchure connects the two resonators into one vibrating system. It does this near the
critical point, the reed, where the vibrations of both resonators are combined.
The embouchure can therefore make or break the overall sound.

We will deal with all above elements in detail in the following lessons.

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SAX 1.5 - Getting started

For productive practice try to follow the next three basic rules.

1. Practise regularly.
You will achieve more by practising 20 - 30 minutes each day than by 2 or 3 hours one
day and nothing for the next two days.

Try to practise 5 days a week and take 2 days rest. This way you can sustain
regular practice for a long time.
Keep your sax on a stand. This way you can pick it up any time and not waste
time putting the instrument together.
Set a regular time during the day for your practice and keep this time slot for this
purpose no matter what.

2. Divide your practice time in half.

Use one half exclusively for tone practice. Practise anything else during the other half.
As this course progresses you will need even more time on tone practice, but in due
course this will balance out again.
(Eventually everything you play becomes tone practice, for your awareness of tone
will be so acute that it is your prime consideration at all times. This how it should be.)

3. Keep a Logbook of your practice each day.

Specify the time spent on tone exercises, technique, etudes, songs, improvisation.
Add the total (in minutes) for each day, and add all totals for each week.
This will give you a sense of achievement and will help to motivate you to sustain your
efforts.

4. Organise all Exercises and Songs in a Practice Folder.

Each lesson includes new material to practice. Print out all Exercises and Songs and
arrange them in a folder in the order as shown on the Practice Folder - Contents page.
At the end of the Course you will have a comprehensive series of exercises arranged in
the best sequence for regular practice.

Lessons 1 to 4 of this course deal with the basics of good saxophone technique. Use this
period to think about and experiment with the concepts presented. From Lesson 5 onwards
Tone practice will be full on.

(You can open a new Logbook page ready for printing, by clicking on the Saxophone in the
Title Illustration of any lesson.)
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SAX 1.6 - Practice

The first objective is to get to know each tone on your instrument as a personal friend.
Each tone is different. Some boom out with ease, others are stuffy and need a real effort to
bring them to life.

Start by playing the C major scale over the lower register only. Do not use the tongue,
always slur from one note to the next. The exercise consists of four parts.

1.
First play the scale slurred very slowly in groups of 2 notes.

(Clarinet or Piano sounds are used for all Audios. The Sax sounds on Midi are just too awful
to listen to.)

Audio 1.1 : Alto - Tenor

Sustain the first note (of each combinantion of 2) until it sounds as good as you can possibly
make it, then start the next note while maintaining the same tone quality you achieved for the
first note. Sustain the second note about twice as long as the first one.

While playing :

Sing the note in your mind.

Imagine the tone centre gradually moving down in your body (from chest to tummy) as
you descend from G to low C, and gradually moving up (from chest to throat) as you
ascend from G the middle C.

Obviously the tone centre cannot possibly move below the tips of your lungs, but you
can imagine it does. This is called organic imagery, a technique widely used by
professional singers (Leyerle , 1977).

Listen to the tone you produce (not to the note in your mind).

2.
After completing the exercise shown above, start again but this time slurring groups of 3
notes together. Start from the G going down, then from the G going up.

3.
Next play the scale again, now slurring groups of 4 notes together. Start from the G going
down, then from the G going up.
4.
Finally play the complete scale over one octave going down (C-B-A-etc.), then going up (C-
D-E-etc.).

Throughout all four parts of this exercise : sing each note in your mind, imagine the moving
tone centre and listen to each tone you play.

For fingering of all notes see the Saxophone Fingering Charts included in the
Lesson material below. The subject of correct fingering is dealt with in Lesson 8.

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SAX 1.7 - Lost in Space

After your scale practice above play Lost in Space, a Pop ballad in E minor (sax key).
The entire melody is written in the lower saxophone register.

There are two different Play-a-Long Midi files of all songs in the Sax Music Library. One
track is for the Eb saxes (alto and baritone) and one for the Bb saxes (tenor and soprano). This
way the song covers the same instrument range and you can use the same music notation no
matter which sax you play.

The melody is very simple, which makes it easy to sing, listen and imagine.
Play with a full sustained straight sound, no fancy stuff. Record yourself on a tape for
reference and comparison for the future.

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SAX 1.8 - Practice Material

File Name Contents

sax0801.gif Diagram of Saxophone keys

sxfing4.gif Saxophone Fingering Chart 1

sxfing5.gif Saxophone Fingering Chart 2

sxplog.gif Practice Logbook

sxpfol.htm Practice Folder files

solost.gif Lost in Space - Lead sheet

soloste.mid Play-a-Long - Alto, Bari

 solostb.mid Play-a-Long - Tenor, Soprano

Quiz 1 Test your Knowledge

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Copyright © 2002 Michael Furstner (Jazclass). All rights reserved.