The Ray Smith RU-vid Channel is an educational set of tutorials divided into four sections: Videos Coordinated to my book, The Real Jazz Pedagogy Book; Videos Coordinated to my book, The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching; and Supplemental and Private Lesson Videos.The videos are very valuable without the books, and the books are very valuable without the videos; but the best way to learn is coordinated study of the books with the video tutorials. The books are available as hard copies at Amazon and Outskirts Press. They are also available in digital formats at Amazon (Kindle); Barnes and Noble (Nook), The Apple Store.
The Real Jazz Pedagogy Videos are aimed at school jazz band directors but are also very valuable to private jazz teachers and vocal jazz teachers and to serious jazz students.
The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching videos are aimed at saxophone teachers of all levels and are also very valuable to serious students who are intermediate to advanced level.
Thanks - I mistakenly started with soprano and rarely play it now even though I still love it. But just never got the proficiency I wanted on top of not as easily fit into situations since it so dominates compared to alto and esp tenor. But reminded me how much I love what it's capable of.
@@garymelhaff9327 there is definitely no standardized term. Most people in my circles would call it half tonguing or the N tongue. If your circle wants to call it muted tonguing, so be it. But don’t expect that to be standardized!
Amazing next year in my high school in year 8 next year I mean high school not middle school it’s different to USA I am in Australia next year I am planing to join the big band at my school so there are two parts of the high school I go to Middle years and senior years middle years is year 7-9 and senior years is year 10-12 so I am planning to join BIG BAND of my high school next year big band is the middle years jazz band They play songs like MOANIN’ from art Blakey written by bobby timmons bags' groove by milt Jackson and many more and stage band is the senior years jazz band I am going to be in year 8 next year turning 14 and so stage band plays songs like straight no chaser by THELONIOUS monk And I cannot remember the rest to many more I play trombone i started playing this year because it seemed fun I can't read sheet music the easiest way for me to remember to know what notes to play is writing them down or remembering them And the company of my trombone is YAMAHA a Japanese music company iN HAMAMATSU JAPAN🎼🎹🎼🎹🎼🎺🪈🎻🪕🥁🎸🪗🪇🎬🎤 facebook.com/watch/?v=784179042569368 THIS IS FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF MY HIGH SCHOOL REHEARSAL OF GENERATIONS OF JAZZ 2022 IN MT GAMBIER ONCE A YEAR ONCE A YEAR IN MT GAMBIER IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA MY SCHOOL IS IN ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA BY THE WAY BIG BAND IS DIFFERENT NOW THE GUY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TROMBONE SECTION IN BIG BAND IS ZACHERY HARWOOD IF YOU SEE HIM IN PERSON YOU WILL FIND THAT HE IS A REALLY TALL PERSON AND FINALLY THERE IS ALWAYS A YEAR 12 JAZZ COMBO.
The upper teeth are on the mouthpiece and not too far in. If you put too much mouthpiece in the mouth, it will be difficult to do these things. Too little mouthpiece=lots of control and no sound or power. Too much mouthpiece =no control, but lots of sound or power (maybe even blatty or honkey). So you want to get just the right amount of mouthpiece where you have maximum control and maximum power at the same moment.
Just started the video but I’m dying over the guitarist getting told to turn up his volume it’s true we never get told we’re too quite unless ur me and get stuck on comping volume because I forgot to turn it up for the solo section😭
I realize this post is several years old, but wondering if someone could let me know if the Kindle version of "The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching" renders well, or is it better and more practical to get the physical book? That is, if there are many diagrams or scores in the book, can they be easily read on a kindle device or kindle reader? Thank you
I intend to do more but got really busy with some other projects. If you absorbed everything in the 115 videos I have done you would be well on your way. Have you gone through them all? Do you have ideas or questions for what I should do in some new videos?
Oh my goodness thank you you are the first person I have seen that is like me . I have loved singing jazz before I even knew it was , when I was little before I remember hearing it. I'm 28 and learning guitar and am just now realizing I've been a musician all along. Thank you for your video
Just bought alto, but my goal is soprano. I love beautiful magic sound of this instrument, and I know that playing is a long path, but I want to go down all this way!
What a video! Not only the content but the beautiful interaction in the group. This also shows how much a competent teacher can add on top of the "main content that could be read" as so many of my students ask for now. This video really shows the meaning of face to face learning.
I am told I play the soprano well and in tune. Before all the good information in this excellent video: you need a good mouthpiece and make sure it's pushed in the neck to the right spot. My technique is practically to sing in my head what I am going to play .
Exactly! To push in adequately, you must be blowing down to a concert C on the mouthpiece alone at a loud level. Then what you are describing about singing the notes in your head is perfect. I call it pre-hearing each note. You have already discovered some very important keys to playing the soprano. Wishing you all the best!
I don't know why nobody seems to pay attention, but THIS teaching method is logical and key-free using degrees. I seem to hear people solo and have less "sense" than just these introduction and analytic approach to building patterns. Thanks!... J-D.
Absolutely! It’s quite shameful on the instructor/program for such a bull-headed approach. At his age, he knows how the guitar industry dominated many kids bedroom with rock and roll and popular music for the past 5 decades. Most guitar players don’t read music nor do they even know the notes on their instrument akin to others. While they ought to learn, it’s not practical for putting the guitarist in this spot for the ensemble, especially a kid, and it’s very clearly wasting everyone’s time, and it’s not the guitarists fault- he was bred in a culture that doesn’t emphasize notation reading on his instrument. And with the availability of software and even AI tools, there is no excuse for not being able to provide tabular notation for the guitarist. It takes more work on the instructor/program, but that’s THEIR job.
Hi I just cane across your video I wish there were books on this and some dvds on stuff Luke this and how come there isn't a school for repairs of instruments
Dr. Smith, I don;t know if you are checking your channel often. But I have stumbled upon this channel and have watched several videos now. This is a goldmine! In a world where there is so much conflicting information and bad advice out there, you clearly and thoroughly speak the TRUTH! Thank you, and i will definitely order your books. I wish there were a way to make this the most prominent saxophone channel on youtube!
Ray, do you have any thoughts regarding gurgling around low G? Is driving me insane! Playing a well regulated Yamaha Custom 6 months in after 30 years of alto and tenor playing. Using Selmer Concept mouthpiece and blue box Vandoren reeds.
I am so sorry, Luke. I thought for sure I had responded to your question a while ago, but I don't see it here...? So anyway, as to the gurgling G, this can be a result of several things or a combination of them. I think the most common cause is not having the mouthpiece pushed in far enough on the neck. You may feel sharp and pull the mouthpiece too far out when what you really need to do is change your blowing. Have you checked the pitch of the mouthpiece alone. At a forte level, you should be playing a concert (piano) C. If you are playing a D like most players, you will have to pull out too far and it can cause what you are describing. It could also be caused by a reed that is not sealing on the mouthpiece (see the video on reeds, Chapter 16 part 3) or an embouchure that is too loose and unfocused. Of course, it could be a sealing issue in the instrument itself, but most of the time it is the player. Good Luck solving this. Do realize that you are not the first or only player to encounter this.
Many thanks Ray; I will work on my pitch with mouthpiece alone to get it down to C, as I’m pretty sure it’s the only variable that could be causing the problem. Thanks so much for your video series, you are a treasure trove of wonderful information. I hope to buy your book soon.
I've been playing clarinet in concert band and orchestra for years. Last week I bought a curved soprano sax on impulse and what I've taken from your video is that I really do need a few lessons. I even know an accomplished soprano sax player who teaches and tonight she agreed to take me on! So I came back here today to say thank you, Ray, for uploading this.🎷
Nice video Ray, very informative! I see you have a clunk of metal on your sax, presumably that helps with the 'crispness' of the notes? I've recently purchased an 'LA Sax' straight soprano, and where the F# key is situated, there are another two keys, which I've never encountered before, does your saxophone have these? Also, I've seen some saxophonists swear by 'bite patches' on their mouthpiece, but I see that you don't use them yourself, and I don't use them either, they seem so restricting to me... Another thing that I have noticed, is that I have to position the mouthpiece way down the crook to get it in tune, using a guitar tuner for reference.. Lovely sax playing on the tracks that you’ve featured on, by the way.
On some sopranos these days, there is a split key where the high F# key is. The upper key is for High G. Yes I do have it, but I rarely use it-I mostly use the front fingering for the high G. The chunk of metal you referred to is the Klangbogen (made by ReedGeek) and yes it does help with response and intonation. I do have a small bite patch that is built into my mouthpiece. It is not something I attached after the fact. However, on most of my other mouthpieces, I do have bite patches. I don’t care for the thicker black ones, but rather I would go for the thin clear ones. They are not restricting, but they help protect your mouthpiece from your teeth. They can effect vibration, so I would go thin and small as possible. The saxophone is designed for the the mouthpiece to be pushed in a lot. You should check your mouthpiece pitch when you play the mouthpiece alone at a forte level. The pitch should be “C” concert. If you are playing a lot lower, that would be rare, but get as close to the C as possible and then determine the position for the mouthpiece. Most people play too high in the mouthpiece pitch and have to pull out in an unhealthy amount.
