Conquering the Soprano Saxophone 

Good Luck with the new horn!

Thank you! I am so glad the video is helpful! You should also check out the book and all the other videos!

All right! Let me know what you think...

Thank, Ben! I hope it will help a lot of soprano players.

Thank you!

Thank you so much! I am happy to hear from Australia!

Thanks so much! Hope it is helpful to you!!

Thanks so much, Kent! Hope all is well with you and your family.

Thanks so much! I am glad it is helpful to you!

Thank you. How are you doing with your soprano now?

@@charlesrsmith7 Great, thanks for asking! The voicing has become much more natural with practice, and I can get those extremes of the range to speak without absolutely honking.

@@adanmantri5599 Fantastic! Glad to hear...

Thank you, dear brother! Best Wishes with your new soprano!!

Thank you! I’m so glad this is useful to you! Good luck as you pursue the soprano.

Camilo, thanks for subscribing. I'm glad the videos are helpful. Check out the book! I was in Bogota and Cali last week. You have a beautiful country!!

My grandson now lives with his new bride between Cali and Santander.

@@charlesrsmith7 Ohh ray. You cant be serious. Really? My saxophone Teacher was PhD Javier Ocampo. I guess you know him. I will be so happy to stay in touch with you. Pd: Forgive my english. Im learning it... I will check the book!

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!

Hi Maddie, I’m glad you are finding value in the video. I’m also glad to hear you are taking on the soprano. What mouthpiece and instrument are you using? And what reeds? Where in Australia do you live? I will try to help but need a little more information. Best wishes, Ray

Thank you! The Legere is the only one I would try to play on classically.

Thank you! Let me know how it is going after you’ve had a chance to dig in!

@@charlesrsmith7 thanks I appreciate that. I went from trumpet to the tenor sax and now the soprano, mostly self taught. I will watch your videos and read the book and see how it goes.

SI think the music I played on that video are from the Q’d Up Zagranitsa album. You can find it at www.jazzhangrecords.com

@@charlesrsmith7 Thanks , love your content and long distance teaching

Hopefully, you are using the neckstrap. The curved neck is intended to help you put more of the weight on the neckstrap and less on your thumb. It can be possible to rest it on your knee depending on your height. Leaning forward a little is good, but I would not lower your head. Keep your head erect and then adjust the neckstrap so you are not reaching down or up for the mouthpiece.

Easiest imo

Let's hear you?? 😮😮😮​@@militantminded7720

How are you doing now? Is it helping?

@@charlesrsmith7 its improving. I've been working on breaking the habit and firming up my embachure- I've played on my aerophone while recovering from coves and lost alot of strength

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.

Great, wish you the best with that!

The name of the group is Q'd Up. That tune is on the CD "Zagranitsa". We are about to release on June 11th, two more CDs: Going Places and Dawn Fire Mist.

It is a Cannonball “Arc” Big Bell Series

I find answer here ) Ray Smith Gear Info Video

Great! Glad you found it!

No, you are right, it does not work on soprano. I have found that leaving down finger 3 (no octave key) over the break makes things smoother.

I really wish I had that ability. I will have to look into seeing if I can get some help with that.

The higher overtones can be difficult. A couple of things to think about and a thing you can try. It does take a little more pressure on the reed but this can only be done without squeezing the sound if you first pivot your jaw forward so you have more reed in the mouth. Second, it seems to help if the tip of your tongue is close to the tip of the reed but only underneath, not over the top and not touching. You might come through the back door by playing that second octave note as a real note and see if you can keep it when you transfer over to the overtone fingering. Good luck! The main thing is to just keep trying everyday until you discover the right combination.

Thank you very much for the tips Sir. You sound amazing on every sax and your advices are so valuable. What is the new book you are talking about?

The new book is The Science and Art of Saxophone Teaching available as a hard copy from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. and available as a digital copy at the same places and the Apple Store.

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.

Yes, it is possible. I have had students that alternated alto every other week and soprano on the opposite weeks. In some ways, if you are just beginning, it would be good to really get your feet on the ground with alto before expanding out.

@@charlesrsmith7 very thanks!

Sorry, I just discovered your question. The soprano and clarinet look like they would be the same, but there are big differences in tone production. I have a video on clarinet in Chapter 24 that gives some comparisons and how to deal with it. The chapter on tone production, Chapter 8, I believe also makes some important observations.

I’m playing on a Jody Jazz DV 6* usually with a 2.5 Legere Signature Reed and a Silverstein Ligature.

If you want more music, I have a lot of music on my website: www.jazzhangrecords.com This is an instructional tutorial.