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Many starters or even intermediate players get even angry if they were told about their tense embouchure and I wonder why their teachers never tell them.
The saxophone was an experimental design for a while, and Adolphe Sax tried various approaches, including the reed placed on the top of the mouthpiece. On the other hand, instruments that use two reeds, like an oboe, must be played with a double embouchure or the reed(s) would be snapped instantly. However, it was noticed that players who usually play double-reed instruments, when they play a single-reed instrument, like a saxophone or a clarinet, they produce mellower, more beautiful and more controllable sound less prone to squeaking, thanks to the double embouchure.
i remembered how painful it was for me to play for even half an hour with my bottom lip curled over completely, i used to get those bit marks, after 2 yrs , ie now , i can play comfortably but since i play synthetic sometimes i feel my lower lip is stuck to my reed like a temporary sticker lol
Since the saxophone came from the clarinet I would assume that the upside down mouthpiece thing was not intended, but then again there may have been a period of time where people experimented with it. Anyways thank you for the helpful content!
Hi, clarinet player here. I’m not 100% sure just how prevalent it was in classical clarinet playing, but there was definitely an early style of clarinet playing with the mouthpiece rotated 180o like you demonstrated here. If my memory serves correctly it was an Italian style of playing instead of the typical German and French Styles. Doesn’t seem like it lasted long, must not have been as effective! I suspect due to the larger size and much greater muscle strength of the lower lip and the ability to use jaw muscles as well (even though you definitely don’t want to rely on the jaw)
One other thing I’ve found also, is that strengthening the muscles of the top lip and corners of the mouth have helped a lot when getting a good sound on clarinet or saxophone. It seems to me that is spreads the load of the embouchure out across more muscles and helps to take pressure off the bottom lip without losing control
I started Sax Winter 2022-2023, quickly went to tenor from alto as I like the sound that much more. The mouthpiece (Yamaha 4C then 5c) always felt less comfortable compared with the alto. Then I started waking with jaw locking on one side. I stopped cold turkey and it went away, haven’t played since the summer ‘23. My instructor wasn’t helpful with the embochure aspect that I think is partially to blame. I’m considering starting again - curious if there’s a mouthpiece issue with it as well, and/or if Tenor tends to have more problems with TMJ or not.
In general, playing the saxophone shouldn’t lead to any problems with the jaw since you don’t need a lot of pressure at all. And a tenor sax mouthpiece needs at most the same pressure, possibly even less than an alto saxophone mouthpiece. I think the only way to help you with your tense jaw is to find a teacher that is well equipped to guide you towards playing with less pressure
Great that you started! :) you definitely need a bit of muscle tension for the sealing. What’s helpful is to smile slightly and use the muscles you use for smiling for the sealing
Hi there I play alto sax and something I find when I play certain Notes like low C it gets tricky to relax ur embouchure.is there any exercise to improve it.plz
Hi, what's important for the low notes is to not pull your lower jaw away from the reed. You should have contact between your lower teeth and the reed (with the lower lip in-between). But then you need to keep your throat area as open as possible. Unfortunately it's difficult to have any exercise for that that is simply explained, this is rather something to work on with a teacher in a 1-on-1 lesson. Hope that helps a bit!
So I have a Student learning the Tenor Saxophone, I taught him the majority of Playing and tenor but Right now he is having trouble playing the keys with the octave key like G to D with the Octave. Anybody have any advice i can give him or ideas i can use to help them.
I had a problem with G and G# with octave key. These two notes tended to either go extreme harmonics or down an octave. If this is the problem with your student, my solution, after trying a lot of things to correct it, was using a harder reed. Maybe they just grew out of the weak reed and can no longer control it precisely. My sound immedietely improved after getting new reeds and sandpaperig them a little to make them softer
Hi Gabriel, this sounds like a problem that could be caused by the saxophone, have you by any chance tested if your student's saxophone is working properly? Another option might be that he has a mouthpiece that doesn't suit a beginner, what works in general very well is the Yamaha 4C mouthpiece. Another thing to try is to see if the amount of mouthpiece he takes into the mouth is correct. His upper teeth should touch the mouthpiece cushion more or less in the center. If all this doesn't help, he is probably way too tense in his embouchure so you could just try the exercises of this video :) hope that helps!
