I have just finished my Bachelor's about how to reach good sound quality and I have watched a lot of videos and read a lot of literature about breathing technique and embouchure. This video is giving really good explanation about these aspects and you touched all of the most important things about creating quality sax sound. There is only one thing that I would add to this video - playing long tones. It's the best way to open and relax everything in your body and it works really fast. Once again - great video!
just getting into the sax and i really like your presentation. you come across as knowledgeable and humble. You communicate very well. you deserve to make a good living off of this, and i hope you do.
James ty. I am a saxophonist and have played in a good swing band as a second sax. I had a weight gain and have taken a temporary leave of absence. I feel I have lost my way. I have been playing for twelve years. Your lesson has given me a new insight. Thank you.
BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL & BEAUTIFUL METHOD OF EXPLANATION SIR. Every thing i am learning by seeing yours & the videos of CDotSik in youtube. I am confident that am picking up. I am sure in six months I will be completely SAVVY with this AMAZING instrument . I have now come out of the INTIMIDATION. The entire Credit goes to both of you Sir. I salute you both.
Hi. Thank you for your great tutorials. Can't believe how much they've helped me. Got an alto for Christmas, just a little more than a week ago, but had already started watching your videos before that to prepare. It gave me a basic understanding of how learning to play the saxophone actually involves quite a lot of experimenting with a departure point in some general rules. The whole explanation of the o-e-mouth is brilliant, I thought of that explanation, when i started playing the chromatic scale (also seen in one of your videos) and with a little (or rather a lot of) concentration, I was actually able to play most tones nicely after just af few days of practice. I used to play the recorder, so I obviously have a huge advantage regarding the fingering, but I hadn't expected to actually be able to play something that doesn't sound too horrible after just a week. That's basically thanks to you and a lot of practice and NOT fearing the instrument:). But that mouthpiece exercise.... jeez, I've tried it for the second day and thought: that's just not doable. But of course it is. I heard you do it. Is there something on how the saxophone actually works in your e-book or maybe some video where it's explained? It would be great to know a few technical details and/or some tips as to how to diagnose the saxophone or even hear that something's wrong.
Thanks :) also check out my full Tone master program here: hellosaxophone.com/product/tone-center-builder-cultivate-beautiful-big-tone-saxophone-15-easy-daily-steps/
Thanks so much for your site. You are such a great teacher for beginners. You are perfect at explaining everything. Very persise and organized. I like the way you make everything very clear and slow so that we can absorb the info is easier to digest. And your visual for the video was perfect thank you!!! Thanks again. Sincerly loir
I have just wathed several advice vids, including the famous Baucher series with Siguard. James' videos are as ditactic as any. Very well done to help create pleasant, naturaly satisfying tone. Please keep teaching!
Thankyou - this video is so comprehensive. I've just started playing the sax. I'm about 3 weeks in on alto and swap with the tenor I have when I want a change. I've been practising for 5-6 hours per day, obviously with breaks. I've had no problem with my embouchure thankfully and only for the first few days did I feel I got a little tired. I'm very lucky though in that I was a professional classical bass trombonist. So working on intonation and tone once I learned fingerings (& alternates) was all I need to do. I'm also hoping to jump in at Grade 5 next year, maybe Grade 8 the year after. But that may be a little too ambitious although I think it helps to have a goal to work towards.
To people who’s just starting to sax ,just start with a Roland Aerophone.i have just started Aerophone 1 year ago and bought my alto sax 5 days ago.then boom.i am surprised that I can make altissimo vibrato and fingerings easily.of course not sounding like a pro on alto sax but people get surprised how fast I adopted to alto sax.i am still working on it but Aerophone makes it easier.you can work with earphones that’s the main point.you are not disturbing neighbors.highly recommend the Aerophone before switching to a sax
Something you guys can practice is scales; major, minor, 7ths, diminished scales and bebob scales, if youre into jazz. You can also practice by getting a random book with saxophone music in it and just sightread it. Also, it's pretty worth it to have a solid chromatic scale under your fingers. And once you get used to playing for a while and want to move on, you can always try out some altissimo notes.
Thank you for making this video. I play a lot and do small concerts but notice my playing is not consistent. This tips are really good and important. Merci!
It's was standard on these saxophone, but there no longer being made and there were only a dozen or so made of them, but the new version is even crazier :) It's called an Amsterdam Free wind saxophone. You can look the new model up. The engraving on that I actually helped design with a famous Amsterdam tattoo artist. :)
...excellent, extremely helpful. Thanks James. Going to practice just on the mouthpiece alone now, in addition to practicing overtones on the sax . Thanks for the "Saints: idea; might be more fun practicing some tunes, instead of just scales, arpeggios, etc. tho they are still good as added ear training.
I haven't played saxophone in 10 years, will it feel like I'm learning as a beginner again? I used to be a very good player I would practice everyday for 2 hours and would be in band concerts but it's been a long time and I feel if start again I might have to learn as a beginner.
great information i need to go back to practicing when i get my new tenor saxophone i have an alto but i don,t like it i know as a beginner i should start with an alto but i just love the sound of the tenor . hope to see more of your videos
Good video. This guy is telling the truth. Except that part about standing on your head, never done that. I would say swimming does the same thing for your lung power. I've been playing alto saxophone for 25 years and I agree that practicing or playing as long as possible is a critical factor, but I found the time in my playing career that I made the biggest jumps was when I was playing new material with musicians that were significantly better than me. I.E. Moving from middle school concert band to a Military Marching Band in high school. Band Camps in the summer, first time in Jazz Band on a Bari Sax. First month with Texas Tech Goin' Band. These are the times when my skills and sound improved as much in a month or week as they had in the previous year. Also if you are new and getting good, all major scales plus chromatic memorized through the entire range of the horn, get off a student model and get a well tuned semi pro or professional horn. Practice, practice, practice. And learn to play new music you enjoy while playing required material really helped me from getting burned out.
If anyone is interested in playing saxophone the greatest success that ive ever had was by using the Takiras Music Method (just google it) definately the best system i've followed.
Oh yeah, that's a nice new engraving! I like seeing more creative engravings like that versus the typical flowery ones. Sure the traditional is very beautiful, but it being so commonplace, makes it seem less special I find. It's got an ol' sailor tattoo/New Orleans look to it, the new one does. What I was getting at with your sax in this video, is how is looks more like a pencil sketch rather than looking like a typical engraving. It really "pops," I dig that look a lot, and am still curious.
Thank you very much for your videos. I'm taking notes and I'm excited to start practicing, but I don't yet have a sax to practice with. I don't really know what to look for...
Great videos, thanks for putting them up, I've learned a lot. Your English is also excellent, so I hope you don't mind me giving you a small correction: "bent", not "bended". Cheers and dank u wel!
Really great info James. For the mouthpiece exercise, can you say specifically how it improves the quality of tone? For example, once the mouthpiece is back on the horn, do we still try to alter the shape of our mouth to play different notes? Or do we let our fingers do that without any help from mouth shaping?
Scott Blanchard I go into great depth about this in my book Unleashing the dragon unleashingthedragon.com/ Once the sax is on, you don't form individual notes the same way, but your mouth-shapes remain very important (from high to low) . The reason the exercise helps so much is that you train all the tiny muscles in your embouchure very precisely and you increase your control over all the little details of your sound.
This vid was a great help with tell us how to use our tongue. I NOW can blow the right. I sat here with my mouth piece and did the exercises you had layed out !!!!! I can do it slow ( still have trouble but can tell the difference now). My lip is so sore. I guess it will have to toughen up in time. Ok now that i practice the mouthpiece how do i know what to do next. Thanks!
How about three 1 hour sessions per day ? I am a 2 year trumpet player I have a strong chops, reads music and have all the time I want to practice ....thinking about purchasing or renting a student sax ....please tell me what you think ? I’ve not played a sax note ever ...
Very helpful video! I am 64 and on Day 3 of teaching myself to play alto sax, and doing pretty good actually! But one thing you recommended has me a little confused.... when you played the tune on the mouthpiece only, ...does that not “fight” the tones created by key presses when playing normally? Which action should determine the correct note pitch? Thanks.
I have to ask, what sax you are playing and mouthpiece? I'm getting back into it and have been watching a lot of videos and in most the players all have pretty good tone but I am looking to create a particular tone and you are one of the guys who has it. So with all considered in this video I must also consider the horn and mouthpiece are contributing factors. Even after listening to the really expensive saxes, personally I like the sound that comes out of the Allora Paris Series pro Sax which is fairly inexpensive comparatively. Is that what you're playing because if it is it would help in my purchase decision.
Hey! I'm a Jazz guitarist, I already have knowledge about theory and what not but lately I've been getting a bit annoyed with how inconvenient the instrument is. (I still love it) But I'd like to explore a new instrument. I love listening to sonny rollins, coltrane, cannonball aderly, etc. and I just want to know what are good "starter" saxopohones?
is there a more preferable way to chose the keys to play a note. for example you can try to play a song from a music sheet but the notes or some don't sound like the recording. that is because for example the D note instead of being played with the upper D key it is played with the low D But the octave key or vice versa or instead of the upper B key the note is played with the low B with octave key. Nobody seems to talk about his
Listen to Cannonball Adderley, Marshall Royal and Lou Donaldson on alto. On Tenor listen to Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins and Dexter Gordon. Without a concept of what the saxophone can sound like you’re just wasting time.
Im 20 & in a week i will be getting a tenor sax, i am determined to teah myself how to play, playing smooth jazz under the stars. My question to you is how old were you when you started playing? & is 20 to old without it being as hard vs when a child learns it?
I personally think it may be harder for children to learn playing a sax, because of attention span and the fact that they'd rather be doing something else most of the time, my friend started playing guitar when he was 18 and now he's probably the best guitarist i know.
I was 11 when I started playing and I played it for 4 years. I was really good because like James says it's better to practice for at least an hour. I remember I would practice for 1 hour sometimes almost 2 I would love practicing like they say Practice make perfect. I'm trying to play saxophone again but it's been 10 years so i'll see how it goes.
I’m nearly 50 and have just started 10 weeks ago. I’ve found a great teacher and if you can commit the time to practise I think it’s definitely not too late.
Sure it is. Any practice time is great, but of course the more you practice the better you will get. Don't be affraid to practise more if you want to. Candy Dulfer was playing concert's with her dad and practising for several hours each day when she was 10 :)
what sax should i go first. alto or tenor. is it the same to play these two? whats the difference. whats better. which sax has more songs to do ? thankyou! :D
I’m teaching a retired college professor of literature. After 3 months he’s blowing easy standards with a great sound. Going to play a few duets with his grandson for the family holiday gatherings.
