Sax Lesson: sax warmup, buzzing the mouthpiece (Leo Dale)

[IronPump89]

hallo I am totally new to alto saxophone: I have this PROBLEM: when I want to play "Bb" at the "1-2 - Bb-low key" position, I get the same sound like the "A" note at the "1-2" position... Its like the pinky pressing the low Bb key doenst change the pitch as it should :( help anyone?

thanks!

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

You may need your sax repaired

[AsherSax]

Mr. Dale. I wondered if you could answer this question for me. Approximately how much mouthpiece should be inside the mouth while playing a note? I'm asking this for an alto sax mouthpiece, if that matters. I'm an intermediate to advanced player in high school. But for some reason I begin to question myself on my techniques. Is my embouchure right? Tonguing? Etc. I won't ask you to get into much detail, but just wondering approximately where my teeth, lips, etc. should be. Thanks.

[MrDaboogieman]

@AsherSax i saw your comment and wanted to help for the best sound probably a 1/4 of the way of even a 1/3 but not half. hope that helped ;)

[punkrockgoth1988]

I will have to try that when I next practice sax.

[tom2356]

Well I feel stupid, just got my alto sax and I have been playing for hours with the mouthpiece upside down

[XxBrittanyxX16]

i can do that with my clarinet mouthpiece

[anarosatti]

thank you leo, this has been really really helpful. now i just have to spend some log hours without the horn. all the best from buenos aires!

[maccarryn]

Thanks Leo - you're a good teacher.

[Peiselkopp]

Excellent demonstration. Do you use a silencer?

[OlavoBLFilho]

Thanks Leo. Fantastic. Hugs from Brazil.

[MAnuciao79]

Nice video mate. I´ll drop in here once in a while.

Gretings from germany

[pOrCuPiNe2213]

this is very cool.. but i cant really even do the scale yet.. but i just found out about this.. i dont know how to really practice it though..i play the alto. i dont know if it makes a difference..like if the alto sax mouthpiece can only go so high or if it can actually go as high as the soprano mouthpiece and it just takes practice..

[mathiasdisco]

@pOrCuPiNe2213 It doesn't go as high but practice holding the highest note you can get then droping the tone by relaxing your throat

[therightstuff360]

I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy

[seekanddestroy001]

lol

[3bussey]

how r u changing da pitches at the beginnin of 3 mins??? please tell me

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

Don't worry too much about the technique. Just try to get a couple of different notes and then try to go between them, as you do that you'll figure out for yourself how you are doing it.

[rubikssolverguy]

thanks for the video Leo. ive always been wanting to be able to this. thanks to you i finally got it(a littel.) ive been playing for 7 months. i can do this a little but at least im able to. thanks again leo

[alemartmos]

@rubikssolverguy good lesson , thanks!

[2ganstaforyou]

i jsut started playign the sax..

and i cant seem to play diffrent notes like hes doing it

can some one teach me how?

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

This video is for intermediate to advanced players. Beginners can try learning to play one straight note on the mouthpiece first. From there you can try to increase the length of that one straight note over time. I hope this helps.

[2ganstaforyou]

thanks

i'll try out your method

great vids by the way

[Altissimo15]

this is a really good thing to do, i remember when i first started to play the sax i used to do this, over the years i just got out of doing it. it also helps with altissimo for those of you who have been looking to improve that.

[jazfyrski]

Definitely a good lesson. But I agree with fiercekrypton that you're leaving out valuable information for your audience. Please tell us exactly how you're changing pitches. Is it tongue position? Tightening/loosening your embouchure? Increasing air speed (or "aiming" it up or down)? Opening/constricting your throat? Or "singing" the pitch as you blow? A combination of all above? Try to remember when you were first learning to do this; what steps led you to where you are now? Much thanks!

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

For me it was the other way around. Every time I blew into the mouthpiece I got a different pitch. First I had to learn to get a straight note. From there I tried to learn to control going from the straight note to one that was a semitone below it and then back up again. Don't overthink it. Just try what I have suggested above. All the best. Leo

[CooolJazzz]

Self-discovery plays a large part in embouchure development. People can try to tell you exactly what to do, but in reality the process will be different for everyone. Leo's suggestion about not trying to overthink it is a good one. It's not an exact science, and what works for one person may not work for another because our individual mouths, throats, and tongues are shaped differently. Experiment! Discover what works for YOU and build upon THAT.

[Godz3839]

@jazfyrski i agree with leo when he says you're overthinking it. most of those things are subconscious changes that you just have to practice to figure out. sure, at first they aren't subconscious, but your goal is to make them as such. you're right when you say your throat and embochure might be involved. they certainly are. i wouldn't suggest singing the pitch as you blow, however, because that's a technique used for growling not intonation. i leave the rest up to your desire to figure it out

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

Fiercekrypton. Don't worry to much about the technique. Just try to get a couple of different notes and then try to go between them, as you do that you'll figure out for yourself how you are doing it.

[fiercekrypton]

I need to know exactly how you are changing the pitch. corners of your mouth, throat, or amount of mp that is in your mouth.

[DigitalPillTVwebsite]

Thanks, glad to hear you got something from it.

[1mrmr1]

Thank you! That's a very useful exercise. By the way, finally a competent sax lessons on youtube.