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Friday, August 15, 2014

How Do I Play This Thing?, Part 2 The Saxophone

Congratulations on picking the saxophone!

Saxophone is a fun instrument that is found in lots of styles of music, from concert band to jazz to rock to R&B.
The saxophone sound is made by a stream of air flowing across the tip of the reed, causing it to vibrate. The frequency of
the vibration is determined by the distance the air must travel before escaping from the saxophone. Tone holes are carefully
positioned on the body of the instrument to create the best intonation possible for each note. As each key is pressed, its
pad (soft leather disk under the key) stops the airflow through that tone hole. As the distance the air must travel increases,
the tone gets lower.

Let's make sure we can identify all the parts of the saxophone before we try to play
it.

Most people begin playing saxophone on either the alto saxophone or the tenor saxophone. If you play the tenor sax, the
parts are all the same, just a little bigger and with a differently shaped neck.

Assembly of the Mouthpiece/Neck

Let's learn to put together the mouthpiece and neck and make a basic sound, before we worry about how to hold the
saxophone and change notes.

You'll probably want to purchase a few extra reeds as you begin learning to play the saxophone. The tip of the reed is very
thin and delicate, and learning NOT to break the reed as you put everything together is part of the learning process.
However, if you do break a reed, don't worry!

A Note about Reeds

Reeds must be wet in order to vibrate properly and produce a pleasing tone. Most players soak
the reed on their tongue for a minute or two while assembling the instrument. If you'd like, you
may also gently place the reed in a small cup of water for a minute to get it ready.
While you are getting your reed wet, make sure your neck cork has enough cork grease on it to allow the mouthpiece to
slide without damaging the cork. You won't need to add cork grease every time you play, just whenever you see the cork
getting dried out. If you have a new instrument or recently replaced neck cork, you may have to apply a small amount of
cork grease more often than normal.
To put the mouthpiece on the cork, use a twisting motion and slide the mouthpiece about 2/3 the way down the cork. Your
band director will eventually teach you how to adjust the position to match your tone with everyone else (a process called
"tuning").
Now it's time to put the reed on the mouthpiece. Notice the reed has a shaped side and a flat side. The flat side of the reed
goes against the open side of the mouthpiece (called the table).

You'll secure the reed to the mouthpiece using the ligature. Tighten the lower screw first, just enough to hold the reed in
place, but not prevent it from vibrating. Then tighten the top screw just enough to feel resistance. (The lower screw holds
the reed on the mouthpiece, the upper screw keeps it from wiggling left and right). When you look directly at the tip of the
reed, there should be a sliver of black mouthpiece visible. The reed should never extend past the tip of the mouthpiece.

Making your first sounds

Making a sound on the saxophone mouthpiece and neck is pretty straight forward. It's important to make sure the shape of
your mouth (called the embouchure) does the following:
Top teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece, about a halfinch onto the mouthpiece. You don't need to bite down, just hold the
mouthpiece in place. This might feel funny at first until you're used to it.

The bottom lip covers the bottom teeth and acts as a cushion against the reed. You can get slightly different pitches with
different pressure, but with practice, you'll learn the proper amount of pressure against the reed to use.
Once you're set, simply blow fast air. Don't be surprised if it doesn't sound good right away! We're looking for a controlled
sound, not an extremely highpitched squeak. Practice this until you can control the tone and hold it steady for 510
seconds. Use different mouth pressures and air speeds to get different tones and practice that until you can control it, also.

Connecting the Neck to the Saxophone Body

Loosen the neck screw at the top of the body and carefully insert the neck into the body. Twist the neck to the appropriate
position, so that the octave key rod (the metal rod extending at the top of the body) fits inside the octave key mechanism on
the neck. The pad on the neck should stay closed unless you press the thumb key on the back of the saxophone. Once
your neck is in position, tighten the neck screw, just enough to keep the neck from twisting around.

Holding the Saxophone

Now it's time to hold the saxophone and make some real sax sounds!
Connect your neck strap to the ring on the back and place the neck strap around your neck. Adjust the neck strap length as
needed.
To hold the saxophone, remember, your left hand goes up top and your right hand on the lower set of keys.

Left hand on the saxophone

Right hand on the saxophone

Now, grab a fingering chart and let's learn our first note B.

Don't have a fingering chart?

Click here (/saxophone-

fingering-chart) to download one for free!!!

This is a great starting note because it only takes one finger to play!

Now, experiment by adding the next finger in your left hand. And then the next, also. Can you make a song with these 3
notes?
Congratulations on learning to make your first notes on the saxophone! Grab a method book, pay attention in band class,
practice every night and you'll be a great player in no time!

Here are a couple great videos that explain everything above!

Need a saxophone? Click here (/rentingasaxophone).

Posted by Ben Fonville (/profile.aspx?username=benfonville@amromusic.com) at 6:00 AM
Share (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=xa4d46d6216d07e969) |

How Do I Play This Thing?, Part 1

The Flute (/amroblog/posts/howtoplay

How Do I Play This Thing?, Part 3 The

Clarinet (/amroblog/posts/howtoplay

theflute)

theclarinet)

Comments
9/17/2014 at 03:24 PM by Ben (mailto:Wisebenjaminj)

Thanks that really helps me thanks a lot

11/15/2014 at 11:08 AM by Samuel (mailto:Lebohangdoliphant@gmail.com)

This has given me more influence to play the saxophone (alto)

11/15/2014 at 11:18 AM by Ben Fonville (mailto:benfonville@amromusic.com)

Awesome! Good luck! Send us a video on YouTube of you playing!

(/profile.aspx?
username=benfonville@amromusic.com)
12/14/2014 at 09:29 PM by Amila (mailto:amilanoni@gmail.com)

That's really helps me. Thanks

1/14/2015 at 05:05 AM by WILAS (mailto:wilas@live.com)

very good for start playing

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