THREE PRINCIPLES

of
CORRECT SAXOPHONE
PLAYING
Playing

for a
Consistent
Five-Octave
Range
 THREE PRINCIPLES
of
CORRECT SAXOPHONE PLAYING
for a Consistent Five-Octave Range

“The difference between a good player and a virtuoso is that the good player practices
until he doesn’t miss, but the virtuoso practices until he can’t miss.”
– Claude Gordon, trumpet virtuoso

Lenny Pickett, the SNL-saxophonist who practically stands alone with his seven-octave
range on tenor sax, was asked if he ever worried about missing high notes, to which he
replied “No” without hesitation. (If you don’t know who Lenny Pickett is, brace yourself)

Here we see the concept of consistency echoed by two virtuosos on different

instruments. But what is the link between these apparently unrelated instruments? AIR!!

“Ultimately, if you want to play the high notes you have to learn to increase and control
the speed of the air stream.” – Lenny Pickett

"Let the air do the work.” – Claude Gordon

Claude Gordon taught his students that there was a physiologically correct way to play
a brass instrument, and that all the virtuosos played this way, whether or not they
realized it. He also taught that, if done correctly, brass playing is “no harder than deep
breathing”. While studying the trumpet with one of Claude Gordon’s students, I began to
adapt his ideas to the saxophone. Their application has had remarkably positive effects
on my playing, and helped me gain a level of control over the instrument that I never
thought possible.

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Considering that the saxophone is a wind-powered instrument, the breathing aspect
of playing the saxophone receives comparatively little attention versus finger technique,
music theory, embouchure formation, and mouthpieces/horns/reeds.

Discussions of air, or wind power, are usually limited to statements about the
diaphragm, and how you should “support” or “breathe” from it.

Principle #1: Big Breath, Chest Up

Developing good breath control is the most important

aspect of playing a wind instrument.
Look at players like Sigurd Rascher (left), or the saxophonists of the Rascher Quartet
(middle); notice their posture. It is important to maintain good posture while
inhaling and exhaling to maximize our air efficiency.
The musician on the right is Herbert L. Clarke, the great cornet virtuoso who taught
Claude Gordon the concept of keeping the chest up to breathe most efficiently, and we
can see evidence of the importance he gave to good posture in this 130-year old
photograph.
This is of special concern to saxophonists since we wear a heavy instrument around
our neck, which tends to cause many players to slouch while playing, and impedes their
ability to take a full breath.
Most saxophonists believe that good breath support can be achieved by “strengthening”
the diaphragm. Some teachers even give exercises that aim to do this, such as
breathing with heavy books on your stomach, or tightening a belt around your abdomen
to push against during inhalation.
None of these exercises accomplish anything related to breath control on the
saxophone.

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 About the Diaphragm

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped sheet of muscle and tendon, shown in yellow in the
image. Left to right, is the what the diaphragm looks like from the back, front, and side.
To see the diaphragm in motion, check out the first minute of this video.
The scientific fact is that the diaphragm is a muscle of inhalation, not exhalation. When
you inhale, the diaphragm contracts downwards, creating space for the lungs to expand.
Then how do we blow into the saxophone?

The Muscles of Exhalation (Expiration)

Playing a wind instrument is a form of
active breathing. “Breathing from the
diaphragm” may be a useful
visualization for maintaining a steady
air stream, but anatomically the
diaphragm does not (and cannot)
push air out of the lungs. What are
commonly referred to as the
“diaphragm muscles” are actually the
internal intercostals (muscles
around the rib cage), abdominals,
and lower back muscles.

The muscles with the red arrows

are the ones you’re going to flex
when blowing into your horn, and
squeezing air out of your lungs.

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Many teachers will place their hand on their stomachs and say “breathe from the
diaphragm”, mistakenly believing that is where the “push” comes from. This is an
understandable misnomer, as the abdominal muscles also contract when we blow into
the saxophone. However, they are secondary muscles of exhalation.

The muscles around the lungs are the ones that squeeze air out of them. It is possible
to strengthen these muscles, which will result in improved breath control and stronger
wind power.

How to Breathe Efficiently:

● Stand up straight with your shoulders back. You’ll notice this causes your chest
to expand, and lift up.
● Take a deep, relaxed breath without raising your shoulders.
● When you exhale, don’t allow your shoulders to roll forward or your chest to drop.
Maintaining this posture while you exhale allows you to be ready to refill
efficiently with a big, full breath.
● Squeeze the air out of your lungs by using the muscles around the rib cage. Feel
them contract as you exhale. This process can be likened to squeezing an
accordion.

Most importantly, strive to eliminate any tension in breathing. Over-inhale and you’ll feel
constricted. Hold back when blowing into your saxophone, and you will compensate for
the lack of breath support by using too much embouchure pressure and choking off the
reed. This will result in a weak sound, or may cause squeaks (which are actually just
higher partials).

The next time you’re playing, support your air stream from the muscles around the lungs
(with the chest up!). By supplying a powerful air stream to get the reed vibrating, you’ll
need less embouchure pressure to compensate for the lack of wind power. As a result,
the reed will be able to vibrate more freely, producing a richer tone.

As you develop your wind power, and learn to rely on your air rather than your
embouchure, you will be able to play free-blowing, open equipment more comfortably.

(A Selmer C* used to be too open for me to play. After learning to properly use my air
stream, there doesn’t seem to be a tip opening that is “too large”, provided it is paired
with the right reed)

Blow into the horn confidently, and don’t psyche yourself out worrying about if the note is
going to sound the way you want it to.

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“Hit it hard and wish it well.” – Claude Gordon

Develop the mentality of not being afraid to play any note on the horn, of being
confident that the note WILL sound fine. The goal is to remove fear from your playing to
achieve absolute consistency. In the beginning you will miss notes, but that is why we
practice.

Preliminary Exercise to Strengthen the “Blowing”

Muscles
The purpose of this exercise is to begin training the muscles responsible for supplying
air to your saxophone.

Do this exercise no less than 5 times per day for at least two weeks.

• Step 1: Standing up straight, take a deep breath with your shoulders back and
chest up, until you are comfortably full.
• Step 2: Exhale, making sure to keep your shoulders back and chest up.
• Step 3: Repeat this cycle for a total of 10 breaths, always keeping the chest up.

If you maintain the correct posture throughout the exercise, you will feel the muscles
around your lungs contracting as you exhale. Very soon this will become a habit.

Do 5 repetitions of 10 breaths several times throughout the day, or at the very least, do
them before you practice your instrument, to get yourself primed to use the correct
muscles when you are playing.

Also, consider the following; when your car runs out of gas, you don’t crush the gas
tank. It maintains the same potential volume to be refilled. This is the logic behind
keeping your chest up; when you let your chest drop and shoulders roll forward, you are
“crushing your gas tank”.

It is possible to prove this concept to yourself, experimentally. Take a few breaths with
the correct posture. Now put yourself in an exaggerated, hunched over position (similar
to how many people sit in front of a computer). Inhale and exhale, and you’ll notice that
your breaths are especially shallow and weak compared to when you keep your chest
up.

ULTIMATELY, AIR NEEDS TO MOVE UNOBSTRUCTED FROM YOUR

LUNGS INTO THE INSTRUMENT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A FULL,
FREE SOUND!

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Principle #2: Watch the Tongue
"The air does the work. The tongue channels the pitch." - Claude Gordon

Watching the tongue is akin to the concept of “voicing” in saxophone terminology,

referring to the proper placement of the tongue and larynx while playing.

• Pay attention to the position of your tongue while you play.

• Try to “memorize” the feeling of your tongue position for each note.
• As you move higher in the range, the tongue will arch forward, and you will have
to increase your air speed to compensate for the resistance created by your
tongue (i.e. blow stronger as you go higher).
• Develop your tone imagination to “pre-hear” a pitch before you play it. As this skill
gets stronger, it will act as a command from your brain that unconsciously selects
the appropriate tongue level for a given note.

Overtones
The single best way to become familiar with control of the tongue level on the
saxophone is the study of the overtone series. The saxophonist should endeavor to play
the overtones of every fingering, including the palm keys. An effective way of
approaching this is to learn the first overtone of every fingering, then go back and learn
the second, third, fourth, and so on. Strive to play all the notes in the first two and a
half octaves using every fingering from low Bb to palm key F#, all without the
octave key.

(The diamond notehead represents the base-fingering to be used for the higher partials.)

BY BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH THE AMOUNT OF AIR AND TONGUE

LEVEL NEEDED FOR EACH NOTE, YOU WILL GAIN CONSISTENCY IN
YOUR PLAYING!

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Principle #3: Forget the Reed &
Embouchure
Of these three principles, this one especially warrants further clarification. It goes
without saying that without a flexible embouchure and an efficiently vibrating reed,
producing a sound on the saxophone is impossible. So, a certain amount of attention
does need to be paid to these aspects of playing.

However, the only role of the reed is to vibrate, while the embouchure creates an airtight
seal of variable pressure around the mouthpiece. To “forget” the reed and embouchure
means not over-analyzing their role, and simply allowing them to work naturally.

This is an important point, because although the embouchure, reed (and, by extension,
mouthpiece) play a critical role in the functioning of the saxophone, they do not
themselves play the instrument.

The production of tones of varying pitch, volume, and timbre, is accomplished through
the precise control of the air stream and tongue level; embouchure pressure changes in
response to these factors. Proper breath control, tongue level, and embouchure
pressure for each note needs to be discovered experimentally through regular
practice.

If your sound feels constricted, or the note won’t speak, or is out of tune, make an
adjustment then try again. As you progress, these adjustments will become habits,
allowing you to play every note confidently.

Reed strength, commonly described as “soft” or “hard”, actually refers to density of the
reed fibers. Less dense, or softer, reeds vibrate more easily in response to the air
stream, but they can lack tonal stability, especially in the upper register. Denser, or
harder, reeds require more effort to get a vibration, but offer more stability. The ideal
reed is a balanced one that responds easily but provides stability throughout the range.

Reed complexity goes far beyond just hard or soft, as there are different ways that they
can be cut to bring out various sound characteristics. Reed choice is highly dependent
on mouthpiece design. It may take some experimentation to find what works best, but a
good rule of thumb is to use as soft a reed as necessary to get an immediate
vibration in response to your air stream. This is especially true if you are just starting
to play the saxophone, or re-learning to play with correct habits. If the reed is too hard,
a large amount of your air will be lost just trying to get the vibration started. As you
progress and your wind power increases, you will be able to comfortably use harder
reeds (although you might not need to).

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 A Note on the Mouthpiece
More than any other aspect of saxophone design, the
mouthpiece has undergone the most change since the
instrument’s invention around 1840. Mouthpieces originally
had very large chambers, small tip openings, and no baffle,
looking something like the bass saxophone mouthpiece on the
left (from the original saxophone patent). Now there are a
plethora of different designs to choose from. For the broadest
tonal possibilities, at least initially, go with something middle-
of-the-road, with a medium to large round chamber, low baffle
(or no baffle), and moderate tip openings (5-7 range).
However, if you can produce a good, controlled sound on what
you are using, do not change your mouthpiece. Part of the
logic in this is the fact that you can waste countless hours
searching for a “better” mouthpiece. If all that time were spent
practicing, the return would have been much greater than any
advantage offered by new equipment. Go as far as you
possibly can with the setup you are using, then once you’ve
learned how to play correctly, you can experiment with
(To learn more about different designs. At that point, you will genuinely be able to
mouthpiece design, determine if modifying your setup provides a real benefit,
check out Theo Wanne’s rather than just sounding somewhat different.
RESOURCES section.)

The Embouchure

Notice the embouchures of these four legendary saxophonists. From left to right;
Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lenny Pickett, and Michael Brecker.

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There are subtle differences due to their facial structures, but overall, they are quite
similar. Notice how the top lip pulls down slightly at the corners of the embouchure,
creating the airtight seal around the mouthpiece. The bottom jaw applies only as much
pressure as is needed for a given note.

The one thing you want to avoid when forming your embouchure is “biting” the
mouthpiece, and over-pressuring the reed. This is a common mistake when breath
support is insufficient. By “pulling down” the corners, the lower jaw can remain flexible,
and minimize pressure on the reed.

Don’t worry if you don’t look exactly like other saxophonists do when you play. The
important thing is what comes out of the horn. Focus primarily on breath control and
tongue level when you play, and be honest with yourself about how you sound. Make
subtle adjustments as needed, and the correct embouchure formation (for your
anatomy) will take care of itself. In all likelihood, it will end up looking very similar to the
above examples.

Forming the Embouchure

The mouthpiece will enter your mouth at a slightly
upward angle, or possibly straight, depending on
which size horn you are playing, and your dental
structure. Lightly rest the top teeth on the
mouthpiece, and close your lips around the
mouthpiece to create an airtight seal. The bottom
lip simply rests on top of the teeth, and does not
curl over them to form the embouchure. Your top
teeth should be about ¾ of the way into the
facing curve, or possibly more, if the mouthpiece
sits straight in your mouth. In either case, your
bottom teeth (behind the lip!) should line up right
about where the reed meets the mouthpiece (the
break point of the facing curve). Always make
Mouthpiece maker Phil Barone has a
sure to take in enough mouthpiece so the
great commentary regarding saxophone
reed can vibrate the full length of the facing
tone development and forming an
curve. This may sound harsh at first, but as you
efficient embouchure here.
get used to controlling your sound with your air
stream, it will improve. These guidelines may
need to be modified based on your induvial facial
structure, but the basic concept remains the
same.

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 The Interval Exercise
The following exercise will help you to get all three principles of correct saxophone
playing working together. Continued practice of this exercise will help you discover the
appropriate amount of breath support, tongue level, and embouchure pressure for each
note.

Play this exercise as high as is comfortable. Stopping the exercise before palm key F#
is fine. If you miss a higher note in an interval, don’t attempt it more than three times.
Continuing to stab at a note, and miss, may reinforce bad habits. (For years I could not
play the palm keys, because I developed a habit of playing them incorrectly.)

If you have already attained some facility in the third and fourth octaves, keep going
until you reach your highest note. It is possible to continue this exercise at least
another two octaves above high F#, spanning a total of four and a half octaves.
This hold true for any size saxophone, from sopranino to contrabass.

Building up to a five-octave range is by no means unheard of, and a few saxophonists

have demonstrated that the instrument can be played even higher. Practical musical
applications of the fifth octave (and beyond!) may be debatable, but the notes are there
to be used, if you so choose.

ONCE YOU GET A MOUTHPIECE/REED SETUP THAT WORKS,

FORGET ABOUT IT! FOCUS ON PROPER BREATHING AND
TOUNGUE LEVEL, LEAVING THE EMBOUCHURE TO DEVELOP ON
ITS OWN!

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If you want to learn more about how I
developed a consistent, controlled sound
across five octaves, and how you can too,
check out my book

“Systematic Approach to
Saxophone Practice”

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