Do You Hear Yourself In All Sax Voices?

[dburlone]

This might seem like a silly question, but that's what I usually have late in the night (I should stop posting when I'm not totally conscious)... Anyways:

Of the standard sax voices (sop, alto, tenor, bari), do you really hear/feel right playing in all of those voices? I started on alto for a first sax and then to tenor since I could remember... Tenor was my voice throughout highschool. In college I started to play a lot of bari in concert band, and I really dug it. I played soprano a bit in jazz band in college as well...

Now, I really like playing alto, tenor, and bari... I can hear that I have a pronounced voice in those instruments, and in my hands I feel like I can really work those horns... Something about the soprano is really missing for me though... I worked really hard to try to get it to speak to me, but it just never did... :( I love to listen to some decent sop players, so it's not that I hate the sound. I mean, I might play one just cause it's called for (if I could get ahold of one), but it's not a voice that I feel is really part of "who" I am.

Are there any of you that just don't feel right playing a particular voice of sax, or it just doesn't do it for you? Am I less a sax player because a soprano doesn't do it for me?

[king koeller]

I feel that it's really one big sax from the lowest bari note to the highest soprano note, and we get to play different parts of the whole.
I feel like my voice can relate to whatever horn I'm playing, and that will be what i hear at the moment.

[ShedShark]

I hear alto more than anything.

[Billt4mn]

Now, I really like playing alto, tenor, and bari... I can hear that I have a pronounced voice in those instruments, and in my hands I feel like I can really work those horns... Something about the soprano is really missing for me though...
Hey, somethng about soprano is missing for me even LISTENING to one. I just don't care for the oboe-like sound so many have. I've heard some cats play them really well, but even those guys sound better to me on their other horns. Just a personal preference.

[Sasquatch]

Interesting question. I play all four voices regularly. Though I can hear the soprano voice most clearly, it is my least favorite. I love listening to a bari, but it is the hardest for me to hear when I am the player, especially if I am surrounded by guitarists and bassists overly fond of their amplifiers. I spend most of my on-stage time playing alto and tenor, with tenor being the horn I think of as my voice.

[saxagenarian]

It may just be me but one of the reasons I was initially attracted to the saxophone was the variety of possible voices the horn(s) can deliver – from a light lyric Beverly Sills sort of soprano all the way down to a full rumbling Sam Ramey basso profundo. My technique, getting a little less bad every day, is pretty much the same on all the horns – but I try to have different voices for each of them. I try to hear Maria Callas (or maybe Linda Ronstadt) when noodling on the saxello – Placido Domingo or James Brown on the tenor – maybe even an echo or two of Yma Sumac when tormenting folks with the soprillo.

Despite numerous readings of Liebman's "Developing..." I'm not sure that I have a really 'personal' voice on any of my horns.

[Enviroguy]

Excellent question, dburlone…


I kind'a feel the same way about playing soprano and this is probably the reason I really don't like playing alto that much. When playing one of these, I just don't hear that indefinable thing that I always do hear when I play tenor. But I'm getting closer on the soprano and someday I hope to get there.

[hakukani]

I started on alto when I was 10, switched to oboe when I was 12, played baritone in 8th grade marching band. By the time I was in high school I was playing oboe in the concert band, playing alto in jazz ensemble, and playing bari in pep band. I took up soprano and tenor while at university. The soprano was for sax quartet, and to replace my 'oboe' playing (I was sick of the reeds by that time), and tenor was for funk music.

I've always heard myself on all four of the main instruments.

[qwerty]

I have been spending most of my saxophone practicing on baritone, precisely because of this. I just haven't spent enough time practicing the horn over the years to develop my voice on the baritone. At various times in my playing career, I have spent concentrated amounts of time practicing and/or performing on the soprano, alto and tenor, so I have my concept together, and what I need to do physically to make that concept happen. I have an idea of what I want to sound like on baritone, but have been having a hard time getting comfortable with a mouthpiece/reed setup.

If you made me choose what voice I hear myself in most prominenetly, I would have to say alto, followed closely by soprano.

Steve

[cann0nba11]

I hear everything as an alto player. Even when I'm playing soprano or tenor I still think of alto. I also think my 'natural voice' is the alto. Some people sound awesome on all horns, while others are obviously naturally voiced on one or the other. I think this even applies to most players that regularly gig on both horns.

[michaelbaird]

TENOR! probably flute next or oboe

[kryz]

I guess I'm most fimiliar with the bari, but I'm not too expirienced yet, but I guess
Bari=>Bass=>Alto=>Tenor
I don't own a soprano or play regularily :)

[dburlone]

I really enjoyed reading all of these responses! It's actually giving me some ideas on the evenness of my tone from instrument to instrument (note that I just say ideas). Quite honestly I do feel that each voice should have different characteristics. For example, I find that I like a darker tenor sound and a bit brighter sound on alto, and really I always feel I need to cut through more on Bari. Keeping my tenor tone (my "voice") across the board might not be the best thing on Bari for example.

As you see... I've left soprano out as I just feel that even with listening to players, I don't have a real concept of what what to strive for with my sound. I do feel better knowing that there are other saxophonists out there who just can't get into soprano! Thanks all! This is/was very interesting! :)

[TetsuoK]

I hear this come up alot. Especially among Tenor players who feel as though Alto is a toy to them, and Bari players who feel that soprano or Tenor just aren't quite right to them.

I'm sure that alot of it has to do with the whole Eb vs Bb thing.

The reason being, you can get alot of fantastic tones out of the bell notes of any sax. But the pitch you get is significantly different between say, an alto and a tenor. Especially if you're using that for improv.

--

My only little thing about soprano aside, I tend to play with clarinetists in mind. SO I actually play with a bit of a darker mellower intent to my sound. (I hate bright soprano.. but thazjyezme.)

[saxxsymbol]

i started on alto at 12 switched to tenor at 14 and played baroIfor a year at 15.then it was tenor for 15 years only. in 1994 i bought an alto to play in a big band. now i've recently bought a bari. i tried soprano and like you just didn't fit me.
I have played tenor for so long my brain still thinks in B flat! i can play tenor by ear but on alto and bari when improvising i need to be very conscience of what key I am in or I will play some wrong notes thinking in B flat. when someone tells me what key we are in and i'm playing alto i first transpose to tenor then alto even though a minor third transposition is easier to think than a perfect fourth to me.
the tenor and bari are really my voices. i still play lead alto in a big band but I would rather play tenor.

[dander9518]

Fun question. I find there's a difference between which horn I "hear" and which ones work best for me.

By the time I was 14 I asked my band director to switch to tenor sax because it's the sound I wanted to hear. He wouldn't let me!

As a jazz player I find the alto most daunting -- there are few stylists like Bird, Cannonball & Kenny Garrett and their sounds are so daunting it's hard to find a voice.

Tenor is closest to my natural voice, but I have response problems with the instrument I'm trying to solve via equipment and practice.

Meanwhile, soprano has always felt very natural for me -- and it feels like a "blank slate" as a jazz player, I don't feel as confined by the major influences.

Dave

http://daveandersonjazz.com

[SuperAction80]

I love all of the voices, but I've been catering to tenor recently. This week I'll be working on all of the other voices because there must be something I'm doing with them that is lacking to my ears hence I'm favoring tenor.

[vermontsax]

This may sound corny but the reason I love the saxophone so much is that it is so versatile and so like a second voice that a good player can add his own feelings and emotion to the music.

I play tenor, alto, and C-soprano. I absolutely love the sound I get out of my tenor and it speaks best for me in a variety of situations - most often in rock. My alto is a bit darker but can still cut when I need it to. I find it works better for me in softer music though I'll still use it in harder rock songs if it fits. I usually save the soprano for soft, lilting music. The tone I get is (I think) darker than a lot of other sopranos I've heard. I prefer to steer clear of the more nasal-sounding soprano sounds.

Most of the time I find myself matching the saxophone to the music I hear myself playing to a given song or tune. They all speak my voice well though the tenor's voice is the one I'm happiest with.

If the soprano doesn't quite speak to your liking, you may want to try different setups (mouthpiece / reed combinations). This may change the tone or "playability" to something that works better for you.

[Hurling Frootmig]

I mostly hear bari or tenor. It's probably because it is more of less in the range of my singing voice.

[SaxerEd829]

This might seem like a silly question, but that's what I usually have late in the night (I should stop posting when I'm not totally conscious)... Anyways:

Of the standard sax voices (sop, alto, tenor, bari), do you really hear/feel right playing in all of those voices? I started on alto for a first sax and then to tenor since I could remember... Tenor was my voice throughout highschool. In college I started to play a lot of bari in concert band, and I really dug it. I played soprano a bit in jazz band in college as well...

Now, I really like playing alto, tenor, and bari... I can hear that I have a pronounced voice in those instruments, and in my hands I feel like I can really work those horns... Something about the soprano is really missing for me though... I worked really hard to try to get it to speak to me, but it just never did... :( I love to listen to some decent sop players, so it's not that I hate the sound. I mean, I might play one just cause it's called for (if I could get ahold of one), but it's not a voice that I feel is really part of "who" I am.

Are there any of you that just don't feel right playing a particular voice of sax, or it just doesn't do it for you? Am I less a sax player because a soprano doesn't do it for me?



My voice of choice right now is tenor, but it fluctuates. Some songs I play are better voiced on alto, some on tenor, some on soprano. It's all about what you are hearing in your head. I play alot of Steve Marcus's tenor solos (Channel One / Groovin' Hard) on alto, not because I can't hit the altissimo notes on tenor, but because I hear everything better and think that I make a better sound on alto in that context.

As to what voice I think I am...I play the saxophone...that is my voice. There is a reason there is more than one. I hate to be labeled as an alto saxophone player or a tenor sax player. I play the saxophone...

[DrSaxy]

I have always, and probably will always, hear the Baritone best (at least until I get my hands on a bass or Tubax). Next for me is Soprano because it requires about as much air. I'm definitely an Eb-er, so Sopranino would probably be even better for me. I'm only moderately comfortable on Alto, and I can't play Tenor for the life of me. Gerry Mulligan was also a Bari/Sop player (although he started on clarinet, but we won't hold that against him), so it's possible this sort of thing happens more often than we think. There is definitely a distinguishable difference between an Eb player and a Bb player, and not many of us handle all 4 the same way. I think everyone should use their strengths and work on their weaknesses.

[estagro]

I can hear all of them. I have to say I like playing them all. I don't even think of them differently but as part of a big range I can get with all of them. I've played alto the most, but bari and sop always call me. I like the versatility of being able to get all those voices.

I agree with SaxerEd829: I play the saxophone...

[Keith Ridenhour]

I played trpt for 12 years before switching to sax in college and Miles was my Idol so when I play Sop I hear Miles with a Harmon Mute. Or at least thats what I'd like to sound like. I did lots of classical alto in college and that really defined my tonal ideas (or for jazz Charles Mcphearson or Phil Woods). So when I bought a tenor at the end of college to play in a wedding band it always sounded "tubby" to my ears. Now some 28 years later I can pick up my student alto with the midprice piece and sound very good. Even my cheap student sop and a link sounds okay. But I've fought for 11 years now to get the tenor tone I like to hear. At times I come close. I think I hear sop but prefer to play tenor. K