Alto leaving me out of breath

[themacintrasher]

I am primarily a tenor player but have been playing a little alto, but i always feel out breath when I playing. What the hell?

[pc1234]

What are your mouthpiece and reed set-ups on both horns?

[themacintrasher]

I don't know what the alto mouthpiece is but the tenor one is a Clark W. Fobes Debut. I am using Vandoren V-16s on both horns.

[TenorTim]

not trying to hijack your thread or anything, but I would like to hear some responses on this one too. I'm in the same situation, Been playing Tenor for 8 years now, picked up an alto about 8 months ago, and still having trouble with running out of breath with itI feel phyically drained after playing for 30 min. I'm using a Runyon Quantum metal #9 on my Tenor, A Runyon Custom #6 on Alto.

[Saxplayer67]

I would have thought that one would get out of breath more on tenor than alto, as I find tenor requires more air support. But then I am mostly an alto player.

Maybe if you both posted your reed setups on the pieces you mention, that might help our analysis.

[jrvinson45]

Before you start having a GAS attack, consider the possibility that you may need to visit your doctor. If you haven't been in a "few" years, and you are getting to be a little older than you remember being, be safe. Overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, all add up to a problem that might be leaving youa little short of breath. Not checking on it might leave you a little short of life... Hope you only need to use a softer reed for a while, but if you haven't had a checkup recently, now is a great time to do it.

[monzamess]

I don't know what the alto mouthpiece is but the tenor one is a Clark W. Fobes Debut. I am using Vandoren V-16s on both horns.

It could just be a really open mouthpiece and a reed too hard for it. I have a mouthpiece for my clarinet that takes a LOT more effort to play than even my bari sax.

Have you tried just playing the mouthpiece + neck for each horn? You might even be able to swap mouthpieces and/or reeds between horns--wouldn't sound great but might help you narrow down the cause.

[littlewailer]

First time I've seen this.

I've had the stereotypical change from tenor to alto.

I seem to be able to play forever on alto. I had trouble finding a tip opening and reed combo that was freeblowing enough to somewhat copy the feel of my jjdv 7* on tenor. I ended up with a v16 in a 9 tip and la voz med. Tone quality lacking

[devanabigia]

First of all saxy new year to all... I am playing tenor sax mainly, a month ago i bought my self a YAS 62-Yamaha mouthpiece No4 and also i own a soprano. two weeks ago there was need for an lead alto for Christmas so i took my alto and not my tenor to the rehearsals. I noticed that at the beginning i had the "squeak" problem and i changed the reed from 2.5 vandoren blue to 3.0 vandoren blue, problem solved until the moment i had to blow really hard to be heard. The same breath problem occurred to me too...but i found why and solved that problem too. Because it was something new to me i couldn't "plan-predict lets say" how much air i would need until the next breath point so i was getting tired very easy. Rapid breathing is wrong and tiering. I THINK that is the problem.:) Am i right? oh and excuse my English i hope i didnt confused anybody ;) .

[DanCraven]

Your issue could be related to not enough air getting through, resulting in a buildup of carbon dioxide in your system. If you feel an urge to breath while air is still in your lungs, exhale fully before taking your next breath. Oboe players do this.

You might want to look at a more open setup if this is the case.

[TenorTim]

Its not a health issue ( I don't think) I'm 25 and have been playing tenor for many years. I always thought Tenor required more breathe support than Alto, so when I decided to switch to alto, I thought this will easy... Wrong. I guess to sum it up, the alto feels like it requires more "push" to get the note to sound. Not really more "air", but more pressure. This in turn causes my lungs and diaphram to work harder and that wears me out. I think Dan is getting close... I just sent off my Custom to be refaced to a #7....

[CherylH]

I'm going in the opposite direction from alto for 3 years to tenor. I definitely need more "air" for the tenor and it has improved my tone on the alto. But the pressure of the embrochure is very different. When I switch from tenor to alto there is more work on keeping a firmer lip placement. I also need to loosen up when I switch to tenor. I'd say check your embrochure, if it is too loose on alto it might cause the problem. If you are tightening up, it might be fatigue too.

[Saxplayer67]

We're also forgetting, maybe your tenor is in good adjustment and the alto isn't and is leaking and you're using more effort to get the notes out. Check out the octave mechanism or maybe the B or G pads (or indeed a complete leak test for all tone holes) - that's been my experience when great effort is needed to pop the notes out.

What makes are the altos owned by themacintrasher and TenorTim?

[themacintrasher]

My alto is an Evette.

[TenorTim]

Mine is a Jupiter... I've put a small light down it and looked it over pretty good... I'm going to try a more open MPC, if that doesn't seem to help... Its going to a tech for an offical check.

[Alexk]

I think you will find that DanCraven has pretty much nailed it for you. You need to breathe more frequently. You are not really out of breath, but out of absorbed oxygen.

Alto is a different beast to tenor, I am an alto, tenor and bari player, and I need to work on all facets of the 3 saxes when I practice. One thing I noticed years ago was, tenor playing sets you up to be able to blow some really long phrasing on alto, but if I play that way, I find that I don't breathe enough to keep my body going, the out-of-breath feeling cuts in. It's really due to not circulating enough fresh air through the lungs.

The different breathing from tenor to alto is just an adjustment that does take a while to come to grips with. Keep practicing!! It gets easier.

[bari_sax_diva]

I think you will find that DanCraven has pretty much nailed it for you. You need to breathe more frequently. You are not really out of breath, but out of absorbed oxygen.

I'll third this. I have the exact same problem on soprano. Remember to breathe!

[TenorTim]

Yep, I think thats what my problem is. Sounds funny to hear someone say "Remember to breathe", With Tenor I don't have to "remember" becuase I run out, but on Alto, I can hold a note for so long, that it is very easy, to "forget to breathe". Its a new concept for me and one that I'll have to work with. I am getting my mouthpiece opened up, which I think will help some. Now that I know the problem, I can work on practing my way out of it. thanks to all...
tim

[legato]

When I had this problem my instructor told me to drop a few notes and replace them with rests. This works but the problem is to find a musical way to do it.

Brian

[Gandalfe]

I have been frustrated by running out of air on alto after playing nothing but tenor for a while. Both saxes are Selmers, one a Ref 54 and one a Ref 36 both tweaked out. The mouthpieces are relatively the same and the reed is the same size. I was really thinking it was me and to some degree that's true because I don't exercise that much anymore.

But I can play the tenor and bari for a much longer time than an alto or soprano so I think there are pressure difference that may come into play here. I can compensate by taking extra breaths and the like but there definately a difference between the tenor and alto. When playing the alto I feel like I'm always running out of air. I don't notice that on the tenor.

[Emperor Zurg]

I think you may need a softer reed or smaller mouthpiece size.

[Harri Rautiainen]

I think you may need a softer reed or smaller mouthpiece size.Please read the thread before replying.

There were more detailed advise given more than two months ago.

[magical pig]

Isn't it supposed to work the other way round : that you leave people out of breath?

Victor.