How to practise long notes (and stay awake!)
How many people know they really ought to practise more long notes?
And how many people don't do enough because they get bored, or even if they do, they suspect the practice is not as effective as it would be if they had been concentrating more?
I found that when I was learning, I could do 4 hours a day of just long notes, but these days unless I use some tricks, I am lucky to manage 15 minutes of focussed long note practice. In the end sometimes I just practise ballads, but I find doesn't provide enough discipline or control in all areas.
After some interesting debate about this on here a couple of years ago I devised a Visualisation exercise to help, but I recently did a lot of work on a new set of exercises to help not just tone improvement though long notes, but also control of expression. And it's a lot more easy to focus on than just plain old long notes.
This exercise ends up being a combination of various important factors, but initially I have split it into 3 exercises. This is easier to learn and especially better until you have developed a bigger lung capacity. If you find you can do any of them very easily in one breath, then either move on to the combined exercise at the end, or repeat the single ones. This is because it's important to be able to use that last bit of breath without dropping the airstream and weakening the note.
Before attempting this you do need a reasonable command of vibrato, but also be able to hold a tone as straight and wobble free as possible, don't worry if you aren't yet great at this, it will come. Oh yes, you also need the ability to tongue. (Even if your tonguing isn't great, this should help).
Suggested tempo is 90BPM, play on all or as many notes as you can fit into your time. I start on B as it is a comfortable note.
Tonguin
Tonguing is important, it has been said many times here that much of what you perceive as good saxophone sound is based very much on the initial start to the note. (Some people, would say "attack", as that is the technical term to describe a sound's "envelope" or shape, but that sounds a bit aggressive to me). Don't play staccato, don't even think of this as separate notes. Think one long note but with your tongue (tip of ideally) just lightly touching on or near the tip of the reed. Some people have other ideas about tongue/reed positions, that's fine)
Ex 1 Long notes with controlled articulation
Vibrato
No, you may not want to have a tone that has a constant vibrato, but a really useful expression tool is to be able to control how much and when, ie vary speed, depth and also have the ability to turn it on and off smoothly:
Ex 2 Long notes with controlled vibrato
Pitching and intonation
Obviously important anyway, but this is also an crucial part of a perceived good tone.
To help with this within a long note regime, I suggest slurring octaves. (Also other intervals but to begin octaves - and fifths - are useful as they seem to be the easiest for us to hear when they are right or wrong. I suggest you do this with vib, (that is the way I was taught this but this was initially from my flute teacher). No reason why you shouldn't do it without vib or with the legato tonguing instead. It all adds variety.
Ex 1 Long notes with controlled pitch slurring
Putting it all together:
For added interest, either the individual exercises or the big combo can be done with different dynamics. In fact, they should be done that way. Do them loud, do them quiet, do them with crescendi and diminuendi.
Also you can try combining with the visualisation exercise.
Who said long notes are boring?
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...mmmuummmbbbllleeee.....What was that?
Originally Posted by Jazz Is All
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