Doing Shakes?

[baritonesaxophone]

Hey Everyone,
I've seen many trumpets do shakes and a friend recently told me he heard a saxophone player do one but didn't know how. I asked a trumpet player how he did his and figured out that the two don't relate. Anyone how to do a shake on sax? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Enviroguy]

What exactly do you mean by a "shake"?

[bandmommy]

A 'friend' 'told' you that he 'heard' a sax player doing a 'shake'.
How does he know that he was doing a shake if he didn't SEE it?
Maybe the sax player had some sort of wierdass vibrato....

[MyMartinTenor]

Saxophone players can "shake" in altissimo like trumpet players. The key is to find an altissimo fingering that has two overtones in a pleasing sequence that are reasonably unstable and can be alternated between quite easily. If you experiment with enough altissimo fingerings and their overtones, you'll find a few of these on their horn. Typically, in my experience, these altissimo fingerings are "lower" -- e.g., try to use a low B fingering and blow it up into altissimo and search out overtones that happen to be a minor third or a 4th apart.

Each horn, player, and mouthpiece will be different, so I can't begin to offer specific fingerings that will give you specific notes. HOWEVER, this is not an uncommon gimmick among altissimo-proficient blues players. I have a couple of these shakes moderately under control, but am still working to incorporate smoothly.

[milandro]

there is someone who plays in a band where I play that cannot do a jaw vibrato (apparently, I0ve never asked) and he shakes the horn with two hands to do a vibrato resulting in a not nice vibrato sound. In the same band someone else moves one hand up and down (as if he was playing guitar) when holding a noe, I guess, doing ht e same thing in another way.

I find it unnecessary. You can do a better jaw vibrato and perhaps diaphragm vibrato too (for some reason I can do the latter when playing flute and not when playing saxophone.......)

[ThreeSixTwoFive]

You mean like a Dexter Gordon shake on Bb as used on I Got Rhythm or Blues?

Finger a low Bb using the bis Bb key, then lift your middle finger and ring finger of your left hand. Play around with you chops and air. You should be able to get a shake.

[benbyrne]

Maybe you're talking about the texas wobble.

http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-wobble.html

[Pete Thomas]

You mean like a Dexter Gordon shake on Bb as used on I Got Rhythm or Blues?

Finger a low Bb using the bis Bb key, then lift your middle finger and ring finger of your left hand. Play around with you chops and air. You should be able to get a shake.

Maybe you're talking about the texas wobble.

http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-wobble.html

This is close to a brass shake, but only works on that on note.

To blend with brass players' snakes you really just need to trill, or possible tremolo a minor or even major 3rd.

[Buck Laughlin]

A shake is just a little trill.

[carl coan]

A shake is just a little trill.

Finger low C and aim for high E. Then try to hit altissimo G with the same fingering and switch between them. Brecker did that often. Try low D fingering and aim for high D. Then try same fingering, add low B, and aim for high C. They work for me.

[RandyJ]

You need to specify which you prefer;
St. Vitus’s Dance
or
The Hippy, Hippy

[GT]

And on top of all of this, Pete wants us to blend with brass players snakes???

[guido]

We all start doing them eventually... Alas.

[StanVI]

What Pete said.... it's a well timed minor 3rd trill. Listen to the timing on a trumpet shake, very doable.

[Super Action Man]

maybe he was shakin his booty?