Hi everyone
This is my first post, and it might end up quite lengthy...but here it goes. If you don't feel like reading it all, just read the last big paragraph I guess.
In junior high, I started on flute. Great instrument, but thought about switching in 8th grade, ended up sticking with it though. I borrowed one of my friends saxophones for a week and bought my own mouthpiece, lig and reeds(though the lady sold me a clarinet lig, something that I was oblivious to until I looked at the receipt 4 years later :|) and I practiced, managed to get a sound, and gave it back to him the next week. My mind was set, I'm gonna switch in high school to saxophone.
So there I was, a few days before high school started, no saxophone or experience other than that one week of practice. My parents finally take me to the music shop and get me a nice silver saxophone to my surprise(a Jupiter SG869) The most beautiful saxophone out of my section(though still only an intermediate horn, I know). It made me unique, but unfortunately, I couldn't deliver with it. I had the fingerings down pretty perfectly except for the high notes since the notes are much like that of a flute. I also had great breath support since flute demands so much of it. Anyways, I practiced like there was no tomorrow, those last few days of summer vacation.
When high school started, to my surprise, all we practiced was marching band music of course. Loud, loud, loud, march march march, blow blow blow. This was the basis of my embouchure. Back in junior high, if you wanted to start out on saxophone, you had to either start on clarinet first, or take private saxophone lessons. Since I did neither and never learned the fundamentals, I had to teach myself everything(most likely the wrong way I might add), most of my notes were shaky that whole year until I got accustomed to everything. I wasn't horrible though, I wasn't like some of those people you might remember from band who could barely play their instruments, and you would think to yourself "How can anyone allow themselves to be embarrassed like that?". My tone needed work, but everything else was okay. I got into wind ensemble my sophomore year. Played Scaramouche by Milhaud my junior year for Solo & Ensemble and got a superior, you get the idea.
Here I am a senior, 2nd chair wind ensemble, my tone is quite good(I think), and I've never been more interested in my playing. I finally had the idea of going out and buying a new mouthpiece(a C*, which I'm still getting accustomed to as it kills my embouchure after a while), a new ligature(Rovner dark), and looking into a new saxophone(I feel my current sax is hindering my ability since it's seen 4 marching band seasons and isn't in the best shape) Most importantly, I've been looking into technique and such, all the little things many high school students never think about. I bought "The Art of Saxophone Playing" by Larry Teal. After reading the embouchure chapter, I realized half of the things I've been doing were wrong.
I was using my bottom teeth to push up against my bottom lip to make the reed vibrate, when the only thing that should be pushing up against the reed is the bottom lip using the muscles. Well, I guess that would solve my dead bottom lip which hindered my tone after a while(I never had any problem playing on my old mouthpiece that came with the Jupiter). So I was pretty happy. I thought I sounded a little better, and that it opened up more room for me to improve. Until I went in my bathroom to look in the mirror as I played. I noticed something I've never noticed with other saxophonists. When I blew, under the mouthpiece, under my bottom lip, the skin was bunching up a little. Imagine a fat person trying to do pull ups, and all that fat is under the bar(no offense to anyone obese, I'm just trying to help people picture it) I was like "***?!" I never noticed it before. So now, I'm trying to fix this, by curling my bottom lip in more. Is this how it should be? I'm really confused, and I'm afraid much of what I've learned is wrong. I have 3 and a half years worth of callus built up in the wrong spot *sigh*. Perhaps this is what has been stopping me from getting the dark tone I've been trying to get? I don't really know. I'm going to try and get a few sessions with a private teacher if I can get the money eventually.
I'd prefer not to make any drastic changes that will throw me back to a beginners tone since I'm going to be playing Fantasia by Claude T. Smith for this year's Solo & Ensemble, and also a sax quartet(Unless I'd be able to work my embouchure back to where it is now in terms of tone in a speedy manner)
Anyways, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about the long post, but I guess it could be considered as my introduction post as well as my musical life story thus far
This is my first post, and it might end up quite lengthy...but here it goes. If you don't feel like reading it all, just read the last big paragraph I guess.
In junior high, I started on flute. Great instrument, but thought about switching in 8th grade, ended up sticking with it though. I borrowed one of my friends saxophones for a week and bought my own mouthpiece, lig and reeds(though the lady sold me a clarinet lig, something that I was oblivious to until I looked at the receipt 4 years later :|) and I practiced, managed to get a sound, and gave it back to him the next week. My mind was set, I'm gonna switch in high school to saxophone.
So there I was, a few days before high school started, no saxophone or experience other than that one week of practice. My parents finally take me to the music shop and get me a nice silver saxophone to my surprise(a Jupiter SG869) The most beautiful saxophone out of my section(though still only an intermediate horn, I know). It made me unique, but unfortunately, I couldn't deliver with it. I had the fingerings down pretty perfectly except for the high notes since the notes are much like that of a flute. I also had great breath support since flute demands so much of it. Anyways, I practiced like there was no tomorrow, those last few days of summer vacation.
When high school started, to my surprise, all we practiced was marching band music of course. Loud, loud, loud, march march march, blow blow blow. This was the basis of my embouchure. Back in junior high, if you wanted to start out on saxophone, you had to either start on clarinet first, or take private saxophone lessons. Since I did neither and never learned the fundamentals, I had to teach myself everything(most likely the wrong way I might add), most of my notes were shaky that whole year until I got accustomed to everything. I wasn't horrible though, I wasn't like some of those people you might remember from band who could barely play their instruments, and you would think to yourself "How can anyone allow themselves to be embarrassed like that?". My tone needed work, but everything else was okay. I got into wind ensemble my sophomore year. Played Scaramouche by Milhaud my junior year for Solo & Ensemble and got a superior, you get the idea.
Here I am a senior, 2nd chair wind ensemble, my tone is quite good(I think), and I've never been more interested in my playing. I finally had the idea of going out and buying a new mouthpiece(a C*, which I'm still getting accustomed to as it kills my embouchure after a while), a new ligature(Rovner dark), and looking into a new saxophone(I feel my current sax is hindering my ability since it's seen 4 marching band seasons and isn't in the best shape) Most importantly, I've been looking into technique and such, all the little things many high school students never think about. I bought "The Art of Saxophone Playing" by Larry Teal. After reading the embouchure chapter, I realized half of the things I've been doing were wrong.
I was using my bottom teeth to push up against my bottom lip to make the reed vibrate, when the only thing that should be pushing up against the reed is the bottom lip using the muscles. Well, I guess that would solve my dead bottom lip which hindered my tone after a while(I never had any problem playing on my old mouthpiece that came with the Jupiter). So I was pretty happy. I thought I sounded a little better, and that it opened up more room for me to improve. Until I went in my bathroom to look in the mirror as I played. I noticed something I've never noticed with other saxophonists. When I blew, under the mouthpiece, under my bottom lip, the skin was bunching up a little. Imagine a fat person trying to do pull ups, and all that fat is under the bar(no offense to anyone obese, I'm just trying to help people picture it) I was like "***?!" I never noticed it before. So now, I'm trying to fix this, by curling my bottom lip in more. Is this how it should be? I'm really confused, and I'm afraid much of what I've learned is wrong. I have 3 and a half years worth of callus built up in the wrong spot *sigh*. Perhaps this is what has been stopping me from getting the dark tone I've been trying to get? I don't really know. I'm going to try and get a few sessions with a private teacher if I can get the money eventually.
I'd prefer not to make any drastic changes that will throw me back to a beginners tone since I'm going to be playing Fantasia by Claude T. Smith for this year's Solo & Ensemble, and also a sax quartet(Unless I'd be able to work my embouchure back to where it is now in terms of tone in a speedy manner)
Anyways, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry about the long post, but I guess it could be considered as my introduction post as well as my musical life story thus far