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Exercises to do away from the sax

3K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Sosaxolicious 
#1 ·
Hey Everyone,

I work at a desk job 40 hrs a week and I was wondering if anyone knew of things I could conspicuously do at my desk that would aid to my playing.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Are you allowed to make noise? Humming intervals is a great way to keep your ear in shape. Humming or lightly vocalizing (which is what I prefer) all the different scales and doing them the same way you would practice them also is good for your ear. Listen to music? You've got a big world of music out there. If you're strapped to a chair you might as well listen to some music while you're there.

A good physical exercise you can do is rolling your tongue from right to left/ top to bottom over your teeth with your lips closed. Almost a circular movement trying to touch all of your teeth with your tongue. When you get tired go in the other direction. I find it really opens up the back of the throat. There's not a lot of point to doing this one all day though. Maybe 15 mins.

Anything else I might be able to think of would very likely detract from whatever work you'd be trying to do :)
 
#10 ·
Technically your throat can't "open" or "close", but it would make you more aware of the muscles in your throat and easier for voicings.
 
#3 ·
Its a cubicle farm so everyone would hear me haha. I do listen to music, the bands Too Many Zooz, The Drumadics, and Lucky Chops but that makes me just want to play my sax even more. Leo P inspires me....

For the rolling tongue thing, I'm not really sure how to go about doing this?
 
#6 ·
I'm no voice coach or anything of the sort, but these have done well for me:

- Take as deep a breath as you can manage and let it out slowly for as long a duration as you can handle without getting dizzy. The best practice is by voicing a steady "S" while letting out. Most professional singers say over a minute is a good time, but obviously YMMV depending on how developed your control is already. Do this 2-4 times in a row. I sometimes take a slight pause before letting it out, and try to pay attention to your diaphragm muscles while you are exhaling.

- Similar to above, but hold your diaphragm muscles in a naturally "outward" position (i.e. the normal position after a big deep breath) and slowly allow the muscles to come back to their usual place as you exhale slowly. This version is better for a quicker release. That is, don't try to beat your last time but pay more attention to working your muscles and getting them to do what you want.
 
#8 ·
I've memorized a few tunes recently without a horn. Just have the sheet and sit there and try to memorize the fingerings. If you can't be listening to the music I would imagine it might be hard to retain. But, if you just chip away at it over and over you can memorize full tunes without your horn anywhere near you.
Also, you can learn to circular breathe (if you don't already know how) without a horn. In fact, it's suggested.
 
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