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How do I practice to sustain notes longer?

6K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  harmonizerNJ 
#1 ·
I have been paying more attention to breathing lately and am starting to breathe better and deeper than before. However, I have a hard time sustaining notes for as long as I would have liked, especially when I play on new reeds (I have considered to play on softer reeds but I find that my tone gets weaker when I do so). To have a supported tone makes it even harder since I find that I run out of air even faster.

Any tips on good exercises for getting more aware of how to use the air efficiently without getting a weaker tone? I am not excluding the possibility of me breathing incorrectly already at the inhalation so just hit me with everything and anything you got.
 
#2 ·
Hey there,

My humble advice is this. Being able to sustain your notes for a long period of time is great. It is a good place to start to getting your breath support happening.
A good trick for find your airstream is placing a piece of paper on the wall about a foot in front of your face and try and keep the piece of paper "stuck" to the wall just by blowing on it.

Ok, that being said. The length at which you are able to sustain your notes has very little to do with how you sound. You sound the way you do because of a combination of things. But a good air stream, embouchure and sax set up can help you get there easier. When you play your long sustained tones (long tones work outs) you aren't doing much of anything unless you listen to and really get inside the sound that you're making. Figure out what small changes in your airstream or embouchure do to your stability and quality of sound.

I personally am told I have a very good sound but don't believe I would be able to hold a loud low Bb much longer than 10 seconds.

By learning to control your horn in the low, middle, and high end at the soft and loudest volumes you'll increase your tone and ability to play longer by a lot.

Long tones can be great, you need to make them a real work out instead of just trying to see how long you can play the note.

Watch this video, take notes on it. It is the best long tone exercise I've come across.



When you start your Bb in this exercise start it from air and work into the tone without getting blips or blubbers in the sound just smoothly increase the volume until your note sounds. Continue your crescendo and when you can hear the next note switch up to it. Continue your volume increase until you get as loud as you can (comfortably) and then work your way back down in volume until you start running out of air. Switch back to the Bb and end at your lowest volume back into breath sound.

This makes it much harder. :)

This should be hard. I have been doing it every few days for a couple of years now and I still have troubles on some notes. But the results are the best and fastest.

Don't become discouraged. Stick at it. All of these things take time and it's another step in the crazy journey that is playing music.

Best of luck,

Sean
 
#3 ·
The main thing that controls your breathing is your diaphragm. Look for breathing exercises that help you develop control of this muscle. One that I posted here just the other day is this: Take a deep breath and let it out slowly through your teeth while making an 'S' sound. Try to go as long as you can while making a consistent 'S' sound -- i.e. don't let it waver. Most professional singers can go up to two minutes like this, but over a minute is considered good control. The key is: feel your diaphragm doing the work. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
First, the obvious: to get better at sustained notes practice sustained notes! You will automatically get better at both stability and longevity. But practice smart and "consciously". Think of nothing but the tone and how you feel making it. Get to be one with your body and let it talk to you. Work on / relax at the stress points. If you work hard at this over a period of time, say 2 weeks, and you don't note any improvement at all, you may indeed need to change reed strength.
 
#7 ·
As a non-professional self-taught sax player with a good background in respiratory physiology and mechanics, the one that really worked best for me is playing slow ballads ( initially with even slower tempo) at the beginning of my practice sessions. I make myself aware of the timing of the breaths while I play.
If I'm away from the sax, my breathing exercises consist of several cycles of taking a quick full inspiratory effort in one count, followed by a slow expiratory effort for 6-8 counts, trying to mimic the process of breathing and airflow while singing or playing a wind instrument . I sometimes do this timing with my steps while walking (1st step big inhalation, next 6-8 steps slow expiration). This seems to work for me, and these techniques have also been mentioned by other posters here at SOTW. That's the one that works for me at least, allowing me to skip practicing long tones.
 
#8 ·
I'll add one small point here: In order to take a really good breath that will last you a long time, you need to exhale completely before you take your next breath. Part of accomplishing this is a state of mind to commit to doing this. For me, my swimming has helped me with this, as I have learned to breathe on every 4th swimming stroke or on every 6th swimming stroke, while doing the crawl.
 
#12 ·
I'll add one small point here: In order to take a really good breath that will last you a long time, you need to exhale completely before you take your next breath. Part of accomplishing this is a state of mind to commit to doing this.
Yes. That's a very important point which I forgot to mention ( in my post#7). For me, this is particularly true with the soprano sax. I have to consciously time the breathing, making sure to exhale completely first before taking the next full breath, or the cycle would be off. With the alto and tenor, timing comes naturally and with less effort.
 
#14 ·
I'll add one small point here: In order to take a really good breath that will last you a long time, you need to exhale completely before you take your next breath.
This is not my experience. What kind of reputable sources do you have to back this up, or is this only anecdotal? I'm asking because, in addition to woodwinds, I also play trumpet and French horn and I never expel all of my breath before taking another breath. To me, that's like saying that you have to empty your gas tank before you refill it in order to get a fuller tank.
 
#11 ·
Since the diaphragm is a muscular dome it has to be supported by connective tissue to other muscles.
It doesn't stand alone but since it is a muscle it can be in "good" or "bad" shape.
So I would assume that vigorous use of the breating apparatus will tone the diaphragm along with all the other attending tissues.
 
#13 ·
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