Sax on the Web Forum banner

Long Tones?

3K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  A Greene 
#1 ·
I know this is a horse that has been beaten, kicked, and burned to death. Like many of us, I have had a love/hate relationship with longtones. On one hand it has helped me get this far with my tone from a beginner till now. In the last six or so years that I have been playing, I have been on and off with longtone practice really due to not knowing what to look out for now when doing them. First of all, people say to internalize a new sound in your head, but the guys I want to sound like I have been listening to for years, but I am nowhere close to sounding like how they sound. To me I have a verry dark sound vs what I would consider having a sound with some for lack of a better word "brilliance, or edge," it can go by very different things. The sound I am looking for is a cross between Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright, where it is smooth and has some cutting power (the brilliance/edge I wrote about earlier). Something along the lines of these two players

I don't know who he is, but a tone a similar to this would be the best way I can describe as the in between that I am looking for and also, .

So what can I do with longtones to actually have my sound transition to something similar to these guys?
 
#2 ·
You need to find what it is you want to play. Long tones to a wind player are like repetitions of weight-lifting to build strength. They don't dictate what you do with the strength or how you sound as a horn man. Once you give up on trying to sound like somebody and just play for the enjoyment of it, you might find what you seek. but you need the chops to make that happen, so do the work.
 
#4 ·
Try adding the "tone idol" concept to your practice. Play along with a player that sounds like you want to. Just a short passage even 2 or 3 notes will do. Take one of the early passages from the link you posted. Try to sound like him as much as you can. Then do your longs tones. This will give greater focus to your tonal practice. After you are done with tonal practice, go back to your tone idol.
 
#5 ·
Just because you do long tones doesn't necessarily mean you're utilizing them as well as you could be to really perfect the sound you want. I've been doing long tones the past few years in a way that Walter Blanding showed me and it has totally revolutionized my sound and embouture. I'll just describe what has worked for me, and maybe you'll get something out of it, maybe you won't. Start, standing or sitting, it doesn't matter, with your back straight and your feet firmly planted flat on the ground about shoulder width apart. It's nice to have a mirror in front of you to make sure you're not doing anything funky with your fingers and to keep yourself from zoning out, but not totally necessary. Finger the highest note you can comfortably play. I usually start at high F or altissimo G. Breath in the deepest breath you can take in and play the note as quietly as you physically can. Important note: NO SUBTONING, and NO TONGUING, breath attacks only (it gets harder in the lower register). Hold the note for as long as you can, as quietly as you can while keeping it focused and stable without wavering, excess air slipping through, etc. When your lungs are completely devoid of all air, squeeze a little harder for a little longer to get a little more out; this is the part where your diaphragm and jaws really strengthen. When the note ceases to exist, take a couple second breather, and then repeat the process down a half step. Keep going down half steps until you get to low Bb. Chances are, your face will feel like it's going to fall off around middle C. This exercise is excellent for chop-strengthening, and most importantly, it forces you to find the sweet spot on your mouthpiece where the reed vibrates but no excess air is getting through. If you're not at the sweet spot, you won't be able to breath attack the low notes without it wanting to crack up a partial. By finding this sweet spot, the reed will be vibrating most efficiently, and you'll be able to get a ton more power out of your playing. Just remember: NO SUBTONING because that defeats the purpose of the entire exercise.

Hope this helps.
 
#9 ·
some good advices here! I like zonepeter's suggestion "Play along with a player that sounds like you want to" and the exercises by Gaines and paulwl will do you good for sure.

Long tones are good for so many things: building and keeping in shape the muscles, controlling your air pressure, your airstream and air speed, and your general breathing technique.
there are probably as many exercises and ideas one can create around long tones. I like also to practice these around the two notes that I consider axes on the saxophone: the low B-flat and the middle C-sharp. I think of them as axes because with the low B-flat the tube is completely closed, all your fingers are down, all the tone holes are closed. The C-sharp is the opposite, you are not pressing any key with any fingers, the tube is open. so I have this exercise that is kinda similar to the one paulwl shared. You can find it here: http://jazzvideolessons.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/long-tones.pdf

I also like to play long tones to warm up using the melody of a tune I want to practice, so let's say I want to practice "Straight Street", I'm gonna play long tones following the melody.

Another little idea is to play a long tone and hear in your head the next note you want to play. Now you are practicing your long tones AND your ear training.

When playing long tones, I also listen to how consistent is my sound. if the intonation moves a little bit, if the dynamic changes uncontrollably etc... that is directly connected to the consistency or lack thereof of my airstream. Just like if you're driving and constantly pressing up and down the gas pedal, not gonna be a smooth ride... For that I have many exercises and use a tuner app that has different modes and you can "see" your sound, which is pretty helpful to correct what needs to be.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top