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Loud

2K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  Pete Thomas 
#1 ·
I am having trouble getting a lower volume, soft note when I play my alto sax.

In other words I am loud.I have a tuner and can play the right tone, but it is loud. I am a beginner and have had an instructor in the past. He also noticed I was loud and suggested I just practice getting softer notes. I have tried not blowing so hard and adjusting my embouchure. If I change the amount of air I am pushing I can't get a note to come out.

I am learning to play a Selmer Alto with a ricco #3 reed. I am sure this is considered a student sax. I have changed reeds from a 2, 2.5 and 3. I am sure the issue is me. I am blowing to hard, but like I said, if I don't blow hard I can't get a note.

Any ideas?
 
#3 ·
I agree with Dr. G. Have the horn checked first.

If that does not solve the problem, your reed may be too hard. A harder reed is more resistant and requires more air to get it to speak than a softer one.

You also may want to experiment with taking slightly less mouthpiece in your mouth. Taking in more MP tends to increase your volume, but at the cost of control.

A good exercise is to practice long tones where you start as softly as you can play and then gradually crescendo and then decrescendo. This will help build up your abdominal muscles and embouchure and help you learn to control your dynamics.
 
#4 ·
The #3 reed is probably the main problem. Being able to play loud is not a bad thing, but you have to be able to play softly too. The softer reed will help in any case but you probably have leaks in the horn which will prevent playing easy.
 
#5 ·
Or do a quick check for leaks yourself.

http://stuffsax.blogspot.com/2014/05/finding-leak-when-leak-light-doesnt.html

It could also be your mouthpiece. I've played around with refacing enough to know that it's easy to make a mouthpiece not play softly. If it has a tiny nick, taking more into your mouth might not do anything. Changing the reed might not do anything. If the lay has an issue (like a flat spot) you will have a hard time with "practice, practice, practice." If the tip opening is too large for you or not even. A softer reed might be able to mask a mouthpiece problem, just like it can with some minor pad leaks. Try another piece.

Probably the quickest way to diagnose is to check for leaks as above, have another player try your setup, and try somebody else's mouthpiece.

Mark
 
#7 ·
Did your instructor say the instrument had no leaks?

I would think in that case, like everyone else, your main problem is probably using reeds that are too hard.

Maybe you are putting too much mouthpiece in your mouth. However as you have a saxophone instructor I am hesitant about giving online advice when he should be doing that, hopefully with a bit more detail than just saying practise getting softer notes.
 
#8 ·
Did your instructor use your mpc and reed? Or did he switch to his own setup when he tried your horn ? If he was able to play low notes softly there are probably no leaks and your combination of reeds and mpc is not right for you at this moment. Try softer reeds first..
 
#9 ·
So I checked the for leaks and found none. I also went down to a 2 1/2 reed. Still having trouble. I haven't been to my instructor in a couple of years so I will go to the local music shop and see if there is someone there I can pay for an hour of their time to help me out. Thank you for all the info and help.
 
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