THE SAXOPHONE PLATEAU

AND HOW TO RISE ABOVE

Lily Jarvis

What is the Plateau?

■Tone

■Range

■Band Music

InspirationEccles Sonata for Saxophone – NYSSMA level V

InspirationEccles Sonata for Saxophone – NYSSMA level V

Tone

Range

Band Music

Folk Song Suite – Ralph Vaughan Williams

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteFlute

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteClarinet

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteAlto Saxophone

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteFlute

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteClarinet

Band Music – Folk Song SuiteAlto Saxophone

What Can We Do???

Non Playing

■ Set up

– Reed, mouthpiece, ligature

■ Neck strap

■ Posture and playing position

Playing

■ Embouchure

■ Exercises and warm ups

■ Vibrato

■ Articulation

■ Voicing

■ Alternate fingerings

■ Pitch tendencies

■ Extended techniques

History■ Invented by Antoine-Joseph “Adolphe” Sax (1814-1894)

■ Belgian

■ Family craft

■ Assisted with furthering the clarinet and bass clarinet

■ Studied flute and clarinet at Brussel’s Conservatory

■ Saw what we already had

■ Wanted to create a new instrument himself

– Brass – Power

– Woodwind – Subtleties

– String – Facility

History - Timeline

■ 1841- First model was a Bass Horn

– Name “le saxophon” came about in a French review of the bass horn

■ 1842 - Hector Berlioz wrote an article in a French magazine describing the saxophone

■ 1844 – Demonstrated the saxophone at the Paris Industrial Exhibition

■ 1844 - Berlioz conducted a vocal work Chant Sacre featuring the saxophone

■ 1844 - The saxophone had its orchestral debut at the Paris Conservatory through the opera "Last King of Juda" by Georges Kastner

■ 1846 - Patented the saxophone

– One set for orchestra and one set for military band

– Large family of saxophones (sopranino to the subcontrabass)

History – Two Visions

■ Sax had two visions for his new instrument

– Vision for orchestra

■ Sax was so picky that many had gotten fed up and didn’t want to play it

■ New instrument - intonation issues

■ Many people didn’t want to write music for it, and those who did were friends of Sax

■ Where are we now?

– Sax’s vision for military band

■ France’s military bands in the mid 1800s sounded so weak that they were

humorous

■ Thought that the saxophone could turn this around

■ The result was so effective that many asked Sax for his instruments to improve the

“power” of their military bands

■ Saxophones became more visible in areas of France, Europe, and the whole world

■ Made its way to New Orleans and into the early jazz scene

Set Up - Reed

■ Basic job – to vibrate

■ Come in “sizes”

■ Numbers are the strength of the reed

■ Problems

– 1. Chipped/split/broken

– 2. Too soft/old/warped

– 3. Too hard/new

– 4. Dry

Reed Comparison Chart

Set Up - Mouthpiece

■ Chamber shapes

– Square (Selmer C*)

– Trapezoid/Cathedral/Keystone (Yamaha 4C)

– Round (Vandoren, Rascher)

■ Intention for the saxophone (orchestral)

– Sax’s original mouthpiece – round chamber

■ Great website QR code

Saxophone Mouthpiece Website

Set Up - Ligature

MetalStandard – screws on bottom

Inverted – screws on top

Cloth/Fabric

Basic job – hold the reed to the mouthpiece and

maximize reed vibration

Ligature - Metal

Pros

■ Inexpensive

■ Optimize vibrations

Cons

■ Standard – screws interfere with vibrations

■ Bent – not holding the reed evenly

■ Too tight

■ Stripped screws

Ligature - Fabric

Pros

■ Fit a variety of mouthpieces

■ Don’t bend out of shape

■ Hold the reed evenly

■ Basic model parts are better

quality than basic model

parts of metal

■ Screw on top (most often) as not

to interfere with vibrations

Cons

■ Fabric on the reed does not

allow for optimal vibrations

■ More expensive

Ligature Final Thoughts

Cheap Metal > Average Fabric > High End Metal

Can you tell the difference?

Neck strapMost likely one of two basic neck straps

Neck Straps - Overview

■ Job – bare the majority of the weight of the

saxophone and bring the saxophone to you

■ Priorities

– 1. Does it reach the player?

– 2. Clasp

– 3. Give in the strap or padding on neck

– 4. Comfort – other options than the standard strap

Neck Straps – Does it Reach?

■ Large percentage of neck

straps do not go high enough

(sitting and standing)

■ Students may outgrow neck

straps

Neck Straps - Clasp

Neck Straps – Does it Have Give?

■ “Give” in the strap

– If yes – throw it out

■ “Give” in the neck padding

– Yes and No

■ Yes for the sake of comfort

■ No for the sake of changing the embouchure

Neck Straps – Comfort

■ Other options besides a standard neck strap

– Harness

– Sling

– Suspenders

Posture/Playing Position■ Front versus the side when sitting

■ Standing posture

– Alto

■ Must adjust from sitting if you play on the side

– Soprano, Tenor, and Baritone

■ Sitting and standing can be the same

■ Hand position

– Relaxed hands

– Common issues

■ LH raised

■ Straight fingers (esp. in palm and side keys)

■ Tense shoulders

■ Flapping

Embouchure■ Job – close off air escaping

■ How to start– Teeth on the mouthpiece

– Bottom teeth covered by bottom lip

– Place on reed

– Surround the mouthpiece with lips

■ Shape– O shape

– Draw string bag

■ Common issues– Teeth/lips not in the right place

– Bunching on bottom lip

– Biting versus O shape

– Puffing cheeks

Articulation■ Job – how to perform individual notes and phrases

■ Start a note

– Air built up behind tongue

– Tongue on the reed

■ “Almost” tip of the tongue on the “almost” tip of the reed

Articulation Issues

Tonguing issues

■ Breath attacks (not tonguing)

■ Too much tongue movement

■ Anchor tonguing

■ Tonguing the wrong part of the mouthpiece/mouth

Pulcinella – Bozza, E.

Sigurd Rascher

Exercises and Warm Ups

■ Long tones

– FULL range

■ Vibrato, dynamics, articulation patterns

■ Mouthpiece exercises

– Concert pitch on mouthpieces

■ Soprano : D

■ Alto : A

■ Tenor : G

■ Baritone : F

– All of the above exercises plus glissando, scales, songs

Vibrato■ Varied pitch

■ How to do vibrato

– 1. Jaw

■ Practice slowly, rhythmically, and dramatically

– Higher notes are easier to alter pitch

■ Two aspects

– 1. Speed

– 2. Width

Voicing

■ Voicing : shape of oral cavity

■ Tongue placement

– Ah Eh Ee Oo Oh

■ Low register (low Bb-G)

– Oo and Oh

■ High Register (high G-palm keys)

– Ah

■ Altissimo (F# and above)

– Eh and Ee

Alternate Fingerings

■ Alternate fingerings/trill keys

– Forked F#

– G# - any pinky key works

– Side/Bis/1 and 1 Bb

– Side C

– C# (Right hand down, long/closed C#/minus 2)

■ Trill

– Middle C#-D

– Middle/High C-D

Pitch Tendencies

Note Tendency Fix

Bb +20 Drop jaw

B +5 Drop jaw

C -5 More firm

C# -10 More firm

D and Eb -20 + Low C# key

E-C Fine

C# - RH, Long, Minus 2 -15, +10, +5 Context

Pitch Tendencies

Note Tendency Fix

D +10 + Low B key

Eb-G Fine

G# +20 Drop jaw/voicing

A +10 + RH 3, 2, 1 (flatter as you

go)/drop jaw/voicing

Bb (Side, Bis, 1/1) +10, +5, Fine Context/voicing

B and higher Sharp + RH 1, 2, 3/Voicing

Front E and Front F Fine Context

Extended Technique

■ Altissimo

– Pitches above high F

– Three ways to start

■ C -> Front F -> (add side Bb key) -> F#

■ Octave key and front F key only -> High D

■ Overtones

– Top Tones for the Saxophone – Rascher, S.

Overtones

■ Saxophones can play overtones!

■ How to start?

– Low Bb

– Try and play middle Bb with the low fingering

■ Voicing

– Low Bb-D

■ Long tones, scales, melodies

■ Why?

– Getting your mouth set up for altissimo

– Ear training

Common Problems

Common Problems – Octave KeyDoesn’t close for G

(popping up the octave)

Push the top (where the pad is) down

Push the bottom up

Doesn’t open for A(popping down the octave)

Pull the top (where the pad is) up

Pull the bottom down

Common Problems – Sticky Keys

■ Sticky keys

– Keys that are closed when not playing

– Swab out instrument

– Cigarette paper in the key

■ G#, Eb, and palm keys

Try Something New

■ Chamber music

– Trios, quartets

– Substitute other Bb instruments to make an AATB or SATB

quartet

■ Jazz Band

– Play along books

■ Band – Eb clarinet part

■ Try other saxophones

Things for Your Hot Shots

■ Quarter tones

– PDF fingering chart

■ Slap tonguing

– Step by step directions on hand out

■ Multiphonics

– PDF chart

■ Double tonguing

– Ta-ka or Ti-ki

Suggested NYSSMA Solo Repertoire

■ Level I Classic Festival Solos for Alto Saxophone - CPP/Belwin

– From Heaven High – Praetorius, M. arr. Rascher, S.

■ Level II Classic Festival Solos for Alto Saxophone - CPP/Belwin

– Minuet – Bach, J.S. arr Rascher, S.

■ Level III Solos for the Alto Saxophone Player - G. Schirmer

– Album Leaf – Grieg, E.

■ Level IV

– Sonata no. 3 (mvts. I and II) – Handel, F. arr Rascher, S.

■ Level V

– Sonata for Saxophone (all mvts) – Eccles, H.

■ Level VI

– Concerto in Eb for Saxophone (play cadz.) – Glazunov, A.

Resources

■ Recordings

■ Websites

– Saxontheweb.net

– Doctorsax.biz

■ Method Books

– Top Tones for the Saxophone – Rascher, S.

– 48 Studies for Oboe and Saxophone – Ferling, F.

– 25 Daily Studies for Saxophone – Klose, H.

■ Social Media

Questions?

Thank you!

Lily Jarvis

ljarvis@maloneschools.org