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.The A rt o f Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal Copyright © 1963 Birch Tree G roup Ltd. Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. ISBN 0-8 74 87 -05 7-7 5 7 9 11 12 10 8 6 4 Summy-Birchard Music Prince ton, New Jerse y TABLE OF CONTENTS Page In trod uction 9 The In strum en t 13 The Saxophone Family; Selection of the Instrument; Care of the Instrument The M outhpiece 17 The Material; The Design; Miscellany The R e e d 21 Selection of the Reed; Reed Cane; Adjusting the Reed; Reed Too Soft; Reed Too Stiff Playing Position 31 The Breathing Technique 33 The Breathing Apparatus; Developing the Breathing Process; The Intake; The Release; Summary The Embouchure 37 The Facial Mask; The Teeth; The Supporting Muscles; Muscle Development; Alignment of the Jaws; Mouthpiece Placement; The Cheeks; The Tongue; Summary Tone Q uality 45 The Nature of Wind Instrument Tone; The Tonal Concept; The Body as Part of the Instrument; Tonal Terminology; The Vocal Approach; The Physical Problem; Focusing the Tone; Tonal Blend; The Saxophone Mute The Vibrato 54 The Nature of Good Vibrato; The Variables of Vibrato; Acquiring the Correct Concept; Types of Saxophone Vibrato; The Preliminary Steps; Transfer of the Motion; Practice Patterns; Ten Salient Points Intonation 61 Hearing the Pitch Correctly; Embouchure Tension; Holding the Jaw Position; Mouthpiece Placement; Mouthpiece Suita bility; Correct Key Adjustment; Effect of Temperature Changes; The Just Versus the Tempered Scale; Pitch Adjustment by Special Fingerings Developing the Technique 70 Rhythm and Technique; Increasing the Speed; Choice of Fingering Position; The Alternate Fingerings; Fingering Options; Summary Attack and R elease 79 Position of the Tongue; The Release S ta ccato 82 Tonguing Syllables; Developing Speed; Double-Tonguing A rticula tio n 87 Rhythm in Articulation; Legato; Marks of Articulation; Adapting to the Ensemble Phrasing and Interpretation 91 Musical Notation; Expression; The Tools of Phrasing; Dynamics; Movement and Breathing; Tone Color; Articu lation; Vibrato Doubling 95 Adaptation to the Various Saxophones; Saxophone and Clarinet; Flute; Oboe; Bassoon; Selection of Instruments j The A ltissim o R eg ister 98 Selected Literature 102 Methods and Etudes; Solos; Duets; Quartets; Ensembles; Books and Pamphlets. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page The Saxophone Fam ily 10 The Original Instruments of Adolph S a x 11 The Saxophone M outhpiece 18 Parts of the Saxophone Reed 22 Reed Adjustment C h a r t 28-29 The Playing P o sitio n s 30 Position of the Diaphragm, Abdomen and Lower Rib Cage During the Breathing P r o c e ss 32 M uscles Used in the Saxophone Embouchure 38-39 Considerations of Jaw and Tooth Alignment 40 The Embouchure “ W heel” 41 Correct and Incorrect E m bou ch ures 42 Support of the Lower L ip 43 Mute Positio ns 53 Jaw Motion of the Saxophone V ib ra to 56 Intonation Tendencies of the Alto and Tenor S axop h ones 62 Fingerings for Pitch Alteration 66 Nomenclature of K eys 67 Fingering C hart 68-69 Hand P ositio ns 71 T rill C h art 77-78 Tonguing P o s itio n s 79 Comparison of Perform ance Techniques for the D o ub ler 97 Altissim o R egister F in g erin g s 100-101 I INTRODUCTION The saxophone has for many years been the vic tim of a popular misconception that it is “easy to play.” This point of view might well be corrected with the addition of a single word—“ easy to play b adly ." The first production of a pseudomusical tone plus mastery of the technical problems involved in playing simple melodies may be accomplished with less effort than on most other wind instruments. The interested amateur, armed with a fingering chart and an elementary in struction book, can in a relatively short time make what appears to be rapid progress. Advancement of this type is deceptive, since it creates the impres sion that serious study is unnecessary and that con centrated effort is not required. A great deal of the disdain held for the instrument, much of which is jus tified, can be directly attributed to the lack of earnest effort on the part of saxophone players to treat their instruments with the same scholarly approach neces sary for mastery of related instruments. Although the stature of the saxophone is con stantly being improved, there is still plenty of room for advancement before it will become a standard mem ber of the instrumental family. Credit must be given to the dedicated and gifted soloists and perform ers who, by devoting their lives to the exploitation of its possibilities, have convinced the informed public that, when played artistically, the saxophone has no need to hang its head. It is through the performances of these artists that many composers have become interested in writing for the instrument, and saxophone literature, while not abundant, is increasingat an encouraging rate both in quality and quantity. ' Students often inquire why the saxophone is not included in the symphony orchestra. There are sev eral reasons: (1) When the literature of the symphony was first developed, the instrument was not in exist ence. (2) Early attempts to include it often were un satisfactory because of the immaturity of the saxo phone tone and its inability to blend well with other instruments. (3) Composers avoid the instrument, since they realize that the established symphony o r chestra has no regular saxophonist and hesitate to add instruments that will require extra expense. (4) The standard of saxophone playing has not yet reached the point where the composer or conductor can always be assured of a competent performance on the symphonic level. This last point is of utmost importance and puts the responsibility for this neglect directly on the shoul ders of the saxophonists. While encouraging strides in the improvement of performance levels are evident, saxophone playing as an art is still in its infancy. The ideal learning situation, which the ART OF SAXOPHONE PLAYING cannot replace, is study with a competent teacher. However, it is often impossible for many young musicians to have the advantage of regular lessons with a specialist on his particular in strument or for the music educator to acquire spe cialized knowledge on every instrument he is required to teach. The object of this book is to make available some of the convictions I have acquired through ex perience in both performing and teaching, especially in basic procedures. The adaptation of fundamental principles to each individual may require minor alter ation by the teacher or student, since we are in noway dealing in specific cases. While the playing of a musical instrument is ce r tainly an adventure in an art, the truly artistic per formance must be supported by craftsmanship. It is to the development of this craftsmanship, or skill and mastery of the instrument, that the true student must dedicate himself. Musical expression will get nowhere unless the perform er has the necessary facility to re produce his ideas. The author wishes to dedicate this book to his students, whose interest, inquisitiveness, and serious ness of purpose have been the force for continued ex ploration into the “ art of saxophone playing.” Larry Teal 9 [...]... vario u s types of saxophones, the soprano is always held in front, out from the middle of the body {in much the sa m e m anner as the c la rin e t or the oboe), except that the bell of the instru m en t is farther away from the body This is dictated by the more horizontal position of the saxophone mouthpiece, which is at an approxim ate angle of 45 d e g r e e s as compared with 30 d e g r e e s for... smooth Table Sandpaper on glass Rub lightly back and forth, always in the d irection of the g ra in REED ADJUSTMENT CHART 29 30 TE H PLAYING POSITIONS PLAYING POSITION P o s tu re and instrum ent position, often ignored aspects of wind in strum ent study, play im portant ro les The saxophone must be considered as a p a rt of the p e r fo rm e r , and an intim ate and com fortable p hysi cal associatio... all saxophone re e d s a r e made from cane While o th e r m a te r ia ls have been trie d and m a r keted, the lone su rv iv o r at p re s e n t is the p lastic reed, which is in lim ited use The main value of the plastic reed is its durability, but it has n e ith e r the tone qual*Used by p e r m is s io n of the Acoustical Society of Am erica 21 Stock Shoulder Vamp Heel (or Butt) PARTS OF THE SAXOPHONE. .. is p o ssib le that the fundamental fram ew ork may be of the wrong shape to support the saxophone em bouchure While a norm al or average jaw should p re s e n t no problem in adapta tion, ce rtain deviations which should be considered are: 1 The Square Jaw This type has an advantage in playing the la r g e r saxophones such as the tenor, baritone, and bass, since l a r g e r mouthpieces a r e better... ex tre m e conditions, it is a w ise policy to ex am ine the facial contour when advising a student as to the selection of the p ro p e r instrum ent 37 MUSCLES USED IN THE SAXOPHONE EMROUCHURE Front view MUSCLES USED IN THE SAXOPHONE EMBOUCHURE Side view Underbite Overbite Normal Norma l Position CONSIDERATIONS OF JAW AND TOOTH ALIGNMENT THE TEETH Norm al teeth should pose no problem if the m u s... should be wiped d ry with a soft cloth a f te r each use, both inside and out They can be washed in soap and lukewarm w a te r —n e v e r hot 17 I Table Cork Sax Neck Chamber Baf Throat Side Walls THE SAXOPHONE MOUTHPIECE Short water—at re g u la r in terv a ls R egular washing is im portant not only because of the obvious fact that an unclean mouthpiece is an excellent breeding ground for germs but... each one s ep a rately Some mouthpieces are longer than o thers, and re q u ir e a different place ment on the cork *** The b a s ic prin cip le of mouthpiece construction is the sam e for the e n tire saxophone family How e v e r, b ecause of the d ifferen ces in mouthpiece size, you need not always use the s a m e facing and make of mouthpiece if you a r e doubling *** R em em ber, any mouthpiece... this small piece of cane, it is not s u rp ris in g that so much effort m ust be expended in reed selection and a d ju st ment, since the reed is the only moving p a r t of the generating ap paratus for saxophone tone production The re e d changes its r a te of vibration with e v e ry new pitch and v ib ra te s at the sam e frequency as the pitch of the tone; i.e , if A-440 is played fo r one s e c ... e c e s s a ry to add that th e in stru m en t m ust be handled with g re a t c a r e , and that it can be sev e re ly dam aged, even though it is in the case, if it is bumped o r dropped Since m ost saxophones a r e now lacqu ered, th e re is no problem of polishing Wiping with a slightly damp cloth is all that is n e c e s s a r y Dusting under the keys and ro ds can be done with an o rd in a ry... prevent changing the balance The mouthpiece cap should always be kept on when not playing even though the instrum ent is going to be used again soon This habit should be developed from the f i r s t day of saxophone study ADJUSTING THE REED Hold the mouthpiece and ligature in the left hand Slide the reed in position with the right thumb The reed should be well centered on the mouth piece table and facing . ILLUSTRATIONS Page The Saxophone Fam ily 10 The Original Instruments of Adolph S a x 11 The Saxophone M outhpiece 18 Parts of the Saxophone Reed 22 Reed Adjustment C h a r t 28-29 The Playing P o sitio n s 30 Position. the saxophone will ultimately be determined on the basis of its performance standards. The instrument, in the hands of a fine artist, has proven itself. THE SAXOPHONE FAMILY The family of saxophones. to write all saxophone music in the treble clef, even for the baritone and bass instruments. Saxophones are transposing instruments, i.e., the score is written in the key of the saxophone, rather