Saxophonists know that the saxophone is more than just a musical instrument. For many, it’s a way to express themselves. We have done the research and compiled every bit of helpful information we know you’ll need. The best part is that these tips aren’t hard to remember!
Here are the top three tips everyone playing the saxophone must know. First, you need to learn how to control your breathing. Then we advise that you practice playing the saxophone for at least 30 minutes every day and take your musical notes studies seriously. Also, do not forget to adopt an excellent saxophone playing posture and stick to one playing position.
You’d not be wrong if you realized that there’s more to playing the saxophone than what we’ve briefly summarized above. Don’t worry; there’s more to come. The sections below will be raining saxophone tips to see you playing the saxophone like a pro.
7 General Saxophone Tips
In this section of the article, we’ve put together saxophone tips that every saxophonist needs to follow. We like to call it the rule book, so it’s crucial that you live and breathe it.
1. Take Breathing Rehearsals
What is the correct way to breathe when playing the saxophone if you intend to play better and longer without feeling uncomfortable?
The simple answer is taking big belly breaths. You’d need to practice playing long notes longer too.
Big belly breaths involve pushing out the abdomen when you play. However, this is not all. You also have to train your throat and diaphragm to provide a continuous air supply. Here’s a quick video tutorial on breathing correctly when playing the saxophone.
Key Video Takeaways
- Take deep breaths
- Your breath should feel like you are taking a yawn. This way, you’re breathing from the bottom of your lungs with your throat wide
- Tighten the muscles in the stomach; this way, you’ll be able to push more air out.
- Take a deep breath at the end of every musical phrase
2. Rehearse Playing Your Sax Regularly
The saying practice makes perfect does not justify how much you need to practice playing the saxophone. Regular rehearsals will cover basics like learning proper finger placement, committing musical notes to memory, and learning how to play these notes on the saxophone. Getting your hands on saxophone fingering charts shouldn’t be hard.
More importantly, remember to practice. We advise that you take your saxophone out of the case first thing in the morning and set it up, ready to be played. This way, as you go about your daily activities, the saxophone will always be in sight.
N.B: If you adopt this method, ensure you keep the saxophone away from areas with plenty of leg traffic in the home or office.
As to practice duration, shorter daily practice durations are recommended. This means you should do your best to practice for 30-50 mins every day. Instead of practicing 3 hrs on one day and leaving your saxophone for the next 3-5 days.
3. Good Posture Is Critical When Playing The Sax
Another tip you should always live by is a basic one. The posture tip states that you should sit up straight. What does sitting up straight actually do, you ask?
Well, for one, it aids in actualizing the first tip discussed; it helps expand the diaphragm, allowing more air to get into the lungs. This will, in turn, ensure that the notes you produce are powerful. If you aren’t sure about your posture, it’s best to practice in front of a mirror.
4. Invest in Quality Saxophone Straps, Mouth Piece, and Reeds
The strap, mouthpiece, and reed quality will affect the quality of music you will produce on the saxophone, not to mention that it is also tied to the general ease of playing. So, do not cut corners when choosing one. We’ve found that it’s better you start out by replacing the stock mouthpiece that comes with many saxophones.
5. Reeds And Mouth Piece Compatibility Is Vital
To determine if a reed is compatible with the mouthpiece of your saxophone, you’d need to ensure that the tip opening or spacing is just right to achieve the tone you want.
This tip opening refers to the distance between the reed and the tip of your mouthpiece. It is the actual distance.
Here is a table showing examples of tip sizes and their characteristics.
| Tip Size | Characteristics |
| 3,4 | This tip type is easy to blow, but the reed can close up if blowing becomes hard. It delivers even intonation, but bending and inflections might be difficult. Here, we found that most chambers are okay; however, small chambers might sound thin. It is perfect for flat and rollover baffles. |
| 5,6,7 | It is easy to blow but requires more air than 3 and 4. This tip size can make inflections and deliver good intonations. The baffles here are okayThe Chambers here are also okay |
| 8,9,10 | Produces a big sound since enough air can be blown, but it might be challenging to blow. Bending notes and inflections are easy, but tuning might be complex. This tip type works better with step baffles than flat baffles. It makes the chamber sound more prominent than it truly is but will require extra air if the chamber is too big. |
Also, do check out this video on how to determine the best tip opening for your saxophone.
Key Video Takeaways
- Smaller tip openings are easier to play than larger ones
- Actual tip opening size might vary from one brand to another, with some being slightly smaller or larger than others
(Source)
6. Stick With One Position
Here’s yet another tip, so, please choose one of the two popular saxophone positions and stick with it. You can either play your saxophone between your legs or place it to the right of your legs.
We found that your choice will often depend on how you were taught. However, sticking to one position ensures that you can become a master at one fingering positioning and would only need to worry about how to attain perfect vibrato and tone. (Source)
7. Choose A Saxophone Type Based On Your Skill Level And Genre
As crucial as learning how to play the saxophone as a pro is, it’s even more essential that you know how to select the one.
When starting, you’d be faced with the dilemma of what type of saxophone you should choose. You’ll need to select either alto, baritone, soprano, tenor, or bass. However, it would be best to consider your experience level when choosing one.
Alto saxophones are the recommended go-to option for many beginners. This is attributed to its easy-to-play key layout and little air requirement when playing. Another feature that makes this saxophone the number 1 entry saxophone can be traced to its relatively low pricing.
Next on the list is the tenor saxophone, a sax used mainly by jazz players since it can serve as a soloist instrument. Additionally, we’ve found this saxophone to be very beginner-friendly. It’s not as bulky as the baritone comes with a Bb tuning and a curved look that most will find familiar.
Soprano saxophones are another type of saxophone worth mentioning. They are small-sized and relatively cheap, but we do not recommend beginners start with them due to the precision and high-pitched sounds.
Talk about low-pitched saxophones, and we can’t but mention the bass and baritone saxophones. Baritones are tuned to Eb and have been incorporated in several genres of music, including old-school RnB and rock and roll due to the honking deep tones associated with them.
On the other hand, the bass is limited to the classical music genre and is tuned to Bb.
Saxophone Tips To Make You Play More Soulfully
If you’ve ever adored the greats like Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, and many others and wish to fine-tune your saxophone playing to be like them, if not better, then this is the section for you. Here, you’d find all the tips and tricks used by the greats. (Source)
8. The Dynamics Are As Important As The Music Itself
When we say dynamics, we refer to adding expression, depth, and soul to the music. Music is a form of expression and to play like a pro it would be best if you were more than able to convey your emotions. With dynamics, you can add drama and tell a story when you play the saxophone.
How you choose to include dynamics is entirely up to you but do remember to try to understand the listeners too.
We’ve found that a good way to beef up your dynamic use is by experimenting with the Auxiliary high F key. This alternate fingering method should give you the smooth transition you might have longed for. All that is crucial is that you don’t stay in your comfort zone.
With this, you can be sure to get your listeners hooked to your sounds and colorful use of the saxophone like the pros do in no time at all.
9. Learn To Bend Notes
Here’s one you might not have heard of, or probably know of it by its other term, “sliding”. Well, whichever you choose to call it, bending of notes involves using the tongue to change the pitch of a note at half-step intervals. This technique is similar to how the tongue is shaped when we whistle.
As much as we recommend you learn to bend notes, it’s crucial that you know that you don’t overdo it.
10. Play Around With Sound Effects
Sound effects are another way you can add soul, expression, color to your music and steer away from the monotone playing cycle. Typical examples of these sound effects include growling flutter tonguing: slap tonguing, overtones, split tones, and altissimo. (Source)
Growling involves gurgling the tonsils or singing a note through the saxophone. On the other hand, fluttering encompasses the rolling of the tongue when playing the saxophone; this way, the sound produced is identical to the purring of a cat.
11. Embouchure And Air Pressure Practice
Embouchure from the French word for mouth (Bouche) refers to the mouth placement technique on the mouthpiece. Pros know how to do it, and so should you.
Embouchure and air pressure will significantly improve your tone. However, they must be balanced, and for you to attain this balance, you need to exercise your embouchure muscles.
Here is a video from Jay Metcalf of Better Sax on how to increase embouchure endurance:
Key Video Takeaways
- Ensure the reed is placed on the mouthpiece correctly
- Make sure the top of the teeth is in contact with the top of the mouthpiece
- Your bottom lips will act as a cushion for the reed to vibrate
- Don’t bite your bottom lip too deep on the reed
- When you practice, keep your throat open by thinking of making an AH or O sound with the throat.
Now that you’ve watched the video, remember we talked about how the balance between embouchure and air pressure results in better sounds. Here is how to check if you’ve finally balanced them.
First, you need to blow on the mouthpiece into your tuner and check the pitch. Here are the mouthpiece pitches for different types of saxophones.
- You would observe that the mouthpiece blows at a concert A for the alto saxophone, located directly over the treble staff.
- The tenor saxophone blows at the concert D on the fourth line of the treble staff.
- The soprano saxophone should indicate a concert C above the treble staff
- Tenor blows a concert G above the treble staff
N.B: Apply large air pressure and less air volume for a more miniature saxophone and for a large saxophone, do the reverse.
12. Practice Vibrato
Yet another way to add expression and depth to your music is through vibrato practice and although there is no hard and fast rule on the best approach to applying it when playing the saxophone, you do have to be conscious of how you use it to convey the exact emotion you intend to pass across.
FAQs
Q: How long does it take to get good at the saxophone?
A: You’d need to dedicate at least two years of constant practice to get good at saxophone fast. If you are not in a hurry, four years would be ideal for getting you to a confident level. To become a master saxophone player, you’d ideally need 10 years with 3 hours of practice every day. Learn more about the length of time to learn the sax.
Q: Can I learn saxophone by myself?
A: You can become a self-taught saxophone player; however, we do not recommend this route as it is very time-consuming. If you still wish to proceed on the self-taught path, it’s crucial that you find a partner or a mentor. My article on learning the sax by yourself explains more.
Q: How much is a saxophone for beginners?
A: Beginner saxophone players should expect to spend a minimum of $800 on their first saxophone. Any price lower than this will probably be a piece of low-quality junk that won’t serve you well.
Q: How should I care for my saxophone?
A: Saxophone maintenance will ensure that your investment lasts long and that the sound it produces is preserved. Ensure you swab your mouthpiece, neck, and horn after every playing session. Also, wipe off the neck tenon with the neck swab, and also essential to pass the swab through your saxophone until all moisture is dried.
Final Thoughts
Saxophone playing, like what we opened with, is more about expressing yourself so do remember that every tip discussed in the sections above will take you one step closer to self-expression through your music.