Shopping for Your Tone: How to Sound Like the Saxophone Player you Want to Be
To change things up just a little bit, I went ahead and put this week’s article to video.
In my little micro-movie, I cover the topic of developing your own saxophone tone in a deliberate manner so that you can sound like you by first deciding what “you” sounds like. The video is a continuation of the general theme covered in a post from a couple of weeks ago titled How to Stop Obsessing Over New Saxophone Gear.
Regardless of your horn, mouthpiece, or reed, the truth is, to the outside listener, you sound pretty much like...you. It's not that gear doesn't affect your sound at all, but your biggest and richest sound will only come by developing the skills within both your body and mind to sound great on any setup.
So if you're willing to move beyond having your day ruined by a lousy reed, then sax legend David Liebman's course, Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production is where you're going to want to go next.
Broken down into bite-sized lessons, this streaming video program covers just about every single aspect of saxophone sound production. It represents his entire life's work teaching the techniques and concepts that were handed down to masters such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and Harvey Pittel (among many others), and then refined over the course of decades teaching countless lessons and masterclasses worldwide. Click below to see for yourself why so many professional saxophonists consider David's thorough, methodical, and practical approach the "real deal" for players at any level.
SAXOPHONETONE.COM
The Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production
But type is cheap – check out the video and let me know what you think!
Photo by Bengt Nyman
August 15, 2012 @ 5:33 pm
Mouthpieces tried in music shops change when you get them home as the embouchure adapts to your sound. At first a new mp can seem like a dream, but your own tone comes back and you lose that special quality. I went with Rovner ligature for a year, it seemed to free the reed unbelievably, but now I prefer the solidity of a standard brass ligature.
I’m constantly wondering how far to put the mp in my mouth, it seems a nicer tone and more fluid playing when less is inserted, but then I am playing on the tip of the mp, only about1/4 inch and it seems like I’m developing a peculiar technique. Always looking for sweet fluidity. Some days it’s bliss, others I suck : )
August 15, 2012 @ 7:50 pm
Totally agree with your experience. You might want to check out this article on how much mouthpiece to take in: https://www.bestsaxophonewebsiteever.com//7-tips-to-tell-how-much-mouthpiece-to-take-in/
May 1, 2013 @ 7:35 pm
I just found this website a few days ago and I’m only 14. I just want you to know you guys are great and this is the greatest musical discovery of my career thus far. So thanks for that.
As far as this article goes, I totally agree and have found that even before I found this I was sort of doing this in my band class. There’s this one alto guy that sounds better than anyone I’ve ever heard, professional or not. I’ll see if I can get a video of him playing. ( He doesn’t really like me, so that’s easier said than done) but he’s sort of my role model right now. But this advice really works Coltrane and Sonny Rollins are my current pro idols. Thank you so much for all your wonderful tips and advice!
May 5, 2013 @ 11:35 am
Hello Ruth,
That’s awesome that you’re getting such an early start on the sax! And wow, I *really* appreciate your kind words about the web site!
I’m amazed that you have such a great player in your class, it’s always good to have people around to push and inspire you. And if he doesn’t like you – who knows, maybe he’s afraid that you’ll start sounding better than him at some point. :)
So keep doing your thing, you’ve got great taste in sax players, and if you keep up with your current level of enthusiasm, I think you’re going to see great things happening with your playing. :)
May 6, 2013 @ 7:48 am
Thanks, and I plan to keep working on becoming better! :)
May 23, 2013 @ 3:57 pm
Hi Doron,
I like your concept of finding your own sound. However, I am convinced that the saxophone, especially the tenor saxophone has much more work to be done on it before it is anywhere near to not obviously wasting opportunities to fulfill its potential, and that is regardless of individual’s personal indiosyncracies, be they physical, mental, psychological or spiritual.
May 28, 2013 @ 1:02 pm
I’m not 100% sure I understand what you’re saying, but in my opinion, no matter how early you are in your musical journey, it’s never too soon to start forming your ideal sound in your mind. My 2c. :-)