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Foundations of Saxophone Playing
by SFC Wayne Tice

Dear Readers:

This article is designed for mostly beginning students and perhaps their teachers, but this information may also be a good review for present saxophonists or new information for some.  I will try to acknowledge where I “picked up” certain ideas; perhaps this will give some good resources for your own playing or students.  I will share my philosophies and ideas on teaching beginners, as I have had great success with starting students who continue to be quite successful.  I have also been fortunate to have taught some very talented non-beginners who have gone on to become professional saxophonists and saxophone professors but, as I tell my students, I teach as I do because I have been successful.  I am not always right; if you read something you don’t like or agree with, feel free to modify it to fit your own style.

BEGINNERS (the first lesson)
I have so much fun with younger students.  They can learn at lightning speed and they never think anything is difficult until you tell them so (don’t ever tell them).  Obviously, the first thing I cover is putting the instrument together. I won’t cover every detail, but I do have some helpful hints.  First, put on the neck strap, hopefully a neck strap that has a closed-end hook. This way, the instrument is more difficult to drop.  The next thing I tell my students to do is: WET THE REED. Place the reed in your mouth while assembling the instrument.  Too many students forget this minor detail, but I stress to them that it is important to play on a moistened reed.  When you pick up the instrument, “grab” it by the bell and by the butt of the instrument.   This not only allows a great handle on the instrument, but it also cuts down on repair bills for bent keys and rods.  Then, “cradle” it under the arm holding the instrument.  Now the body of the saxophone is “safe.”  Continue with the neck and the mouthpiece AND the ligature.  Once the ligature is loosely in place, THEN, and only then, position the reed on the mouthpiece.  This is an overlooked detail which will save thousands of reeds from early retirement. 

Realizing that beginning students love to experiment as soon as they get their instrument, the first lesson may be beyond an hour in length...long, hopefully not tedious, but necessary.  I typically cover many topics, including hand/finger position, breathing, embouchure, sound, and the “C” major scale.  After the first lesson, the student can go home and play “Joy to the World” for an entire week!  This also introduces the student to the aural art of music, concentrating on listening and playing what they hear.  In this section, I will try to focus on a few specifics of each category.  My primary saxophone teachers were Dennis Zeisler and Lynn Klock, both of whom studied with Larry Teal.  Therefore, many ideas come from Larry Teal’s teachings and, in my opinion, The Art of Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal is an invaluable resource for any student or teacher.

HAND/FINGER/THUMB POSITION
I have observed many problems and read different theories on this subject, so I will try to focus on a few particulars without telling everyone they should do it my way. And, actually, “my way” can vary a bit from one student to the next. I began to focus on my hands after hearing, and watching, Steve Mauk play a soprano saxophone solo at the Virginia New Music Symposium, circa 1987.  The playing was great, but for some reason I was drawn in by the fluidness of his hands.  Ever since that moment, I have continually focused on the relaxation of my hands.  Therein lies one important focus for every student, relaxation.  Once the student has “mastered” assembly of the instrument, I have him put it in a saxophone stand and drop his arms to his side, asking him repeatedly to relax.  Then, I pick up the left hand by the wrist into an imaginary playing position. Invariably, the muscles and ligaments in the fingers, arm, and shoulder become tense.  Relaxation is key! When the arms dangle at the side, and they are truly relaxed, as if gravity is tugging on the fingers’ insides, notice the natural curvature of the relaxed fingers.  This is a natural and relaxed hand (position).  Retaining this shape and feeling once the instrument is in our hands is the challenge.  Once the saxophone is hanging around the student’s (or your) neck, I try to convince him that all of the weight should be on the neck and that the hands are not meant to “grab” or “press” the instrument, as this will interfere with relaxed and fluid technique.  Also, I try to find a balanced position for the saxophone (from left to right, while standing) so the student does not have to “hold” the instrument, allowing the fingers to be “free.”  As you try this process, you will find it is not an easy task, but I believe the quest for relaxed hands is an amazingly beneficial one.

Reviewing: the first focus is relaxation.  The next problem I find is when the first joint or knuckle of the fingers inverts or collapses.  This is a definite sign that the student is pressing entirely too hard and he is definitely not playing with relaxed hands.  I find that a lot of student instruments have very “stiff” springs. If the key is difficult for me to move, I will adjust it for the student.  This could take a while, but remember, relaxed hands go a long way.

The next issue is the octave key thumb.  Many instruments have several different octave key positions, which I think is unfortunate.  However, I like to get the student to use the above method of relaxing the left hand, then placing it on the keys of the upper stack.  The thumb should rest at an angle (between 12:30 o’clock and 2:30 o’clock ).  It is my belief that relaxation and comfort should be attained in this area.  I have luckily never had any hand problems, and this method has worked quite well for me and my students.  I try to convince my students to “rest” the mid portion of the thumb and move only the top knuckle to press the octave key.  I am not really fond of the word “anchor” because it implies that force is being used to hold the thumb in place.  Always try to maintain a firm but relaxed “anchor,” which I would rather call “resting”.

BREATHING
At this point the student is very anxious to begin to play, but there are several things to discuss first.  I address breathing at this point, because as soon as the student learns the embouchure, he/she will want to blow right away.  First, I explain about the upper and lower chest and how my voice sounds very high and whiny when I use just air from my upper lungs, but the voice changes when I use warmer air from my lower lungs. I also show them how I can “fill up” and expand my chest, raise my shoulders, and fill my upper lungs.  My lower lungs still have room to fill up more.  I ask the student to take a few deep breaths, and actually I do this while I put my instrument together or before.  I believe it was Steve Mauk who spoke about “warming up” the lungs.  I try to get the student to completely fill up his lungs.  Once he is inhaling very low and deep, I try to get him to move very little upper chest and shoulders but “fill up” the lower lungs completely. I find that we can actually take in too much air and cause tension in the upper chest area and the throat area.  The lower the air, the better.  Also, this is a very relaxed kind of air.  As we sleep, the diaphragm takes over and we only take deep, low breaths.  Ask the student to notice or recognize this the next time he observes someone sleeping on his back.  Another good exercise is to take a low breath and feel the warm air on your hands, as if you were going to blow condensation on a window or mirror.  These are all good exercises and I repeat them often with my students.

EMBOUCHURE
This topic is discussed and debated often, and I will not try to convince everyone that this will work for them.  This method has worked for me and it works great for all of my students.  The concept of the embouchure “wheel” as stated in Larry Teal’s “The Art of Saxophone Playing” has given me and my students great success.  Beginning students seem to grasp the concept easily and older students appreciate the struggle to stop what they have been doing and change their embouchure to this style.  I believe that this particular embouchure accesses the idea of a “firm but relaxed” embouchure.  However, it is easy for younger students to learn bad habits very quickly, so it is very important for the teacher to cover this subject with care and watch and listen to the student.  With beginners, the idea is very simple: can you whistle by bringing in the corners of the mouth and forming a small aperture?  I have them do this many times explaining that we want the pink part of the lip (not the inside part) to meet the reed (that’s the band of muscle that will help control the reed), and not to bite the teeth into the lip.  Once the student has attained a very good looking embouchure “wheel,” I allow him to try this embouchure on his instrument.  I explain, repeatedly, that the top teeth must be weighted on the top of the mouthpiece.  The weight of the head, about 8 pounds average, is very important.   It allows freedom, relaxation, and agility for the jaw and bottom lip.  And, of course, the relaxed weight of the head on top of the mouthpiece enhances the tone. 

SOUND
At this point, we are ready to make the first sounds on the instrument.  First, I play a “B” as a long tone, hoping the student will hear a good sound and try to imitate me as well as possible.  It is not my intent for the student to sound like me, but for the student to hear a good sound and emulate it.  Remember, the student may have NEVER heard a saxophone sound.  If this is an aural art, let us begin it in an aural fashion.   After I play, I review breathing and embouchure, then we’re off!  Students do quite well at producing a good sound.  I constantly listen for too much or too little mouthpiece in the mouth.  If there is too much, the sound will be harsh, reedy and quacky; if it is too little, there may not be a sound at all.  This is why it is very important for the teacher to listen and play, giving the student good direction in the beginning.  Once we have established a good stable sound, we begin to add fingers, elongating the instrument, thus making the pitches lower.  I have them play to low “C” as soon as possible.   Then I teach them middle “C” and I ask them if this sounds familiar.  Most students will recognize the major scale, and remember it, and this is the beginning of magic.  Remember, everything they play, they have heard first from the teacher.  It is very important to begin and continue the aural art of music.  Next, I play just the descending major scale repeatedly, having the student join in on the scale.  Then I play the line in “Joy to the World” and I ask the student to play it back to me.  Actually, it is quite easy for students because it is the only thing they know!  This is the true beginning of listening and creating.  I ask the beginning student to practice this process for the week and remind him of the philosophy of noted teacher of flute, Trevor Wye: time, patience and intelligent work will improve your playing. 

As you can tell, I have omitted any reading of music.  It is my own philosophy that I want to engage the students’ ears from the very beginning.  I want to draw their ears to a good saxophone sound and the major scale.  I believe this will help bridge the gap between the “ear” player and the “reading” player.  I always try to focus on the aural art of music, listening, copying and creating pleasing sounds.   After one short year some students are asking me how to obtain a better sound or how to figure out a tune they have heard.  I believe that this is a great start for a musician. 

I would like to give you just a few more thoughts on the quick progression of my students.   Hopefully, the first week of practicing 10 to 20 minutes a day, every day, has gone quite well.   At the next lesson we will learn some more easy tunes like the alphabet song or other very simple and familiar tunes.  I then introduce them to reading music.  This is a slightly slow beginning process, but hopefully I have engaged their ears and their curiosity and they progress rather quickly.  I have tried many method books over the years, and I find that Arthur Hegvik’s Modern Course for the Saxophone is a wonderful series that allows my students to progress very quickly.  It also continues in the aural tradition by using well known tunes to help the younger students understand notation and engage their ears to play tunes that are familiar to them. Early in their young saxophone career, I introduce the metronome. I will not go into great detail here, but I must say that not only do I make them use it often, I also make them NOT use the metronome.  As some students progress, I find that certain rhythms can be a problem.  I used to write out tons of rhythms for students to work on certain rhythms, but then I found Ed Sueta’s Rhythm Vocabulary Charts, and they work great!!  Also, I use his counting method which, as you progress, turns into a human “trap set” kind of feel, and once the student progresses through these exercises he has great confidence in his time and rhythm.

IMPROVISATION
I encourage students to learn tunes and repeat what I play from day one.  I continue this practice for as long as they study with me. I begin with the “C” scale then I teach them every major scale within the first year by using the circle of fifths.  The circle of fifths is invaluable for the student’s entire playing career.  I use it first to help the student learn scales, attempting to learn each one by ear.  I use it later to help explain chord patterns in improvisation.

Generally, I will begin Arthur Hegvik’s book three in the series before jumping into this next method.  First, I like to start my students listening to, then emulating, the bossa tune “The Girl from Ipenema.”  I encourage all students to buy the Getz/Gilberto compact disc featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim, and I seldom let them play anything they have never heard before, in the hopes of continuing the tradition of music as an aural art.   I like to use this style because students can use the more familiar major scale to improvise and they do not have to learn a swing style along with many new ideas at once.  Essentially, they can focus on one thing at a time and still have fun.  Students seem to grasp the “feel” of the intricate rhythms rather easily. I then introduce them to a bass line, feeling the tonics of the chords by having them play a simple rhythm using the tonic, such as dotted quarter then eighth note, repeated in 4/4 time.

My intent is not to create great improvisers or great readers, I intend to teach students to teach themselves, then choose to play or not to play music.  I try not to discriminate between the many various styles of playing and I encourage students to play any music.  The methods I have outlined here have enabled my students to achieve great success in their musical endeavors.

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