The Saxophone Plateau - Franklin Academy Bandfaband.weebly.com/.../the_saxophone_plateau.pdf · THE...
Transcript of The Saxophone Plateau - Franklin Academy Bandfaband.weebly.com/.../the_saxophone_plateau.pdf · THE...
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