Lesson One: The Chin

The first thing that I have had to deal with in relearning the saxophone is sound. After playing only several times over the course of a year, my sound had deteriorated considerably. Air support and embouchure were both wanting.

Even before my hiatus from the instrument, I had some pronounced problems with sound. For one, my intonation, normally good, became a liability when I played faster music. Additionally, low notes were a problem. Playing a low Bb on straight on, with good attack and response, was a challenge I rarely met successfully. The response was slightly delayed, distorted.

Roughly one year before I stopped playing, I decided to employ the double-lip embouchure, effectively starting from scratch. While I have since realized that this embouchure is uncomfortable for my particular anatomy, its unforgiving nature had a therapeutic effect, forcing me to abandon bad habits that had accumulated over a decade.

The Problem

There is a sound that we generally associate with people first learning how to play the saxophone. The dimensionless, uncentered sound that flows from simply forcing air through the mouthpiece without much more consideration. Generally, as players develop, listening to masters with instantly recognizable sounds (Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Johnny Hodges, Joe Lovano come to mind), they try to shed the “high school” sound, altering their embouchures in ways that seem intuitive.

The foundational difference between a robust sound and the “high school” embouchure is the presence of a chamber for the air. Sound production requires the presence of a large pocket to contain and shape the air as it passes through the embouchure. Players seeking dimension in their sound have two choices:

• Create the chamber in the front of the mouth. This chamber is insufficient for most notes, requiring one to manipulate the jaw to adjust to different notes. (This is the incorrect approach)
• Create the chamber in the back of the throat. Keep the jaw exactly where it is, relaxed, and lower the tongue, thereby flattening the floor of the mouth, opening the entire throat as a chamber to shape the sound.

In the rush to have a less juvenile sound, many players, including myself, develop bad habits, forming the sound in the mouth and not the throat. This manipulation of the jaw to create the chamber presents several problems:

• The jaw can only move so fast. The faster the music, the more labored the adjustments to the jaw. This creates intonation and response problems that grow worst as the music grows faster
• Manipulation of the jaw leads one to drop the jaw on low notes and pinch on high notes. The result is low notes that lack response and high notes that sound choked.
• The embouchure is inherently unstable. The throat, while not used, is not sealed off from the mouth. Air leaks, and the embouchure degrades easily, resulting in inconsistent sound.

The alternative, fixing the jaw and dropping the tongue, while far less intuitive, suffers from none of these problems. I do not suggest that the jaw plays no role in the formation of sound on any level. For particular effects, sounds, inflections, manipulation of the jaw is still useful. Joe Lovano is one of many saxophonists who drops his jaw to produce a particular effect regularly, particularly when creating huge swells in the lower register. However, here I am addressing only fundamental technique. While a novelist might employ slang in dialog, that is an issue apart from his command of the English language. In the following section, I outline a strategy for mastering this embouchure.

The Test

Look in a mirror and pretend to have a tennis ball in your mouth. You might notice your chin wrinkling, appearing 'bunched up'. For some reason to be left to biomechanics, the attempt to create the chamber in the front of the mouth results in this very unattractive presentation of the chin.

Now, saxophone in hand, reproach the mirror. Careful not to pinch the read or drop the jaw, play a G with full air support and pay attention to the chin. Make absolutely sure that the chin doesn't contract in any way. If done properly, you should feel a huge pocket of air forcing its way into the back of your throat.

If this is nothing new, and your chin never moves, I have offered nothing of note and apologize. However, if like myself, you have been playing for years without employing the throat, this is the hard part.

The Solution

For a short time, to make the radical change in sound formation, you have to be ready to make peace with giving up all of your technique. Having never been used in this way, the throat is unprepared to accommodate virtuosity right away.

To begin, give up the entire range of the horn, starting only with G. Replace all exercises with long tones in the mirror. Focus on the jaw, the throat, and the sound. Pay attention that the sound is full, the attack strong, and that the chamber is in the throat. Continue to pay attention to the chin. If it bunches when you play or flinches when you attack, something is probably awry. It is ok if this feels uncomfortable at first. Slowly, as G begins to feel stable, add Ab. Alternate playing G, then Ab. Each note sustained for at least 10 seconds. Make sure that the interval being played is really a half step.

Slowly, expand the range both downwards and upwards. If unsure as to whether you are compromising form for range, cut back on range. Because you might not have used all the muscles in the embouchure this way, they might become fatigued easily. This is ok. Think of it as going to the gym. All the progress is made when your muscles are tired. Just be cautious not to ever compromise form. If you feel form deteriorating, just take a break and try again in half an hour.