Taming and Tuning Your Saxophone Section

JUSTIN PIERCE
SELMER PARIS ARTIST
Taming and Tuning Your Saxophone Section

Justin Pierce, M.M.
Assistant Professor of Music, Oklahoma Baptist University
1
The
Saxophone
2
The Saxophone
Adolphe Sax developed the modern bass

clarinet
Invented the saxophone to bolster the bass

register of French military bands in the 1840s
Combines qualities of woodwind and brass

instruments
3
Common Problems
Poor intonation
Unable to blend
Wildly varied tones

throughout the
section
4
Problems in Context
Marching Band
Concert Band
Jazz Band
All-State/All-Region Auditions
5
Solutions
or at least some help…
6
Tone
7
8
The Classical Embouchure
Support and Stability
9
The Classical Embouchure
Applications: concert band, most marching

band
Jaw does not visibly change through registers
Bottom lip rolled-in; top teeth on mouthpiece;

flat chin
Sounds warm and homogeneous
10
The Jazz Embouchure
Freedom and Flexibility
11
The Jazz Embouchure
Applications: sometimes marching band, jazz

and commercial music
Jaw may visibly move through registers
Bottom lip rolled out (varies); top teeth on

mouthpiece; chin sometimes bunched
Sounds brighter and heterogeneous
12
Voicing
13
Donald Sinta on Voicing
“Voicing refers to an awareness and control

of the muscles of and soft flexible tissue in
the oral cavity and vocal tract.”
“…Our personalized timbres are greatly

influenced by how we manipulate this tract
to resonate each note.”
14
Mouthpiece Pitches (concert)
from
Eugene Rousseau’s
Saxophone High Tones
15
Voicing, cont.
Connecting music-making to language

simplifies this process
To raise the pitch, use a brighter syllable “ee”,

“eh”, or “ih”
To lower the pitch, use a darker syllable, such

as “oh”, “ah”, or “uh”
16
cont. from
Eugene Rousseau’s
Saxophone High Tones
17
Overtone Exercise from
Saxophone Fundamentals, Tone and Technique
Dr. Eric Nestler
18
Intonation
19
“The player should first seek the
“center” of each tone the instrument
is able to produce. The “center” of
the tone refers to the frequency at
which the greatest resonance is
produced on a given note.
Instruments vary greatly in the
amount that notes may be raised or
lowered on a given fingering…”
20
“…Adjacent notes often respond in
quite dissimilar ways, and
frequently it may be found that the
spacing between the centers of
notes is unequal. It is of the greatest
importance that the player learn the
relative positions of every note on
the instrument being played.”
Christopher Leuba
A Study of Musical Intonation, 1962
21
Tuning Notes
By what standard?
22
Tuning Notes
Option 1 : Concert F (great for brass players,

sharp note for saxophone/clarinet)
Option 2 : Concert Bb (better than concert F,

but a bit sharp on tenor/flat on alto)
Option 3 : Concert A (flat on tenor, sharp in

the upper register on alto)
23
Tuning Notes, cont.
Compromise 1: Concert F, G, A, Bb (includes

sharp and flat tones)
Compromise 2: Written middle F#, low F#, B

(compares octaves and includes a flat tone)
24
Tuning Tendencies
25
Tuning by Range
10.00
7.50
5.00
2.50
0.00
-2.50
-5.00
Bb0 B C C# D D# E F F# G Ab A Bb1 B C C#
Low Register at mezzo forte (Fundamental)
26
Tuning by Range, cont.
16.00
12.00
8.00
4.00
D D# E F F# G Ab A Bb2 B C C#
Middle Register at mezzo forte (1st overtone)
27
Tuning by Range, cont.
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
D D# E F F#
Palm keys at mezzo forte (1st overtone)
28
Tuning by Dynamic Level
20
15
10
-5
pp p mp mf f ff
29
Tuning by Temperature
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
Cold Room Temp Hot
30
Tuning by Reed Strength
16
12
8
4
0
-4
-8
-12
-16
Soft Ideal Hard
31
Problematic Notes
And how to fix them!
32
Middle C#
Typically flat and “dead”
33
High C#
Typically much sharper than the
surrounding notes
34
Middle D
Typically sharp and stuﬀy
(pp or p only)
35
In The
Classroom
What can I do to make my
saxophonists play with a better tone
and more in-tune?
36
From Irish Tune from County Derry, by Percy Grainger
37
In The Classroom
Develop awareness of voicing in beginner class
with the mouthpiece (learn simple songs and
sirens)
When asking saxophonists to adjust pitch,

suggest a syllable, such as “oh” (flatten) or
“ee” (sharpen)
Become familiar with common compensating

fingerings on the saxophone
38
In The Classroom, cont.
Encourage chamber music (saxophone trios,

quartets, choirs)
Encourage tuning with drones
Adopt tuning practices with the tendencies of

the saxophone in mind
Have students listen to great saxophonists
39
Let’s connect!
40
JUSTIN PIERCE
SELMER PARIS ARTIST
Taming and Tuning Your Saxophone Section

Justin Pierce, M.M.
Assistant Professor of Music, Oklahoma Baptist University
41

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JUSTIN PIERCE

SELMER PARIS ARTIST

Adolphe Sax developed the modern bass

Invented the saxophone to bolster the bass

Combines qualities of woodwind and brass

Wildly varied tones

Applications: concert band, most marching

Jaw does not visibly change through registers

Bottom lip rolled-in; top teeth on mouthpiece;

Sounds warm and homogeneous

Applications: sometimes marching band, jazz

Jaw may visibly move through registers

Bottom lip rolled out (varies); top teeth on

Sounds brighter and heterogeneous

“Voicing refers to an awareness and control

“…Our personalized timbres are greatly

Connecting music-making to language

To raise the pitch, use a brighter syllable “ee”,

To lower the pitch, use a darker syllable, such

Option 1 : Concert F (great for brass players,

Option 2 : Concert Bb (better than concert F,

Option 3 : Concert A (flat on tenor, sharp in

Compromise 1: Concert F, G, A, Bb (includes

Compromise 2: Written middle F#, low F#, B

Low Register at mezzo forte (Fundamental)

Middle Register at mezzo forte (1st overtone)

Palm keys at mezzo forte (1st overtone)

When asking saxophonists to adjust pitch,

Become familiar with common compensating

Encourage chamber music (saxophone trios,

Encourage tuning with drones

Adopt tuning practices with the tendencies of

Have students listen to great saxophonists

Taming and Tuning Your Saxophone Section

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