Saxophone Forum


by Sax253
(13 posts)
15 years ago

Tone Darkening

Hi I have been recently playing on a Jupiter alto sax, a selmer c* mouthpiece and a rovner dark ligature. I need help to get a warmer, dark tone which will hep me in my classical playing. Any equipment, techniques or advice would be helpful Thanks

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  1. by OANegrin
    (26 posts)

    15 years ago

    Re: Tone Darkening

    You need to work on the exercises found in Donald Sinta's book "Voicing". Sinta is the professor of saxophone at University of Michigan.

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    1. by cuber
      (653 posts)

      15 years ago

      Re: Tone Darkening

      what reeds are you using? dump the rovner... they dont hold the reed onto the mouthpeice. try a BG.

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      1. by Sax253
        (13 posts)

        15 years ago

        Re: Tone Darkening

        Sorry for not mentioning, I am currently using vandoren blue box 3 reeds although i have found many of the reeds to not have as much resistance as i'd had (mabe time to move up a half strength?). I now use a selmer super action series 1 aswell.

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        1. by cuber
          (653 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: Tone Darkening

          thats pretty much the "classical" setup, if you still want a darker sound play longtones and develop depth to your sound

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        2. by chalazon
          (547 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: Tone Darkening

          mouthpiece and reeds have a marked effect on tone color, of course. The Selmer would not be my first choice. Morgan made a fine legit piece..they are still available. The Selmer soloist pieces are very fine, although hard to find..the Selmer Super Session pieces are worth looking into. I'm not familiar with the Van Doren pieces, buth I hear good things about them. Rosseau pieces have a good reutation. Rover ligitures leave me cold. Placement of the lower lip on the piece is critical..also placement of the mouthpiece in the mouth..also manipulation of the throat cavity and use of the mairstream. A QUALIFIED teacher is a great boon..Dave Liebman's book "Developing a Personel Saxophone Sound" is a great resource..good luck in your art.

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      2. by Jason McFeaters
        (4 posts)

        15 years ago

        Re: Tone Darkening

        Depending on your age, "voicing" may be too difficult a concept to grasp. Your setup sounds fine. I'm not a big fan of Jupiter saxes, but you can definitely get a decent tone on your current reed/mouthpiece combo. I'd recommend you work on breathing. Read some books/websites on proper breathing (I like the stuff out there for singers). Take a full relaxed breath, keep your throat open, corners (embouchure) in, and don't pinch the reed. But without doubt, breathing is the secret to a good tone.

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        1. by Sax253
          (13 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: Tone Darkening

          Thanks a lot, but did you see that i'am now using a selmer super action series 1 instead of the jupiter??

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          1. by Jason McFeaters
            (4 posts)

            15 years ago

            Re: Tone Darkening

            Whoops... Then you're totally set. Congrats on the new horn.

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