Bari Sax 101

[Billastrilla]

I have been playing in the band since 5th grade and through the years i have changed instruments. After the first year of being a clarinet i picked up the alto sax and played that up until my 2nd year of high school. Now for the up coming year i am rented a bari sax for the summer and i have decided to play it next year in a school concert band while still playing the alto for marching. I just have a couple of questions over the switch from alto to bari. I need to know if you guys could give me some good links to sheet music on the internet that i could use to practice on. Also i would like to know if the fingerings are basicly the same on alto and bari. I have played the bari a couple of times so far because i just got it yesturday and i have noticed a big change, it might just be my brand new reed that i havent broken is, but i have noticed that you have to blow a different style. Could any experienced bari players tell me a good way to get a low bari sound when i play? I am looking forward to be playing the bari next year so i really need to get some advice. thanks

[Helen]

Well I'll answer a few of your questions. I'm sure other bari players will chime in here as well.

The fingerings for the alto and bari are exactly the same. They are also the same for soprano, tenor, bass, etc. All basic fingerings (not altissimo, because this various a lot) from low Bb to high F are the same across all members of the sax family. Does the horn you rented have a low A? If so, to play low A you will need to finger a low Bb and add the low A key which is located below your left thumb rest. It too is operated by your left thumb.

As far as what to practice goes, you can use any saxophone sheet music for bari. Get a good sax method book, and if you like to play along with music while you practice, a couple of play along books with a CD for alto sax or Eb saxes.

In order to start getting a better sound on bari, you do have to approach the horn differently than you do an alto. The embouchure is more relaxed, but the corners of your mouth still need to be pulled in, in an "O" fashion. One of the biggest things in getting a good sound on bari is to make sure your breathing is supported. If you don't breath with your diaphragm, you will be cracking notes like crazy. Most likely when you go "over the break" from notes needing no octave key to d2 where you apply the octave key. Many bari players just starting out start to "lip up" to the note and change their embouchure, in order not to crack the note, but that isn't the answer. The answer is to do some breathing exercises, and develop you diaphragm breathing if you're not good at it.

Maybe this will help get you started. If there's something that I've written that doesn't make sense to you, ask, and I'll clarify...Or someone else will I'm sure....

Enjoy your bari playing experience....It's a great horn that too often times is underappreciated!

[Billastrilla]

I find myself blowing a high note when really want the same note an octive lower. I have noticed my friend who has played a bari for a year puff her cheeks out to get the lower notes. I have also used this method which is forbidden in the alto world. Is it ok if i do this kind of thing to get the lower notes?

[DanY]

Yes it's OK, as long as your diaphragm is supporting the air. I find myself doing the same thing on tenor to even out notes and get them to speak how I want.
IMO on baritone the low notes are achieved by a combination of throat, diaphragm, lips and tongue 'resonating' in unison. Think 'loose' but with solid air support from your gut.

[Kareeser]

I have also used this method which is forbidden in the alto world.

Erg.. don't say that here.. they go crazy.

[Paul Coats]

DON'T puff your cheeks. If you are having difficulty with the low register, especially since you usually play alto, perhaps your embouchure is too tight, or you may have small leaks. Have the store that rented the instrument to you check for leaks. They should do this for free.

But also read and digest this article. NOTE, the mouthpiece pitch for bari sax is a concert Eb, not concert A as for alto.


http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/tone_production.html

[Martin Williams]

I had the same problem when I first played the bari; just RELAX the embrochure, its a whole heck of a lot looser than it is when you play alto. Also, make sure that you SUPPORT the air with your diaphram, and really fill the horn up with air, that should help you get a nice sound.

Martin

[SaxPlayer1004]

concur with all the guys and girls up there that got here before me. if you have wrist trouble follow golf instruction 101
take a 6 foot or full size wooden broom handle.
drill two holes on either end equidistand from the ends, big enought to thread string through, about 1/8 inch
hold your arms out parallel and take enough string (about 4.5 to 5 feet) to tie it through the drilled holes and get down to the floor with about 6 inches left. take an empty soup can and drill the same size holes on opposite ends of the top of the can about half inch down (cambles chucky soup cans work pretty good) fill them about half way up with sand or rocks or something, but make sure they are about the same weight. and roll the string up on the post with ur arms out in front of you and then slowly roll it back down, this will help keep your right wrist from gettin strained under the significant weight difference of the alto to bari. just incase

[barimachine]

:D mmm bari thread
well to start you off tenor players have a great embochure advantage over alto players to play bari but its Eb so that is good too...

anywho to finger low A you DO NOT need to finger down low Bb DO NOT! :D

when striving for those low notes drop your jaw but pinch in tight after taking in more mouthpiece and open your throught more...it sounds odd pinching for a low not and that not the best word but usually people make the mistake of assuming just to completly drop theyre jaw puff there cheeks and blow, no bring it in smaller in front opdn in the back, also check your horn for leaks, its important.

a bari sound is thick and you should work on breathing and long tones, i sit there with my bari on my stomach while watching TV or sumthing and just mindlessly breath and hold the horn up with my stomach and then slowly breath out, do it consistantly enough and in a short time youll feel a HUGE difference

o well have fun and as for what to play you were an alto player right??? do you have an omnibook or something jazz,because I know everyone thinks bari is just whole notes low but alot , or all of the time youll find yourself playing a lead alto part so we truely are the whipping boys and your breathing will be important then

[SaxPlayer1004]

some horns require you hold low Bb for the low a. my conn that was about 20 years old or so didnt have a front f, or the funky thing that when u hit any table key G# will go up and if you hit low b or low Bb the C# key will automatically go down (i.e. if you hold down both the C# and Bb the C# would open instead of staying closed. completely independent)

[barimachine]

i know (some of us do, but shhhh the less confusing the better) but im saying i dont know many places that rent horns like that to the public so just keepin it simple

[Gargoyle]

Typically, I think you only need to hold down the "C" key and hitting the low A will close the appropriate pads.

I had a tendancy to keep a really tight embechure when switching from alto to bari; just loosen everything and give it support.

Practice breathing exercises and long tones; you will need to build lung capacity (especially because you have a lot of low, long tones in your music as background).

Listen to a recording of a pro bari player and try to imitate the sound.

[SaxPlayer1004]

you are correct on the low a observation. it works the same as the left paddle (low Bb will close the C# G# B and Bb pads and so on and so forth. sometimes if the seals arent correct you will have to push on the paddles a little to seal it but that just means u needa get the horn looked at.

[BariSaxy]

the low A really depends on the bari your using. every selmer and yahama ive used doesn't require you to use the b flat key. but on my White Hall, it makes the low A more in tune, probably because of small air leaks

[chrematisai]

I'm going to concur with everything that has already been said. I'm not terribly experienced on the bari, either - I played it in my last year of highschool (ending this past June) and I had switched from alto, too. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of breathing - it takes alot of air to fill up a horn that big. And the way I think of the embrochure is "yawning with your mouth closed," particularly for the lower notes. Takes some serious getting used to, that's for sure!

~Jenny

[jmathesonjr]

I also think part of your problem is mental. You are thinking you want to play a certain note, you finger that note, you then hear that nore in your mind's ear, and play the note. However, your mind has not made the octave shift. I get into trouble switching to Alto because, for example, when I play a top space G, I hear and sometimes produce the lower G. I think you are hearing an octave higher.

I concur with everything Helen said. As far as fingering a Low Bb to get a Low A, it is not always necessary to depending on the horn, however it can not really hurt your finger coordination.

Bari technic is pretty much the same as Alto technic. Any generic saxophone method book will work on Bari. In some instances, I prefer the Alto Method over the Bari depending on how ineffectual and easy the Bari method is.

Lastly, llllooonnnggg tones never hurt any wind player's intonation or sound. If you want a better sound on any wind instrument, play it and play it correctly and well. Regardless of your level, you can get an idea of what that means and emulate it. If you work at that, you will get there. There are not magic or simple fixes, just good old fashion practice and hard work.

Have fun and work and you will get better.