Tripling???

[TruMusique]

When I first started doubling on alto and soprano (alto player for 7 years), I had problems of going back and forth between the horns.

Sometimes I would have intonation issues or even a change in tone.

Now the extreme stuff doesn't happen anymore but minor things.

Like when I play alto then play sop, it's harder to get palm key and up from soprano (this might be the issue of my throat control). Also, when I go on tenor, I tend to be sharp so I have to pull out the mouthpiece very far out that it's dangling on the cork.

I'm thinking that my throat may not be relaxed enough but I wanted to see if anyone has any different idea.

[Keiranto]

while i dont have this exact problem, being a player who has to switch between baritone, clarinet and soprano in certain big band tunes (im the only player in the band who can play either) as well as playing tenor in other bands, I can see where you're coming from. It is probably to do with you having a tighter enboucher when playing sop, so you will automatically try to apply that to your alto/tenor when playing that and vice versa

[martysax]

I think you would need to find mouthpiece/reed set-ups that are compatible with a more consistent embouchure for your primary voice.

I've been playing the alto for ~32 years, so I guess I'm primarily an alto player although I do most damage with my tenor.

I like a free-blowing set-up. No resistance! What works for me is Sop: Link STM 8*/ Rico soft filed; Alto: Runyon 9/Lavoz med; Tenor: Dukoff SPC 8/Vandoren V16 #3.

[Mal 2]

I use hard rubber mouthpieces on alto, and now on soprano (which I haven't had very long), and metal Links on tenor and bari. This keeps the diameters in a range that is easier to adjust to. I could probably play a metal alto mouthpiece or a hard rubber tenor mouthpiece and still be comfortable, but this is just what I ended up with. The important point is that I use fat mouthpieces on small horns and narrow mouthpieces on big horns.

I guess my coping mechanism for switching horns is to make them all feel as similar as I can. This goes beyond just the mouthpiece to things like spring tension and the height of the palm keys and side keys. It would be nice if they could all be Mark VIs (heck it would be nice if even one of them could be) but that's not going to happen in this lifetime unless I win the World Series of Poker or something.

[Multi Reed]

I am wondering whether you are pinching the reed as you go up - this could explain the #ness. It might also explain the notes not speaking on sop. Try playing just the soprano mouthpiece. Make some good strong notes just on that and get used to the feel. Once you have that - put horn together and play some long palm keys. Try and keep the same feel that you had when you were using just the mouthpiece.

Make sure that as you go up the horn that you are not tensing up (ie raising shoulders etc). i try to open my throat more when playing top tones to add more of the colour to my sound.

Some overall harmonics practise is also good (eg - finger low Bb and get octave, +5th, 2nd octave, +3rd, +5th) Try to sing the pitch you are after as well - then play it.

[Waterland]

I learned sax on alto and then switched to tenor my second year of high school. I found that tenor was easier for me to play and I got really good on it. I never owned my own tenor (I played the school's tenor in band) but I still have my alto that I started on. I haven't played in about 4 years and now that I'm trying to pick up sax again with just the alto, I'm finding it difficult to produce a good sound from it. I think I'm too used to the loose embouchure of the tenor and having not played alto for so long I can't get my embouchure right. So, as others have already stated, it's most likely you're not used to the different embouchures and are trying to go tighter on the tenor since you're used to the tightness of the alto and soprano.

[DomPy]

I had a small problem switching between tenor and soprano (couldn't get the palm notes with much clarity on sop). However, it was a case of just widening my throat (and my new mouthpiece does wonders :))

[muckwee]

There's been some really good points about having setups that are similar on all horns. I'm a classical player and play sop/alto/ten/bari. All my mouthpieces are Selmer's and all my reeds are Vandoren standards. So the response is similar on all horns. Plus my horns are all the same too.

On soprano - if you have too harder reed then you will find palm key notes difficult to pitch and they will be very sharp. I've found that if you dedicate enough solid practice to each horn, and then have some days when you practice swapping, the more you play will be more comfortbale and a quicker transition. Try practicing the same studies on all your horns and you will see where each horn sits soon enough!