[Johnvw]

Hi to All,
Questions For a cheap Mammon Soprano sax

1) Before playing I blow air through the horn a couple of times, I read this somewhere, is there any benefit with this.
2) I spent a long time shaving the cork to fit the mouthpiece ( Yamaha C4? ) and tune the Sop to G4, the beginner book said this.
The low register ( partial scales ) were within 5 to 10 cents from D4 to B4 and improved.
The next day all the notes were low about 30-40 cents but improved as my practice continued. I did not change the mouthpiece position.
Any reason why the tune changed, I assume it was me although I tried to concentrate on my mouth/ throat position.
3) Is the out of tune a function of the cheap Sax or is retuning required each time the sax is used ( weather ? ).
4)I found playing D4 to C4 was not a problem but would constantly slip into D5 without the octave key when starting the scales again.
5) Play backwards and forwards from the X4’s to the X 5’s was difficult especially with D4 I assume this comes with practice.
6) My mouthpiece slips onto the neck which is then pushed and clamped to the sax body. If retuning is required, rather than move the mouthpiece can I just move the neck ( would be a lot easier ).
7) Is it recommended to rinse the whole sax, minus mouthpiece, in warm water to remove the internal residue.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Jazz House]

1) Before playing I blow air through the horn a couple of times, I read this somewhere, is there any benefit with this.

It can't hurt, but as long as the horn isn't freezing cold, it probably won't make much of a difference. If my horn is super cold, I'll often do this or just play some long notes to warm it up. Cold saxes play super flat.

2) I spent a long time shaving the cork to fit the mouthpiece ( Yamaha C4? ) and tune the Sop to G4, the beginner book said this.
The low register ( partial scales ) were within 5 to 10 cents from D4 to B4 and improved.
The next day all the notes were low about 30-40 cents but improved as my practice continued. I did not change the mouthpiece position.
Any reason why the tune changed, I assume it was me although I tried to concentrate on my mouth/ throat position.

Can I ask which book you're using? I don't really know why the cork should require extensive shaving. The reason the pitch changed as you played was likely your embouchure warming up and the temperature of the horn increasing as you played.

3) Is the out of tune a function of the cheap Sax or is retuning required each time the sax is used ( weather ? ).

There is no such thing as an in-tune sax, really. Some horns get pretty close (especially modern Japanese ones!), but they're not pianos (also out of tune!). It takes years of practice and a decent teacher to really properly play in tune. This is exceptionally difficult for most on soprano because of the small margins.

4)I found playing D4 to C4 was not a problem but would constantly slip into D5 without the octave key when starting the scales again.

It takes practise to learn to play in the different registers. Get used to how each register feels against the lip and be aware of your lip position when you are happiest with your sound. This will help guide you.

5) Play backwards and forwards from the X4’s to the X 5’s was difficult especially with D4 I assume this comes with practice.

Yes, you're right.

6) My mouthpiece slips onto the neck which is then pushed and clamped to the sax body. If retuning is required, rather than move the mouthpiece can I just move the neck ( would be a lot easier ).

That is not recommended as it would create a tenon gap (think of the gap when you move the barrel on a clarinet). It's much better to move the mouthpiece. Get some cork grease. It'll make moving the mouthpiece easier.

7) Is it recommended to rinse the whole sax, minus mouthpiece, in warm water to remove the internal residue.

No, it isn't. Wetting the sax beyond the usual condensation while playing will ruin it. The leather pads and cork contact materials aren't designed to be rinsed. You can rinse the mouthpiece in water and use a cloth swab to clean the inside of the sax.

 

[Jazzmandk]

Get a padsaver. Are you using a chromatic tune?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[turf3]

Your embouchure isn't near stable enough to be staring at a tuner for every note. Put the MP about 2/3 of the way on and practice. Try to get a middle note (I like 1st octave G) in tune, then turn off the tuner. You need to develop the muscles enough to have both strength for endurance and fine control. Soprano is more difficult because even slight adjustments have big results.

 

[AddictedToSax]

7) Is it recommended to rinse the whole sax, minus mouthpiece, in warm water to remove the internal residue.



Never ever do this. The hinges rods and pivots will rust and freeze up. As mentioned above, swab your mouthpiece and horn when finished playing. Run your mouthpiece under water and dry it occasionally to keep the crud from building up. Swab the body tube with a pad saver when finished but don't leave it inside despite what you may have heard elsewhere. Bacteria and fungi love warm dark places. Leaving a warm damp padsaver inside your horn is inviting trouble. Leave your horn out on the stand after playing or leave it in the case with the lid of the case open for a few hours to let it dry. If you like you can get key leaves to prop open the keys that are normally closed, to prevent them from sticking.

Blowing warm air through the horn is done to warm it up. A cold horn will blow flat. As mentioned above, tune your horn when you start a practice session then learn to hear if you are sharp or flat by listening to yourself. Put the tuner away.

 

[Reet McVouty]

John, Is this your first attempt a playing the saxophone? I ask only because the soprano sax is not a real good starting point. Even the best sopranos are not easy to play in tune and in fact no saxophone of any pitch plays perfectly in tune throughout the range of the horn. That's why we all practice a lot taking care to develop a correct embouchure and play a lot of long tones and later on overtones. I would suggest you by an alto sax to start on. You should be able to find a reasonably good used alto for around $400. I would also suggest getting a qualified saxophone teacher to start you off on the right track. Good luck!

 

[Johnvw]

H to All,
Many thanks to all the great answers.
I am an 70 y.o. bugger, knew that the Soprano sax would be difficult but prefer the sound, Jazz is not my thing more light classical.

turf3
After warm up I tune/adjust to G4. I use a TE tuner on my iPad ( appears very accurate ). I cannot understand why I would put this away as I feel this would give me an accurate guide as to developing correct me embrochure.

Many thanks again for the detailed answers
Regards
John ( Australia, Sydney )

 

[turf3]

H to All,
Many thanks to all the great answers.
I am an 70 y.o. bugger, knew that the Soprano sax would be difficult but prefer the sound, Jazz is not my thing more light classical.

turf3
After warm up I tune/adjust to G4. I use a TE tuner on my iPad ( appears very accurate ). I cannot understand why I would put this away as I feel this would give me an accurate guide as to developing correct me embrochure.

Many thanks again for the detailed answers
Regards
John ( Australia, Sydney )

Because you'll be listening with your eyes not your ears. At this point you have to be training your embouchure to interact with your ears to provide what is needed. Focus, focus, focus!

 

[lostcircuits]

After warm up I tune/adjust to G4. I use a TE tuner on my iPad ( appears very accurate ). I cannot understand why I would put this away as I feel this would give me an accurate guide as to developing correct me embrochure.

Many thanks again for the detailed answers
Regards
John ( Australia, Sydney )

John, first of all, it is never too late to have a happy childhood! Congrats on picking up something you enjoy. Most of the other questions were answered already but just a bit more info on the tuner. Don't get too hung up on a visual feedback, try to use it initially or for some practice when you are not sure whether you are flat or sharp but then turn it off and practice your ear. You can always turn it back on but rather use some backing tracks for some simple starter songs and try to hit the true notes. You'll figure out pretty fast when you are off, else, let your wife/children/grandchildren tell you (if you dare).

The point is that if you rely on a tuner too much, you will stop using your ears and that's the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Best of luck and joy and happiness with your sop!

 

[saxoclese]

Two things that can effect the consistency of playing the same pitch each time are the amount of mouthpiece in the mouth and the angle of the mouthpiece. A way to find a good starting location for the top teeth on the mouthpiece is to insert and index card between the reed and mouthpiece till it stops. Then take a pencil and draw a line on the sides of the mouthpiece that align with the edges of the card. If you were to draw a line across the top of the mouthpiece connecting these lines it indicates a good starting location for the top teeth. * A good practice is to use a thick mouthpiece patch on top of the mouthpiece and make a groove in it with your thumbnail at that location. This makes it easy to find that spot with the top teeth every time you play. Start with the mouthpiece going straight into the mouth and then tilt it down slightly. Straight sopranos with a curved neck make this easier to do and hold the instrument at a comfortable angle.

* This may be different for players with a pronounced "overbite" or "underbite". The principle is to place the top teeth directly above where the lower lip contacts the reed.

 

[rzzzzz]

Soprano is such a cruel mistress. picking a good beginners mouthpiece was an excellent choice. i'd match it up with a comfortable reed. i like Legere Signature 2s, cause they seem like the easiest to blow. but you should check out a number of reeds. take the time to put them on right perfectly. soprano is all about a good set up and proper embouchure. maybe get a lesson in right away to get that right. fer shur i'd start out focusing on getting a confident sound out of the sucker before getting too hung up on the low end tuning. (which you'll have to get to at some point, just not right away.)

 

[Hassles]

I'll chime in here. It has often been said that to get the best out of a Vintage saxophone you need a large chambered mouthpiece. Does this thinking also apply to vintage soprano saxes?

 

[rzzzzz]

I'll chime in here. It has often been said that to get the best out of a Vintage saxophone you need a large chambered mouthpiece. Does this thinking also apply to vintage soprano saxes?

i can't find the Theo Wayne article on large chamber vintage soprano pieces. (taken down after the Gaia?) but that was what got me to hunt down an old Buescher mpc, which Joe opened up. (i think that sometime back when Joe had a number of Buescher blanks that he finished and sold as a special run.) anyway, if you consider a Selmer VI as vintage (and Matt Stohrer noted there was not all that much difference between a Vi and a 1930 soprano he worked on.) than i certainly like the combination.