“Nothing really fixed.” Are you saying that the shop said the horn is good or that they identified issues with the horn, but didn’t fix them?

What horn? The YBS-62 listed on your profile?

Mouthpiece? Syos Spark, on profile? What is the tip opening? If you’re a new baritone player and it’s a larger tip opening, that might not be doing you any favors.

What reed are you using?

The other obvious question is embouchure…are you taking in enough mouthpiece?

 

“Nothing really fixed.” Are you saying that the shop said the horn is good or that they identified issues with the horn, but didn’t fix them?

What horn? The YBS-62 listed on your profile?

Mouthpiece? Syos Spark, on profile? What is the tip opening? Ligature?

What Reed are you using?

yes i use a ybs62 and my mouthpieces tip opening is an 7. the shop it was sent to never gave a list but said they "fixed" problems. im assuming they just did key alignments that didnt really do anything.

 

Barisaclock,

Great suggestions offered already. You may want to have someone you know try playing your horn with their mouthpiece first. If the horn plays well ask them to try your horn with your mouthpiece. If it plays well could be the mouthpiece you are currently using may respond with a different reed or you may be better off with a different mouthpiece. Some one on one time with a good teacher can save you a lot of time and aggregation and make playing fun again.
Wishing You All The Best,
Ed

 

It would be foolish to give up without first consulting a competent saxophone instructor. No on here on the forum can guide you in a meaningful way without hearing / watching you play. You need a good in-person teacher.

 

On SYOS…note that the smallest tip opening that they offer for the Spark (5) is still larger than what they’d recommend for an equivalent vs. a generally accepted student mouthpiece.

By all means, go spend some time with an instructor, but I’d ditch that mouthpiece first so your first session isn’t money down the toilet (“you need a new mouthpiece”), rather than “let’s work on ‘X’ for our next session.”

 

Most techs I've met also play quite well. Next time you take it in ask them to demo it for you. Explain you are not questioning their work but there is something about the setup that is not working for you. You can even try playing it in front of them and have them take a look. They might be able to suggest something or an adjustment to the horn to help you grow.

 

I’d let people know where you are in the country and perhaps you’ll get a recommendation for a known good technician. Not all people who call themselves techs are competent! Aside from the mouthpiece not being a great choice, you may still have leaks in both horns. I’d seek recommendations for a good mpc, lig and reed strength recommendation. I seldom play bari of late but like my old brillhart bari piece with a V16 2.5 reed and metal ligature.

 

I would look into the regulation of the octave keys. YBS 62 has a somewhat finicky three vent octave mechanism.

 

is a high baffel mpc also. much easier to jump octave with this kind of mpc

 

There are 3 possible things going on here, and responses have aptly addressed the three. Either:

1) The shop the school uses didn't actually do an adequate repair job

or

2) The shop did do an adequate repair job - and you have problems with your fundamentals - so you need to take private lessons from a good sax teacher, and in this case I would not recommend via internet; I think in-person, one-to-one lessons.

or

3) The horn was fixed, your fundamentals are sound enough....but your mouthpiece/reed setup is wrong.

How to determine which of the three it is (or perhaps a combination of two ?) is pretty straightforward from here on....

 

Jaye's right and the only realistic way to figure out which of those three possibilities are causing your problems would be to get yourself and your gear in front of an instructor.

 

Are there any other baritone players in your area? Getting together does wonders for your playing, share experiences and tips could help.

 

For poops and giggles get a Yamaha 5C mouthpiece and RICO Orange box reeds in 2.5 and see if your issues still persist.
I'm thinking your SYOS is crap.

 

don’t give up!
All good advice so far, especially on getting a more modest starter mouthpiece and some lessons to get you sorted out.

You said you don’t know any pro sax players…Call the repair shop and ask if they give lessons. If not, ask them to connect you with some people who do. Also ask your music teacher/ director if they know any good players who give lessons. Good luck!

 

Tech at the repair shop may know some pro’s or private teachers in the area.

 

i think this is my last try for help cause my band director is a brass player so he wouldnt know what to do.

A late welcome to SOTW !
Ask your band director the question ! Just because they’re a brass player doesn’t mean she / he doesn’t understand woodwinds. If your director can’t answer the question. They (he, she) may know a person to go to. You’re just challenged at the moment, not defeated! There will always be tough times learning. Be kind to yourself. Hats off to you for asking the question here ! Once you achieve success please do post your findings. On another day a person in your situation could benefit from your information.

 

i always shoot up from a middle a to high a. or a low e to high e.

If I understand what you're saying here, that notes are jumping up an octave when you don't want them to, it sounds like your horn has one or more leaks. Which would cause plenty of problems. However, I agree with the posts above that your problems could result from any number of issues. Very difficult to diagnose here on the internet. For a start, find a good tech who can properly evaluate the playing condition of the horn. Also, you might consider getting a decent mpc. But until you figure out if the issue lies with the horn or not, whatever you do with reed, mpc, or embouchure, may or may not help.

 

@JL same thing happens on other horns, so most likely player caused. Easy for a teacher to fix in person, hard to fix over the internets, I agree.

 

Good point lydian. Somehow, I missed that it was an issue on more than one horn. I agree a teacher is called for.

 

A mouthpiece with a high baffle and a wide tip opening is not doing you any favors, especially considering the short time you've been playing.

I concur with the other suggestions to get a Yamaha 5C. It's the standard entry-level baritone mouthpiece for a reason and will be more suitable for the kind of playing you're probably doing. Prices range from $40-$50, which is a relative bargain for what you get.

 

I have an issue that sounds somewhat similar with two JodyJazz HR* mouthpieces that I bought used - but no issues with my other bari mouthpieces. It led me to have some leaks corrected and then found a different mouthpiece.

 

If I'm understanding, and your horn is in good repair, practice more. Play with octave key, your target note, get it in your ear, sing it and keep trying. If I switch mouthpieces, my overtones get all wonky until "I" make adjustments. Overtones can be really frustrating, but they're really helpful in weeding out player issues (biting, incorrect tongue placement, etc). I,portant is not trying to go to the next overtone until you have the lower ones mastered.

 

thanks to all of yall who helped. i found my biggest problem was actually reed size. i was playing on vandoren jazz reeds with a 2.5 size and once i tried new reeds, i figured i actually like bigger reed sizes. i tried a 3.5 boston sax shop reed and it gave me a more "big" , full sound, but now all i need to do is actually figure out what i wanna sound like. and ik most of yall have said get a yamaha 5c but i began on a similar begginer mpc, so im a lil past the point of basic fundamentals..and yes ik the syos is a bigger tip opening and im thinking of going to a 6 or 5* jody jazz mpc. but this was all awesome advice.