[bradshawm]

I am starting to put more focus on my soprano, have an Antigua 586BC and primarily use a Morgan vintage 5 mouthpiece with ZZ 2 1/2 reeds. I can play my high notes well but am really struggling with a shrill, almost piercing sound starting with C above the staff and higher on up. It hurts the ears and is not enjoyable to listen to. I have tried many different mouthpieces, and it seems that the ones that don't go shrill, pinch off or muffle the high notes to where they don't sound good either. I have started listening to some of the well known players and realized that most of them don't even play up there. This hasn't been much of a problem before because outside of practice I would just not play up there, but I recently acquired a christmas book for soprano that I like, but has a lot of notes in that range. The sax has such a limited range anyway compared to instruments like the clarinet, it seems a shame to not be able to use the full range of the soprano.

Is this normal for sopranos, or is there something in my technique I can do about this to mellow those notes out while still playing them strong and clear?

 

[Enviroguy]

Well of course, practice will cure 90% of just about all playing ills eventually.

But I had this same problem on my Antigua 590. And actually that same was true on my cheap soprano before that. What I found was that the mouthpiece does make a HUGE difference. The only pieces I've found that even responded well up into the palm keys were the Selmer SS and Link STM. But both of these left me with less than desirable and thin tone up that high. Currently, I'm working with a RIA metal #8 with a large 0.095 tip and Vandoren classic 2.5 reeds. It has cost me some of the good palm-key response that I got with the small-chambered SS and STM pieces. But the tone is wonderful, in tune, and rich. And with time and practice I am getting the palm-key response closer to where it needs to be.

The only thing is that it's hard to find a lig that fits the metal RIA. Currently I'm using a silver BK Jazz lig made for a tenor. It sorta' fits but probably binds more of the reed than is necessary. Once my Rover lig comes in that I order from Saide Music, I hope the better fit will improve high note response even more.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Brad: I've experienced some sops that speak well on the high notes and others that don't. I've concluded that it is either a horn-problem OR a set-up problem. Also, some mouthpieces don't give me good intonation up high while others do.

For instance, my two '28 Bueschers have the best high range I've ever experienced. All of my modern-designed sops (Antigua and three Yanagisawas) are not all that easy to play high. My STM Links are flat up there (which in turn makes it difficult to even attempt those notes) while my SS-J pieces are spot-on. My Morgan Vintages are weak for me up high.

I must agree though about the quality of soprano high notes. I've only heard a handful of sop players who could make those notes sing. The resr are just piercing - very unlpeasant. And, that is why many stay out of that area, including me.

I think some mouthpiece/reed experiments may solve the issue for you. DAVE

 

[betelsax]

I agree with Dave: if you go up there and you can't make those high notes sing, don't go up there. Practice will help and the right mouthpiece/reed for you, but there's no avoiding the obvious: you really have to work those embouchure muscles. A singing high note, hard as it is to sustain, should sound easy.

The Morgan should certainly do the trick as far as getting up there is concerned, but I, too, found the mouthpiece to be strident and shrill. An hr Link speaks much more naturally for me.

 

[CONN-hunter]

Lig for RIA

I have used my RIA tenor with a olegature vom RICO. this olegature can fit many different pieces

 

[DaveR]

This really is one area where a harder reed is enormously helpful (but not to the extent where it makes you bite). The top end of the sop is a major study in itself, the notes above top C# need to be pitched in the aural cavity and the embouchure must be strong. Most people play the sop too flat and end up way sharp in the palm keys. Months of long tones will get you there, it really requires dedication. A lot of fine players don't play the sop well in that range because they approach it from their experience on lower horns. Having said that, if you get your mouthpiece/reed combination right and the right amount of tension in your embouchure, you should be able to play any modern sop in tune without moving the embouchure, just by altering your throat cavity. The exercises that Phil Barone suggests here http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=53228 will work as well on the sop as on other horns and are really, really worthwhile.

FWIW I recommend a closed tip piece, Selmer C**, Vandoren S15 with #3, 3.5 or 4 Vandoren classical reeds. You may want to do some serious practice before moving up to 4s though. Yes, I know there are some great players who play really open pieces, but hey, give yourself a break and start on close tips or you will just bite into your lip.

 

[BeyondSax]

I am an amateur player and serious collector and have been playing soprano for about 2.5 years. I have tried at least 20 sop mouthpieces and I own well over a dozen different sops. I don't have any particular axe to grind.... I like to play horns that cooperate and like to sing.

First, my experience is that many sops simply do not speak the palm key notes easily. Next, most people seem to want to play the sop with a mouthpiece with a big tip gap. My own experience keeps bringing me back to four horns: Yani SC991, Yani S991, Buescher True Tone and occasionally my YSS-62 Yamaha. And, this will probably get me tarred and feathered, but another horn I own that plays all notes relatively in tune is a Jupiter JSS-847. It has amazing intonation and the palm key notes are just easy. All of the above seem to easily speak the highest notes, with D, D#, E, and F all very much in tune.

On the mouthpiece front, I find the Vandoren SL3s and SL4s very easy to play throughout the range, along with the Yani 5 and Selmer C*and D. Most of the others I have tried make my life more difficult. I have ordered some Morgan pieces to try and hopefully will be pleasantly surprised.

My tone depth and stability have improved greatly by using the Rascher book exercises (Top-tones for the Saxophone). When I get really discouraged, I just play tenor for a week!!!

Hope this is helpful.

 

[mountainman]

I am starting to put more focus on my soprano, have an Antigua 586BC and primarily use a Morgan vintage 5 mouthpiece with ZZ 2 1/2 reeds. I can play my high notes well but am really struggling with a shrill, almost piercing sound starting with C above the staff and higher on up. It hurts the ears and is not enjoyable to listen to. I have tried many different mouthpieces, and it seems that the ones that don't go shrill, pinch off or muffle the high notes to where they don't sound good either. I have started listening to some of the well known players and realized that most of them don't even play up there. This hasn't been much of a problem before because outside of practice I would just not play up there, but I recently acquired a christmas book for soprano that I like, but has a lot of notes in that range. The sax has such a limited range anyway compared to instruments like the clarinet, it seems a shame to not be able to use the full range of the soprano.

Is this normal for sopranos, or is there something in my technique I can do about this to mellow those notes out while still playing them strong and clear?

For years I never could stand the sound of a straight soprano, but when I finally started playing with the curved neck and a HR link it tames some of them. The darkest sound I have found comes from the Cannonball Raven Arc soprano, but the tone I like best comes from the Yani 992.

 

[Chalcedony]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

man, I struggle too, coz I play the clarinet, and I can play all sorts of 'harmonics' (pardon my lack of termonologies im self taught lol), which are higher than the 2 main registers, but I cant get one single harmonic on the sax (any note higher than the highest note on the high register with thumb key). even if i stick the whole thing in my mouth haha, i cant even make it squeak. bah. what is the technique? what is the fingering? Maybe its more different to clarinet than i thought, or maybe its coz im using a soft reed :S

 

[stu the sax player]

Same problem on my yamaha sop.

 

[wmclean]

For this reason I left the Antiqua sops behind and went in quest of the perfert SOP. For me, the deepest clear tone up high is my vintage straight Martin sop. The Buescher curvy is not so deep, but is clear and sweet. My limit on these are the palm keys

 

[hakukani]

I love playing soprano, and regularly practice up to altissimo A--C on a wacky day--but I hardly ever go above G at a gig. I think oboe playing in my younger days helped.

I feel that in playing above C on soprano you have to you a voicing that would be good for the lower altissimo on the larger horns.

(BTW, the only sop I've ever owned is a YSS-61)

 

[MM]

I hate to say it but the horn can be a factor. I'd always assumed the high notes on soprano are thin, until I tried a Yani S6 stencil. They are much fatter than on my YSS-62. The one Antigua I tried needed work so I can't compare that brand.

I greatly prefer the Yamaha's keywork, so I'm still using it for some gigs.

Definitely look into harder reeds first thing. I think a ZZ 2.5 is much too soft for your mouthpiece. I find if the reed is too soft I also have problems on the low end. Seems backwards but is true. Some people say nothing works like a Vandoren on soprano. Since you're used to ZZ try a Java, and try going up to 3.

For more mellow high notes (!), you could try a more legit mpc such as S80 D or Vandoren S15 with a harder reed such as Vandoren Blue 3. Don't go as close as a C*. Maybe a Super Session E as that is a close as they make.