Blog Tour!

Today we head back to James Barrera's Blog (The Sound of Sax). James has posted a great find from YouTUBE. The clips are from a promotional ad featuring Sigurd Rascher.

You can join the tour by clicking here!

The video is of course old. But, there are some timeless topics presented throughout. One section I really liked comes in video 3. He discusses tongue placement for tonguing, and shows a pretty classy graphic (for the 1950's :-). And the other section I really liked is his discussion on practicing difficult passages. He demonstrates how to practice passages using different rhythms.

I could go on and on - he also demos practicing overtones. Check out his "sax without keys".

Vibrato Instructional Videos

As a followup to my post re: group Vibrato, I posted two videos from "YouTube University" on saxophone vibrato.

Video 1: Timothy McAllister



Video 2: Jerry Bergonzi



Vibrato instruction is pretty complex. If left to ourselves, we come up with tons of ways of producing a "vibrato-like" sound, many harmful over time. Also, saxophone converts, those of us who play(ed) other instruments and now play sax, naturally want to apply vibrato techniques from other instruments to the saxophone. The direct application of vibrato techniques from other instruments can also be more harmful than artful.

As an ex trumpet player, I was taught 3 ways to vibrato on the trumpet alone.

1. Diaphragm -- early cornet style vibrato often used diaphragmatic vibrato.
2. Lip -- Creates a heavier, jazz oriented vibrato
3. Hand -- a more controlled, less intrusive to the airstream vibrato approach

Applying any of those techniques to the saxophone would be pretty detrimental to, well, just about everything. Imagine using a hand vibrato on saxophone :-) The reasoning behind specific vibrato techniques however, can be similar. For instance the hand vibrato for the trumpet, the technique I ultimately found home in my tool box, is used so the air stream and embouchure details can remain consistent and unchanged. This allows for a good sound first with a vibrato added for warm and expression on top. That principle is the basis for the jaw vibrato on the sax. The jaw vibrato allows for a consistent airstream and embouchure. The end result is a good saxophone sound with vibrato added for flavor.

Enjoy!