Can't get a stable embouchure

[William Baldwin]

I find that my lower lip naturally tends to go too far back over my teeth, and this chokes off the sound. When I’m thinking about my embouchure, I can counteract this and drop my lip, but when I’m concentrating on the notes, it reverts to what you might call the ‘clarinet embouchure’. I’ve never been interested in playing the clarinet, but I tried it once, and I found it much easier to get a good sound than I do on sax. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

[brother cavefish]

it could be the MP, or the reeds,, i find through trying many MPs, that some just work and some just dont, i dont even use a normal embouchure my teeth hardly if ever touch the bite pad– i ended up with a refaced Otto link (d addario select jazz unfiled), Johannes Gerber ( Java green) and woodstone (V16,s) ,-typically , for me anyway , choking occurs with reeds too thin (weak) for the MP opening, try a thicker reed , alas the reed experimentation is afoot, LOL

[William Baldwin]

Thanks for replying. I tried a thicker reed, it does help in a way, but it’s hard to blow and I don’t have much control over the tone.

[john]

certain models and styles of mp’s do differ in the feel but you have got to establish a proper embouchure regardless…
if you are getting close when focusing that is a good sign. work from there. Try breaking up your playing intensionally to “fix” the problem at hand.
There are other things like this such as collecting too much spit. only when we deliberately concentrate on fixing these things is how they eventually get better

[William Baldwin]

Is my problem a bit unusual, because I’ve never seen it discussed anywhere? I know that some sax players are told by their teachers to put their bottom lip right over their teeth, which causes this problem. But that’s not the case with me, my lip just goes there by itself.

[brother cavefish]

try a bigger opening mouthpiece, i use .98 to 1.10 and i use 2 strength reeds, i can flex/bend my sound and it does not get choked, if i used a stronger reed i would go to my .75 yamaha custom mouthpiece, but its not alot of bending but the opening is big enough to not get choked——— now i play soft and bluesy, i dont need alot of volume , hence softer reeds—–all this in mind, like Johnny said, try to mess around with different mouth positions ..
whether my embouchure is correct or not my problem was solved by a heck of alot of mouthpieces and reeds

[john]

yes the bottom lip must act as a cushion for your bottom teeth…there is a perfect spot and I demonstrate it up close in one of my beginner lesson videos, you should have a look and see if it’s the same position you’re taking. this seems like such a small thing but it can easily prevent you from having a proper embouchure which of course will be difficult to progress at all.

[William Baldwin]

Thanks for your help, Johnny. I took another look at the video you mentioned, and I am using that position for the bottom lip when I’m concentrating on that aspect of my playing. The problem is that when I’m thinking about the notes, fingering etc, my lip position changes and I suddenly realise that I’m not making a good sound. Then I realise that my little bit of beard is actually in contact with the reed. So I do a reset, and now I’m making a better sound again.

[William Baldwin]

This is actually the second time I’ve tried to master the sax. The first time, I tried many mouthpieces and reeds, but none of them gave consistent results. This time, I decided to start with a beginners mouthpiece that has a reputation for being easy to play, the Yamaha 4C. I also bought the 5C and the 6C. The 6C has the widest tip opening, but seems to be the worst in terms of the bottom lip problem I’m having.

[brother cavefish]

, the yamaha series standard are crap—-Yamaha YAC TS5CM Custom Series Mouthpiece for Tenor Saxophone, is a good start, i have a 7, it is a great MP, for starters ,, if your willing to spend some money, Johannes Gerber is as perfect as one can get, ,,, but you also have to choose the sound your looking for,, i have alot of advice on MPs, because i went nuts on them, but you really need to find out what you want out of the MP, dark,med ,light sound, sonority , stuffy, clear , bright, ———you really need to know what you LIKE, not what you will sound like, you can not sound like anyone, you will be an individual ,, a mouthpiece does not make you like someone else, -first step find out what kind of music you like———-

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