growling tips?

[wayne wojnarowski]

Patrick thanks for the reply so very , interesting i like to play different brands as well and have found out kind of the same . V 16’s 3seem for me to be easier to play than a Java Red same strength , I guess I’m from the school of thought like yours, keep going up in strength as a body builder in terms of reed strength . Whats the difference between a great tone on a strength 3 reed or strength 4 reed???

[Patrick Reolon]

As far as I know, concerning the sound, the reed strength should really make no difference (I am summing up my physics knowledge, and the sound is in fact more in the reed cut/form than its strength).
The Reed strength is just a compensation for the human organism (diafragma strength, lung volume, lip strength and gut).
So there is no need train for higher reed stregths, in fact I believe everybody is different and for some people a lower number may be the natural limit, but this should in no way affect the sound produced…

[Anonymous]

Growling is basically humming a sound while you blow the sax – which everyone knows, a form of multitasking.

An interesting point i came across, apparantly if you hum the 3rd or the 5th or an octave higher of the note you are currently playing,
you get the most effective growl.

[Mark Kiziuk]

Hey everyone! I have some advice on growling. I’ve only had a saxophone for I think 3 weeks and I am able to growl! I will tell you how I do it. I make a gargling sound into my mouthpiece! I gargle without mouthwash of course, but I just gargle, kind of like purring like a cat. It works for me, and I hope this helps others.
Mark

[Stanislas Gaillard]

Hi everyone,

I’ve encountered similar difficulties as Patrick and his phrase “as soon as I put the mouthpiece into my mouth my throat is not able to roar…” sounds very familiar to me.

After repeated research online, I found out that two main techniques are often suggested.

I’ve started trying the first one : just roar into the sax. But I could’nt stop coughing… No doubt : I was pretty bad in lion

After being discouraged for a while I have recently moved on to the next : just sing (hum) a note but not the same as you are playing. And this time… It works !

But only for the first note played, because I can’t hold one after another for the moment, but it’s just a start and with time, training and persévérance…

I hope this may help.

[john]

right Stan, it’s certainly not a roar, just a humming sound. I play different levels or variations of it; sometimes it barely sounds like a growl and then other times it can be amplified to sound like a huge growl.
sounds like you got it, just practice different levels of it. It may make it easier if you do it lightly first.

[brother cavefish]

just clearing your throat is growling, clear as you play, yea and i guess roaring is the same

[RockinRobin]

Yesterday I was doing some growling while playing “The Wanderer”; so today I’ll do some more growls and I used the one note method for the solo and then 2 notes. I usually loose my place in the song while soloing; just wandering around

[Stanislas Gaillard]

Thanks to all of you for your tips and comments.

Brother Cavefish, I apreciate your helping hand but I am afraid that my throat is a little bit sensitive to play long high notes for solos. Especially in front of ten thousand fans ! ;D

Johnny, it’s exactly what I love with learning music and particularly this beautiful and surprising instrument : test many different things thanks to people who have experience with and/or knowledge about it and discover new things along the way.

My one regret is not having discovered the saxophone earlier.

[Author]

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