To Bite or Not To Bite?

[RRBirdman]

So you player who have had lessons have you been told to always have your teeth on the MP? I have read of people biting so hard they bite through the patches etc. I don’t hardly ever even put my teeth on the patch let alone bite. Is this technique right or wrong? I have always tried to use lip strength more. When I do have my teeth on the MP the vibrations sort of bother me or it changes the way I hear the tone etc… What is best?
Thanks

[Anonymous]

Hi RRBirdman,
I started playing Alto 5yrs ago, and had lessons from day one.
i started out with a yamaha 4c mouthpiece, and it was so slippery, i
had to put a patch on the mouthpiece to stop the mouthpiece moving
while playing, So to start out, i had to bite down to keep the
mouthpiece fixed in place while playing.

five years down the line, i can play with the top teeth off the
mouthpiece or on it. But i do know someone who has bitten through
their mouthpiece. lol

You can also play the sax with both the top teeth off the mouthpiece and
the top lip off the mouthpiece, to do that, you lift the sax body up
with both hands upward and this forces the reed onto your bottom
lips. So this gives you an idea that waving the sax up and down while playing can also alter the tuning of the pitch slightly – make sure your head moves with the sax movements.

[RRBirdman]

Thank you for the reply
I can play both ways but I tend to play with my teeth off and have trying to force myself to play with them on more as I seem to have read that it is the “proper” way to do it. If it doesn’t matter I will just continue to play teeth off unless there is an advantage to teeth on.

[Pete]

RR
Your top teeth are used as an ANCHOR” on the mouth piece, keep your bottom teeth away from the reed just you bottom lip
touching the reed ( like a cushion).

[john]

if you are playing with your top teeth off the mp then it’s totally wrong. I’ve talked to several people who do that. they never had a lesson with a real teacher….if they had that;’s the first thing the teacher would have said to them. you must have your top teeth firmy on the top ot the mp. it’s impossible to develop any kid of sound that way… change up right away!

[Anonymous]

I agree with that, the only time i would take the top teeth off the mouthpiece while playing, is to change the tonal pitch of a key.
Just another trick to add to playing the sax, like scoops, growling etc..

But being able to play without the top teeth off the mouthpiece, is a good indicator that you can use your diaphragm properly to play any key.

[Pete]

Agree with Johnny, top teeth firmly on the mouthpiece (anchored to it) that is why it is called a bite plate.

[brother cavefish]

well personally i dont place my teeth on the MP, and it works for me , i am not bitting my upper lip either, just relaxed mouth placement

[Michael Bishop]

I’ve never heard any pro sax player say it’s okay to take the top teeth off the MP–that’s just insane. That’s one of the most basic, fundamental things in all of Sax playing and it should be something we do automatically. In Saxophone playing, taking the teeth off of the top of the MP is something we simply DON’T do. My local Sax instructor has always taught all of us here that we keep the teeth on top of the MP and provide a cushion for the reed with our lower lip (we don’t fold the lip over the teeth) and then create a seal with the corner of the lips. He’s worked with a lot of high school students who were taught in their band class to fold the bottom lip over the teeth. As soon as they stop that and use the lower lip as a cushion for the reed, you can hear a bigger sound coming out of the Sax.

To get the best sound we can, the Oral Cavity should remain open and relaxed. A constricted Oral Cavity will result in a sound that’s very nasal sounding. He’s also told us we shouldn’t be ‘fighting’ the MP when we’re playing. Our embouchure shouldn’t be tense or anything like that. A nice, relaxed embouchure, with an open Oral Cavity, will help us to get a big sound. It takes some time to train our embouchure muscles to be relaxed.

Scoops, bends, etc are achieved by lowering the jaw and providing adequate air support from our diagraphms. We don’t do those things by removing the teeth of the top of the MP.

[Pete]

Spot on Michael, its a no brainer i cant believe anybody would think you should leave your top teeth off the mouthpiece.
basic rule!

[Author]

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