Tonguing Low Note Squawk

[john]

Yes, it’s a very common problem. Reed and mouthpiece are important. It’s a combination of that and the way you blow the air and the releasing of the note with the tongue. Have a nice big supply of air from your diaphragm and just as you blow it, release the tip of your tongue from the reed.

Think of your air supply as a big gushing giesier of water and the tongue works to open and close this water supply. If your sax gets enough air it will play these notes for you. Doing this technique may sound loud and ugly at first but keep at it and hopefully you will gain more of this required control.
Hope that makes sense and helps!\\Johnny

[Nick]

Yes, I can picture this. This is very helpful. I will begin work on this tomorrow. Thanks very much!

[Nick]

Finally!!! Yes. It worked surprisingly faster than I had anticipated. I worked on it this morning, and my success rate immediately jumped to a nearly perfect hit rate within just the first hour of dedicated practice. Thanks again Johnny!

[john]

That’s good. I still struggle with it myself because of the mouthpiece use. I know I could do a better job on the low notes with a different one but then I would lose out on what I get on the high notes and all-round tone, so I compromise on those low notes…that;’s why I usually gliss down towards them!

Glad to hear it’s working better for you.

Johnny

[Author]

Posts