Practicing long tones is an excellent way to develop the embouchure muscles which are crucial for a beautiful sound. Below are some things that I consider when I practice long tones:
1) Unlike a piano, the pitch of a note you play is not fully determined by the fingering. Ideally, for each note, the pitch can be bent up or down by varying the embouchure pressure, about at least a semitone in each direction. The embouchure pressure that results in a pitch that is in tune with what your fingering intends should be near the middle of your bend limits, which I call the quiescent position. The upper limit, the quiescent position and the lower limit require different muscle strengths for the embouchure to remain airtight around the mouthpiece. Therefore, when I practice long tones, I practice for all three of those positions, as well as intermediate positions in between, with the aim of not only developing strength, but also flexibility of the embouchure in various positions. When practicing the quiescent position, one should also work with a tuner to develop an accurate quiescent pitch.
2) The loudness of a note you play on a saxophone is determined by how much air is being blown into the instrument,or more specifically, the speed of your airflow since the cross section of the airflow (mouthpiece chamber) is constant. At different levels of airflow speeds, the air pressure you create inside your mouth is different, and the embouchure strength required to maintain an airtight seal around the mouthpiece also changes. In general, the louder you play the more pressure around the mouthpiece is required by the embouchure. Therefore when practicing long tones, one needs to practice at different volumes, all the way up to the loudest you can play. Only if your embouchure can support your loudest playing at ease, can you be sure that it is strong enough for the lesser volumes. Practicing this at various pitch bend positions can help you identify where your embouchure is weak.
3) Although the embouchure pressure might vary for different notes and their various pitch bends and volumes, this variation is a very subtle adjustment and definitely does not involve drastic changes of embouchure form. However, to be able to make interval transitions smoothly does require the embouchure to be strong and flexible. The steady long tone exercise can prepare the student with the strength, but to achieve embouchure flexibility for transitions one should practice playing long intervals: instead holding one note for a long time, divide it into two notes so that half the time is spent on each note, and strive to make the transition as smooth as and as little embouchure movement as possible. Practice with a tuner and strive to play in tune even after an interval transition.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
