Archives for November 20, 2008

One of the things that sets apart a seasoned improviser from a novice is the treatment one gives to tones. Do you know the different tricks you can use to nuance a note or passage? Can you bend, gliss, growl, flutter-tongue, alternate-finger, ghost, pop, split, and so on, or is your tone monotonously straight and undifferentiated?\r\n\r\nHere”s a fun little exercise for sax players that can help you loosen up your sound on your horn. Pick a note in the upper mid-range–say, G above the staff. Now play a long tone, but instead of trying to make the note as even as possible, play around with it. Drop your jaw. Tighten your jaw. Touch your tongue to the side of the reed and see if you can partially dampen the tone without cutting it off. Hum while blowing the note to produce a growl. Get creative. Think of different ways you can color the note; think of the note as taffy that you can pull in a lot of different directions.\r\n\r\nThe point is to start creating a palette of personal expression. Listen to the great horn men with this in mind and you”ll quickly realize how much the use of nuance and inflection factors into each player”s trademark sound.