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Contemporary Specialism – Saxophone
Expressive and Technical Resources of the Instrument
The saxophone is an extremely versatile instrument in that it has many characters and can be very expressive in different ways.
The saxophone was originally intended by its inventor to be used in marching bands as an instrument to link the brass and the woodwind. It was the perfect instrument for the job as it had the power of the brass and the flexibility of the woodwind. It therefore has a very strong marching band character and is used in many marching bands around the world.
The saxophone was very popular in the late 1800’s and early 1900s. It made its way into vaudeville. In this context it was used as a humorous or jokey character. One of the most famous saxophone groups of the time were the ‘Brown Brothers.’ They played circus type music, the sopranino player was a dwarf who blacked up and was the troublemaker. The saxophone took on a humorous nature in other contexts of music as a follow on from this. An example of this is the opening section of the Milhaud saxophone concerto.
Jazz has been a massive influence on the way that the saxophone is played as well as the writing for it even in a classical context. Composers such as Bernstein, Gershwin, and Stravinsky were all influenced by Jazz and at some point wrote for the instrument in a kind of crossover style. In this way Jazz is a big part of a saxophonists repertoire of styles and expression.
The saxophone is also used very effectively to express very sad or emotional music in a similar way to a string player. An example of this is the Muczynski alto saxophone sonata.
Another expressive quality of the saxophone is a very pure sound. This is drawn from early music. Especially the alto and soprano saxophones in a classical context can make a very pure clean sound, which lends itself very well to playing plainsong or early music. This has been explored by John Harle on the album ‘Saxophone Songbook.’
Standard saxophone technique and how that relates to character and expression
Sound is produced on the saxophone by blowing into a mouthpiece on the end of the instrument with a single reed attached to a facing on the underneath of the mouthpiece.
Articulation can be achieved in three different ways on the saxophone. The first and most common way is to touch the tip of your tongue on the end of the reed to stop it vibrating and release it again to restart the note. It is very important to keep the air flow going when the note is stopped as this allows continuity of the phrase and consistency of tone. A common mistake made by beginners is to close off the aperture of the mouthpiece when articulating a note and so building up pressure during the time when no note is sounding. When the tongue is released from the reed an explosion of sound happens and the tone is very inconsistent, usually undesirable for most music.
The second method of articulation is anchor tonguing. This is the same as standard tonguing except the tip of the tongue is ‘anchored’ underneath the front set of teeth and the middle section of the tongue is raised to touch the reed when the player needs to stop a note.
The third method of articulation mostly preferred by classical players is a breath start. This is where the note is started without any tongue at all. It is achieved by setting the embouchure and starting the air flow. Sometimes a player may ‘finger click’ the note to define the beginning of the note slightly. This is where a key near the top of the tube is left open and is then ‘clicked’ down at the same time as starting the breath and where the player wants the note to start.
Whether to use the tongue or note to articulate a note often differs vastly from one character or context to the next. A breath start is almost never used in an ensemble context as that context would require the listener to perceive notes or chords at exactly the same time. This can’t be achieved by a breath start as there isn’t necessarily a specific point where the note starts.
A breath start is often used in solo music as it has a very soft quality. It is particularly useful for quiet notes nearer the bottom of the saxophones range as it can appear as though the note starts from nowhere. This is used across a wide range of characters but one example may be a dreamy character or something quiet and expressive. Use of this articulation would vary largely from player to player but an example of when I would use this would be in the opening phrase of Debussy’s Syrinx.
Different strengths of articulation can be used. This is achieved by using more or less air pressure as you release your tongue from the reed. This technique doesn’t necessarily affect the overall volume of the rest of the note but does affect the volume and sound quality of the very beginning. A hard articulation is usually used to convey a more powerful or excited character whereas a softer articulation with less contrast from the beginning of the note to the rest of the note would be associated with more of a quieter or more flowing character.
Stopping the end of the note can either be achieved by stopping the air flow or by putting the tongue back on the reed. By putting the tongue on the reed, you get an extremely sudden end and the sound falls off immediately. If you stop the note by using less or no air flow the end of the note is less defined. The second method can also be used to graduate the end of the note, to get quieter till you are left with no sound.
Stopping the end of the note with the tongue is most often used by jazz, pop or funk players or in an ensemble as it allows the players to define a specific point in time where the note ends. This is desirable for ensemble playing. It is also used in classical saxophone music, and is mostly used when the player would want to convey an excited or strong character.
Stopping the note on the breath is a much softer sound and so is more often used to convey a quiet or expressive character. This technique can be used along with beginning the note on the breath to give a seamless phrase that appears and disappears to silence. An example of a piece that may use this technique is Debussy’s ‘Syrinx.’
Due to the way in which you produce a sound on the saxophone it is possible to control the volume of the note throughout its duration. This is particularly useful when you want to build or release tension over a long note. A crescendo throughout a note is usually used to build tension in a phrase and a diminuendo is used to release tension. These techniques aren’t character specific and are used over all genres of music that the saxophone is involved in.
Vibrato on the saxophone is achieved by moving the lower jaw up and down, effectively saying ‘aaahooohaaahooh.’ This creates a slight variation in tone and pitch. Vibrato on the saxophone can be fast, slow, wide, shallow and stress can be given to aah or ooh to give different effects.
Vibrato in classical music on the saxophone differs from the two different schools of playing. In the French and American school, a constant vibrato of semi-quavers at about 120 BPM is used as a standard of the sound of their saxophone playing. This is used across all characters and genres and is very distracting and inexpressive. The German and British schools of playing however, use vibrato as an expressive tool that changes for the different characters and genres. As a general rule a faster vibrato is used to evoke more passion or excitement and a slower vibrato is used in moments of rest in the music or for characters that are more tranquil. The vibrato can also be varied over the course of a note to change the character or feeling. In jazz music vibrato is usually only used in ballads, and when it is used it is usually very shallow.
Tone colour can vary massively on the saxophone. It can make countless sounds by varying six different aspects of playing; the embouchure pressure, the parts of the embouchure muscles employed, the amount of teeth and jaw pressure used, the position of the tongue, the position of the soft and hard palates, the opening in the throat and the amount of support or air pressure. The amount of different of tone colours on the saxophone are almost limitless, as are the ways in which they are employed. An example of the use of a tone colour is in ‘Railroad Song’ by Aaron Holloway-Nahum. The instruction is distant and hollow. This entirely changes from player to player but I achieved this tone colour by using little embouchure pressure from the muscles around the mouth and using more teeth and jaw pressure. I also squeezed the inside of my throat and put the back of my tongue high whilst keeping the front low to keep the note in tune. This produced a thin whispy tone, which is useful for the character required.
Extended technique on the saxophone
False Fingerings
False fingerings on the saxophone are achieved by playing pressing keys down which do not affect the pitch of the note. For example you can false finger the note ‘A’ by depressing fingers one, two and three of the right hand. False fingerings either muffle or project the tone of the note. A common effect of false fingerings is to depress and release them on a held note. This gives a kind of shimmering effect. A false fingering is notated by a ‘+’ or ‘o’ above a note. The ‘+’ tells you to add a false fingering and the ‘o’ tells you to release it.
Harmonics
Harmonics on the saxophone are achieved by either fingering a standard note or using a non-conventional fingering and raising the back of the tongue to effectively make the note split to the next note in the harmonic series. Certain harmonics are easier to sound than others. Harmonics on the saxophone are mostly associated with sounding the altissimo register, i.e. the register above the standard range of the instrument, but harmonics can be used to produce notes within the standard range of the saxophone as well. Harmonics often sound a lot more pure and more resonant than standard notes on the saxophone. There is no specific marking in music for the use of harmonics. It is entirely at the players discretion as to when they are employed. The altissimo register though, is only achievable through the use of harmonics.
The saxophone harmonics sound very different on the different saxophones. On the soprano saxophone they have a ping effect and are very bright sounding. On the alto and tenor saxophones they are extremely loud but retain a very deep rich sound. Harmonics on the baritone saxophone are very clean and pure, they almost sound like a French horn.
Characters that employ harmonics include powerful emotional music as they are loud and rich, soft emotional music also use them. They are rarely used as a ‘sweet’ sound.
Multiphonics
Multiphonics on the saxophone are achieved by doing two things at the same time. Firstly a false fingering is used where a standard note is fingered except one or more fingers down the length of tube are released. Secondly the height of the back of the tongue is raised to an exact level to angle the air exactly. This makes the saxophone vibrate at two or more pitches. The correct position for the back of the tongue can be achieved by saying ‘heee.’
The different saxophones can produce different multiphonics due to their differing size, shape and acoustic qualities. There is a very useful book written on multiphonics for the saxophone called ‘Saxophone multiphonics’ by Ken Dorn. In this book Ken outlines every known multiphonic on every saxophone and what different sets of notes each fingering will produce, including how sharp or flat they are.
Multiphonics have been used for a big variety of characters. They are most famously used in contemporary music to evoke strange characters, as they sound quite unsettling. Barry Cockroft also uses them in ‘KuKu’. The second section of the piece uses multiphonics as a rhythmic figure representing a funk band and a chicken, it is a very humorous use.
Multiphonics are notated in music by the pitches that the composer wants to sound with the false fingering written above.
Additionally, depending on the way in which you blow the multiphonic you can select different pitches and to a certain extent you can isolate the individual notes. This is done by adjusting the back of the tongue and air speed.
Extended articulation
The saxophone can be articulated in many unconventional ways. One such way is called ‘Slap tongue.’ This effect can be achieved in one of two ways. The first way, involves pressing your embouchure very hard onto the reed so that the reed is completely sealed against the mouthpiece. You then build up air pressure behind the mouthpiece and release your embouchure suddenly.
The second way that the effect can be achieved is to form a standard embouchure and press your tongue onto the reed so that there is an airtight seal on the reed and mouthpiece. You then suddenly release the tongue from the reed whilst maintaining the embouchure. This gives more pitch to the effect rather than just a percussive click.
Flutter tongue is sometimes required on the saxophone. This is achieved by blowing down the saxophone whilst ‘rolling an R.’ To make the tongue flutter or roll an R, you can begin by saying the French word souer slowly. It helps to move the front of the tongue higher and use a lot of air. The second way in which you can flutter on the saxophone is to flutter at the back of the mouth or the top of the throat. This can be achieved by slowly saying ‘argos.’ The advantage of this type of flutter is that you can still articulate the reed whilst fluttering.
