A Brief Discussion on "Breath" in Saxophone Playing: The Application of Breath Control in Saxophone Performance

Everyone knows that playing the saxophone is inseparable from breath. The control of breath, to a certain extent, directly determines the level of your saxophone playing, which is often referred to as "tone quality." Below, we will discuss this topic from several aspects:

1. Breath Control in Low and High Register

Many beginners, even those who have been practicing for some time, often encounter the problem of difficulty in playing the low register, while the high register tends to sound thin and lacks fullness (sometimes even resembling a "screaming" sound). This is a typical issue with breath control.

In the beginning, many players do not have a teacher's guidance and rely on their own intuition. As a result, when playing the high or low registers, they often use a "whistle-like" embouchure, where the mouth is tighter and the breath is more forced for higher notes. In reality, the pitch of the saxophone is determined by the keys, and what we need to do is supply air to make the reed vibrate and produce sound. The more air you blow, the more the reed vibrates, and the fuller the tone becomes.

To achieve this, when playing high notes, you must relax the embouchure around the mouthpiece and open your throat to let the air rise as much as possible. When playing low notes, the same principle applies—relax your embouchure and open your throat to let the air flow smoothly and sufficiently to the saxophone, causing the reed to vibrate in the lower frequencies. If your mouth is too tight, or if your breath is too forced or rushed, it will interfere with the reed’s vibration in the lower register, making it harder to produce a clear low note.

• "Forced breath" refers to fast airspeed.
• "Slow breath" refers to a slow airflow.

Whether fast or slow, it's important to ensure that there is enough air. When playing high notes, the air should be "fast and full," while for low notes, it should be "slow and full." If beginners do not control these two aspects of embouchure and breath properly, they may find it difficult to produce high notes or their high notes may sound "dry or thin," while low notes may easily break.

2. Breath Stability

Breath stability training is an extremely important aspect of saxophone playing. It determines whether you can rely on your embouchure and breath control to produce a stable saxophone tone. This training is an essential process in learning the saxophone. Only through a large amount of practice can you develop breath stability; otherwise, the sound will become "wandering and unstable."

Breath stability depends on several key factors:

• a) Even breath (constant breath strength)
• b) Fixed embouchure
• c) Sensitive hearing

All three factors are crucial. Especially the role of hearing: the pitch we play depends entirely on our ears, which guide our brain to make micro-adjustments to breath control. This exercise can be achieved by playing long tones or any exercise pieces. With time and experience, you will improve this control as your playing time increases.

3. Breath Strength Control

The strength of the breath directly affects the volume of the sound produced by the saxophone. The ability to control changes in breath strength is key to producing a good saxophone tone.

Many saxophone players, even those who play through a piece smoothly, often leave the impression that the performance is "too flat," lacking character or emotional expression. This can be categorized under the concept of simply "playing the notes."

So, how can you improve your expression? It is recommended to first practice the following basic tone: Perhaps some may ask, "Why is there no mention of 'strong start and strong end'?" The "strong start and strong end" tone is mostly used in military or march music, and is relatively simple, so it won’t be elaborated here.

The three basic tone (including their combinations) can be applied to a single note, a measure, or a musical phrase, so the duration (including the distribution of dynamics within the beat) can be flexibly adjusted according to the situation.

Of course, regardless of how the dynamics change, the only requirement is that the intonation must remain consistent.

4. Full Breath Leads to a Good Tone Quality

We have discussed breath stability and dynamic control, and this dynamic control refers not simply to whether you are applying force, but to the "fast" or "slow" nature of the breath. In any case, the more air you deliver to the saxophone in a given time, the more fully the saxophone will vibrate, allowing the saxophone to produce its characteristic magnetic, metallic tone. You may have noticed that slightly "larger" players tend to produce a fuller saxophone sound, while those who are "smaller" or "weaker" may produce a thinner sound. This is because the "larger" players have more "power" and are willing to blow with more force, while "smaller" players may not have as much breath support. However, after long periods of practice, lung capacity (including cardiovascular function) will increase, and once certain techniques are mastered, this issue will be resolved.

Teachers often emphasize relaxing the lips, and this serves two purposes: first, to ensure the reed vibrates fully, and second, to ensure that as much air as possible enters the saxophone. If you hear a saxophone sound that is muffled (whether in the high or low register), it indicates that the player either has not relaxed enough, or their embouchure is too tight, or their breath support is insufficient.

5. Correct Breathing Technique

To supply enough air to the saxophone in a given time, whether for the "fast" air required in the high register or the "slow" air needed for the low register, you need to relax your lips, open your throat, and expand your mouth as much as possible. After taking a deep breath, use your diaphragm and abdominal muscles to help control the even output of breath (commonly referred to as abdominal breathing). This technique will allow you to produce the desired metallic sound on the saxophone, a sound that is not significantly dependent on the type of mouthpiece. Therefore, many beginners mistakenly believe that the key to achieving the saxophone's metallic tone lies in searching for various mouthpieces. In fact, if you practice the basic techniques well, you can achieve the saxophone's natural metallic tone with the standard factory "hard rubber" mouthpiece.