I Asked School Band Directors How They Teach Saxophone

Recently, I asked band directors for their best tips when it comes to teaching the saxophone in the classroom, especially tips that might help other band directors whose primary instrument is not the saxophone. And we got a bunch of submissions, and I’m going to share with you my favorite ones.

Everybody who participated, thank you so much for sending me your videos. Thank you very much to everyone who participated! As a token of our thanks, we’re sending participants a BetterSax Classic mouthpiece and a box of BetterSax Jazz cut reeds.

Air Support and Embouchure Techniques

Our first band director to share some insight is Race Hogland. He emphasizes the importance of good air support and embouchure when teaching saxophone. While technique may come naturally for most students, achieving a quality sound can be challenging.

He advises focusing on breathing techniques, where a relaxed inhale leads to better breath control and capacity during exhalation. Race recommends voicing with an “ah” sound for lower notes and “ee” for higher ones, combined with firm embouchure corners to avoid biting down on the mouthpiece, which hinders the reed’s vibration.

He also suggests developing different setups for classical and jazz playing, and for jazz specifically, learning how to subtone on the low range of the horn for a lush warm sound.

Embouchure, Alignment and Adjustments

Next up is Carl Cox who explains the simplicity of embouchure alignment, particularly how the lips should naturally conform to the shape of the saxophone mouthpiece. He stresses that students often overthink embouchure adjustments when they should instead focus on matching the top lip’s curve with the mouthpiece while keeping the bottom lip flat, ensuring no air escapes from the sides.

Carl emphasizes experimenting with different embouchure techniques to find what works best for each player, rather than strictly following one method, allowing players to refine their sound based on personal comfort and results.

A.J. Nichol has some tips for students by demonstrating proper breathing techniques by belly breathing and an open throat to create good, warm air flow. He shows a way to “lip hug” for proper embouchure to ensure that the player isn’t biting, and has the corners of their lips pulled in with no open gaps for air to escape.

He gives a demonstration on the correct positioning of the saxophone neck to make sure that the player has their head up and that it doesn’t pinch off the sound when they play. The saxophone neck should be straight out rather than angled down or up. He also gives a great demonstration of what can happen when you play low notes if you’re not set properly, the notes will jump up an octave.

Practical Saxophone Setup Tips

Adrian Hernandez and his student Tory Burks provide practical insights on saxophone setup, such as adjusting the neck strap to meet the embouchure and ensuring ligatures are correctly positioned. Adrian also introduces a unique tip on how much mouthpiece to take in by using a piece of paper to mark the correct spot between the reed and mouthpiece.

Sam Fettig adds another practical tip about adjusting reed placement on the mouthpiece, which can make a reed feel softer or harder depending on its alignment with the mouthpiece tip. These setup tips are crucial for non-saxophonist band directors to ensure students are playing comfortably and efficiently.

Mouthpieces Designed with Band Directors and Students in Mind

So the idea behind designing the BetterSax Classic mouthpieces for alto and tenor was to give an affordable option. The alto price is $39.99 and the tenor is $49.99, so they’re super affordable, but the quality is amazing. These are hand finished, made in the USA.

That first mouthpiece for students whether those are beginners that are kids or adults, should be easy to play, easy to play in tune, be reed friendly and get you a nice beautiful sound from day one. And that’s what the BetterSax Classic mouthpieces are designed to do.

Fantastic tips from everybody. I hope you guys learned something. I certainly did. Thanks to everyone who sent in their submissions and feel free to share this video with any band directors you might know.