This Fixes Saxophone Low Notes Forever

Are you tired of the low notes not coming out cleanly on your saxophone? Or only being able to honk them out like a fog horn?

Every saxophone player has struggled with this and believe it or not, the problem is not your embouchure.

So in this video, I’m going to show you the fix that gets low notes popping out easily every time even at low volume.

It’s All About the Air

It is only logical that the lowest notes on the saxophone require more air to be played. After all, the tube is at its longest when all those tone holes are covered by pads.

The problem is if we blow really hard, we can only honk those low notes out loudly and with a harsh sound. And even then, they will often come out sounding an octave higher or not at all.

Great low notes are all about how we use our air and not just an embouchure issue.

Yes, we need a lot of air, but the secret lies in how fast that air moves.

Flute players know this well. They don’t have an octave key so in order to play higher notes on the flute they have to speed up the air stream by making the opening in their embouchure slightly smaller. 

Think of your garden hose. If you make the opening smaller by covering the hole with your thumb, the same volume of water shoots out much faster.

Inside your saxophone mouthpiece there is a space called the chamber that does the same thing. A smaller chamber speeds up the air, a larger chamber slows it down.

But what’s the best way for us to speed up or slow down our air when playing the saxophone?

Fast and Cool vs Slow and Warm

The opening of your throat can have the same effect as the mouthpiece chamber.

Let me show you.

I want you to put your palm in front of your mouth and blow as if you were gently blowing out a candle.

This is fast, cool air and how we typically play most notes on the saxophone,

Now I want you to blow the same amount of air into your palm but this time as if you were fogging up a mirror.

This is slow, warm air and it’s how you’re going to get beautiful low notes on your saxophone.

Let’s Practice Low Notes

Now I want you to do the same thing with your air while playing..

Blow a note in the middle like G. First with the fast cool air.

Then with the slow, warm, mirror fogging air.

Notice how your throat opens up when you fog up a mirror. That is the key.

A nice open throat while blowing warm, slow air, is how you get low notes under control with a beautiful sound without being too loud.

Practice this mirror fogging air on all of your low notes by playing long tones.

Use an air attack, no tonguing.

Once you learn to slow down your air for the low notes, they should come out much more easily for you. This works on all types of saxophones, mouthpieces and reeds.

You will also have a better understanding as to why some mouthpieces make playing low notes easier or more challenging. The chamber size can have a big impact here.

There is one other thing that can really make low notes hard to get out though and has nothing to do with your air or your mouthpiece.

What if Your Sax is Leaking?

At the beginning of this video I mentioned that low notes on the saxophone need more air because the tube is longest with all those pads closed.

Well, the more pads we have closed, the more chance there is for those pads to be leaking.

Even the most perfectly setup saxophone will have micro pad leaks that will increase with time.

But you don’t need a perfectly leak free saxophone to play the low notes. 

When I was working as a saxophone technician in New York City, I remember having a great saxophonist come to the shop with his horn the day after I saw him playing a concert. On stage he seemingly had no difficulty playing beautiful subtone low notes on his horn, but when I checked it there were huge leaks all over the place.

I could barely get a sound out of the thing.

This is an extreme example, but the point is strong players will subconsciously make adjustments to overcome leaks on their saxophone.

So if you want your low notes to come out with ease, make sure you visit your repair technician once or twice a year for routine maintenance and check ups.

Reed Strength Matters

Apart from keeping your horn in good adjustment, there are 2 other gear factors that can make playing low notes much easier.

The first is choosing a softer reed. 

With reed strength there are always slight trade offs. Harder reeds can give you more control in the upper register but make the lower register more challenging.

If you struggle with the low notes, try a slightly softer reed along with the air trick I showed you and let me know how it goes.

Your mouthpiece also has an impact. Some mouthpieces allow the low notes to speak more easily than others. This has a lot to do with the interior dimensions like the chamber and baffle, but also the facing curve. 

If you are using slower, warm air, on a leak free saxophone with a softer reed and you still struggle with the low notes, maybe try a different mouthpiece to see if that solves the issue.

Now that you know everything about how to get your low notes out easily, you’re going to want to develop a beautiful tone across the full range and a strong embouchure so go watch this video next to learn how to do this in just 5 minutes per day.

And make sure you visit this link to claim your free trial of the BetterSax membership so you can start sounding great on the saxophone while making the process lots of fun.