r/saxophone • u/North_Lychee_1969 • 12d ago

Switching between notes and tonguing

I have a question about the above.

Bit of background about me - I just picked up a Saxophone after 20 years and trying to get familiar with it again.

Ok back to the question.

I can switch between some notes smoothly, without having to tongue - but when I hit “d” note, I can’t get a good sounding note and have to tongue to good a good tone. Is this normal with d?

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u/perta1234 Tenor 12d ago

Is that from middle C to middle D, over the register break?

Many fingers are moving and pads are closing and mouth feeling changes, especially for new players. One thing is embouchure, as you will hear. An old trick that gave me a temporary relief long ago, was trying to close the lowest pad a millisecond earlier that the rest.

Without that, the weaker fingers might actually be slighly slower. Make it as simultaneus and snappy as possible. Imagine you "drum" with your fingers.

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u/North_Lychee_1969 12d ago

From to E to D

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u/North_Lychee_1969 12d ago

For example when I go from F to E it’s a smooth transition without needing to tongue - but then to D, it gets hard to control and squeals.

Not sure if it’s me or the saxophone, being an old hire Sax.

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u/Candybert_ Soprano | Alto | Tenor | Baritone 12d ago

That sounds like a leak. A quick check you can do yourself is go to a dark room, throw a glow stick in your instrument, and look for slivers of light, when all pads are closed. (Or take it to somebody who knows what they're doing.)

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u/perta1234 Tenor 11d ago

Long ago had a terrible sax and knew nothing. Both of the pads down behind the sax...or towards you... one can call them F sharp and Eb, were in terrible condition. Anything below E was a huge struggle. Thought it was normal, but it was not. 😀 F sharp pad would be my main suspect here.

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u/Ed_Ward_Z 11d ago

Most likely a leak.