what to pull on when tuning a sax
Today I want to go over how to melody a saxophone.
Tuning is something all saxophonists should know how to practise because you need to tune your saxophonist the first time you assemble it, every time reassemble information technology, and even unmarried fourth dimension y'all move the mouthpiece over the cork.
To tune your saxophone you need either a chromatic tuner or a piano. In a nutshell, tuning with a chromatic tuner is much more authentic than tuning by ear using a pianoforte.
And there are many complimentary online chromatic tuners, and even free tuner apps.
To tune a saxophone, you demand to arrange pitch by moving the mouthpiece in or out over the cork. Play Concert A while checking if you are in tune using a chromatic tuner or Concert A on piano and F-sharp on saxophone. If your note is flat, your mouthpiece is out too far on your cork, and if your note is sharp, your mouthpiece is in also far. Accommodate accordingly.
That's a pretty concise overview of how to tune a saxophone. Let's unload that in the rest of this article.
Tuning is a fairly simple concept to empathize. If I'm playing an A and you're playing an A, they should both sound the same. That is what is referred to every bit existence in tune. If they don't sound the same, then one of usa is out of tune.
There is actually only ane spot on the saxophone that y'all're going to make adjustments in order to melody the instrument—and that'south how far you lot put your mouthpiece is on the cork.
The position of the mouthpiece on the cork is the key gene that determines your saxophone pitch. Others are your embouchure, temperature, reed strength and so on and then forth.
What Annotation Do You Tune the Saxophone To?
Concert A on a piano is the best note to use to tune a saxophone. This is also the note you practice your embouchure in with your mouthpiece only.
Concert pitch is typically at 440 Hz., and internationally, since about the 1950'south, the world has settled on 440 Hz. as being what is chosen Concert A. That is the note that the orchestras tune to, and what is commonly seen at present equally standard tuning.
How to Melody a Saxophone Using a Chromatic Tuner
If you are one of my regular readers, you know I'k non a big believer in buying loads of fancy saxophone equipment or spending more than money than yous absolutely must on gear.
I think y'all should spend coin on lessons if you must spend money on annihilation. And even that is an iffy proposition because why not just learn the saxophone by yourself.
But one piece of kit, as well a metronome, that is absolutely disquisitional, and that I think you should absolutely buy is a chromatic tuner.
Yous Need a Chromatic Tuner for This
If yous are non familiar with what a tuner is, all it does is it reads the note that y'all are playing and indicates that with an arrow over a display—something that will say whether your note was lower than the pitch, or higher.
Don't worry, I'm not virtually to plug a product on you. There are loads and loads of different brands, merely do your own research and pick ane.
A chromatic tuner is how yous know if yous are playing in tune or not. That's equally accurate every bit it gets, literally.
A chromatic tuner will tell whether you are bang on, or whether you are a little fleck abrupt or flat.
If you are lower than the pitch, that'south flat and you need to bring information technology up, and if you are college than the pitch, that'southward sharp and y'all need to bring information technology down.
In our case, if the tuner volition read A-flat or A-precipitous, y'all to make appropriate adjustments on your mouthpiece to bring that to Concert A.
If your mouthpiece is out too far on the cork, y'all will get an A-flat. The distance between A and A-flat on your tuner is a full notation, so if your needle or pointer about the halfway mark, you are half a notation flat and then on.
What you lot would have to do in this case is merely push in your mouthpiece slowly until you lot get to the right pitch on your tuner.
If you push your mouthpiece in too far, yous will get dorsum an A-abrupt. The same logic applies hither. You pitch volition be voicing somewhere between Concert A and Concert B-flat.
As you lot get used to, and more familiar with, getting yourself in tune, you'll larn how much to push button in and how much to pull out so you don't spend too much time tuning, so you can be able to tune just based off of how flat or how sharp y'all are.
The next matter you lot demand to do is to melody the residuum of the notes. I say tuning here just what I really mean is adjusting your embouchure to the residuum of the next.
A good place to start this is with the entire chromatic scale.
Like everything with the saxophone, this takes practice to go better at.
How to Tune a Saxophone Without a Tuner (Using a Piano)
If you've done mouthpiece exercises to improve your embouchure, you know that the pitch nosotros are ever aiming for on the mouthpiece alone is Concert A on the piano.
This is one of the start lessons you when you lot commencement out the saxophone considering everything else you acquire on saxophone builds on proper embouchure.
If y'all take access to a piano, which you should if y'all've jumped to this section, Concert A volition be your reference pitch for tuning your saxophone.
If you have relaxed your embouchure plenty, the perfect mouthpiece only pitch is that A correct there. So an A on the pianoforte is the pitch you should be aiming for.
The concept here is pretty much the same with a chromatic tuner except you are doing this on a piano and you are going to rely more than on ear training to estimate pitch.
You listen on the play Concert A on piano, listen and keep that in your caput, and match that on your saxophone to tune it.
The thing virtually using the mouthpiece alone is that it's very easy to influence the pitch. If y'all clasp information technology slightly harder or loosen up a flake, that pitch changes.
You have to get those notes sounding the same. If you loosen upward your embouchure pitch drops and if yous tighten your embouchure pitch rises.
So it is really easy to mess around with pitch using your embouchure.
If you lot get Concert A on the mouthpiece alone, you tin can pretty much guarantee that you've got the right saxophone embouchure to start with while going to melody your saxophone.
Simple enough?
I suggest that you get-go get the A out with your mouthpiece but so that you can be sure your embouchure is perfect and then try the same with your horn.
It makes information technology easier to single out a problem with your embouchure and work on it before proceeding if there is whatsoever. Which I call up is a actually good idea.
Once y'all become to tune your saxophone, yous play a Concert A on piano and match that to an F-sharp without the octave key on saxophone.
Here is the fingering nautical chart for F-sharp for your convenience:
And here is the alternate fingering nautical chart for F-sharp:
Showtime with an A on piano, mind to that, so move to replicate the sound with an F-sharp on saxophone. The best way to influence the tuning is by listening carefully.
Take equally long every bit you need, moving back and forth, to make sure the sound is exactly the same.
The matter to keep in mind during tuning is that your embouchure should remain the same---aforementioned as when you expert before getting A out of the mouthpiece simply.
Is it the same?
Try pulling your mouthpiece to lengthen the horn and see if that makes a difference.
The longer the horn, the flatter the pitch.
If y'all attempt this with your mouthpiece all the mode out--sitting just at the stop of the cork, you should be able to hear a much flatter annotation than what you are getting on pianoforte. Y'all should hear that your F-sharp is a lot lower.
Bringing it back in ever and so slightly is how you are going to tune your saxophone.
You should hear the saxophone getting closer and closer until the two notes sound similar in pitch.
If you are likewise high on saxophone, then you need to pull your mouthpiece out slightly and if you are too low and so yous need to button your mouthpiece in slightly until the 2 are completely in tune.
If your saxophone is pretty out of tune, certain notes, peculiarly notes with the octave central, are mostly a niggling bit likewise sharp. If you end upwardly tuning that F-sharp like nosotros just did there, what nosotros end up doing is tuning 1 note on the saxophone.
The trouble is, if yous cease up tuning simply one notation, the other notes aren't necessarily all going to be in melody.
This means that we at present have to "adjust" to that. To do this, simply walk over a few notes, exercise an F-sharp then a M, A, B and and then on and so along.
This is where the chromatic tuner helps, simply to spring back, to know that the note you are playing is in melody. Then take a become at that, if you've got one.
Top 4 Essential Saxophone Tuning Tips
Tip #one — Your Embouchure Affects Your Pitch
Your pitch might change just because your embouchure changes, even when you are in tune. This is particularly the example when y'all are trying something new, or if you are only getting started with the saxophone.
Ever recollect that if y'all are relaxed enough, and your embouchure is excellent, you should get an A out of your mouthpiece solitary.
I take a pretty thorough guide on saxophone embouchure. You should have a look at it if you haven't to go a proper embouchure going, or fifty-fifty to improve on what you already accept.
Tip #2 — The Most Accurate (and Easiest) Method of Tuning a Saxophone is With a Chromatic Tuner
All things considered, most accurate method of tuning a saxophone (and the easiest) is with a chromatic tuner.
There are two reasons for this:
Beginning, pitch 1 area where unlike people are differently gifted. That's why in that location'south ear grooming in the first place. You practise need to be able to properly tell autonomously pitch to tune a saxophone with a pianoforte, specially when getting started. No 2 ways well-nigh it.
You lot do need to tell autonomously pitch to play saxophone to some degree, only for tuning with saxophone, the keyword is properly.
Second, chromatic tuners are inexpensive, handy, lilliputian, easy to use gadgets. At that place's no reason to not take ane as a saxophonist. Period.
Tip #3 — Temperature Affects Your Pitch
In that location are other factors beyond this that will bear upon your pitch. The biggest one is temperature.
If information technology'due south hot you're are going to play sharp, at that place is nothing yous can exercise about it y'all have to pull out. And if it's cold yous'll play flat, and you'll have to push button in more than yous normally would.
This is i of the principal reasons I am not a proponent of what a lot of people do—drawing a line on your cork where you are in tune.
Information technology is non that simple, there are other things that change.
Ever use a tuner to reference where your pitch actually is and where information technology should be. Get in the habit of checking all your notes on the saxophone and you'll learn how to play better in tune.
Tip #4 — Reed Strength Affects Your Pitch
A bottom-known factor that affects your pitch, and consequently your tuning, to some extent, is reed strength.
Cheers for reading I hope you found this helpful, useful and informative.
Source: https://www.reverbland.com/how-to-tune-a-saxophone/
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