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5 Saxophone Embouchure Mistakes You're Making!

Sax School Online

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Your saxophone embouchure is super-important because this is where your sound starts. But it's easy to get it wrong - and that can really hold back your progress.

In this video, Nigel and Joel from the Sax School Online tutor team share 5 embouchure mistakes that we always see - and how you can avoid them.

Plus we demo the classical saxophone embouchure and the jazz saxophone embouchure so you can choose the right embouchure for you.

Whether you're a beginner player just learning to blow your saxophone or a more experienced player and want to get a better sound on sax, this free tutorial will help you.

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Chapters:
0:00 - About this tutorial
2:34 - The Classical Embouchure
4:32 - The Jazz Embouchure
8:56 - 5 Embouchure Mistakes
15:24 - Final Thoughts
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20 Comments

@McGillMusicSaxSchool Creator 4 years ago Pinned

Visit our blog for loads more advice and tips on becoming a better sax player.

@lounge-guitar1695 1 year ago

Greetings! I'm a Jazz / Blues guitarist...........have been for 45 years. I just started to learn the Alto Sax..............(I'm 73 years old). Wish I would have discovered the sax many years ago! But I'm still having fun.

@MartinTownshend-z7z 2 years ago

Clearest discussion on embouchure I’ve come across…excellent
I use a lip out embouchure but hadn’t realised how a muscular band inside the bottom lip supports the reed

@1024gain 2 years ago

When i picked up the sax first time ( i was like 25 years old) i immediately started to use the "jazz embochure" i had no idea how these work. And when i have found a teacher he started to shame me on it. And told me that the only way to play is to use the "classical" approach. Then i told him that i feel much comfortable with my style and i am the one paying so if he does not like it he can fuck off and then he just stopped shaming me. I still play with the jazz approach to this day and i think that gives me a much more room to express myself with my own "sound"

@tsoumusic 1 year ago

I've struggled with my embouchure my whole life. I had never heard of the "no embouchure" embouchure before, it fixed 20+ years of struggling. Thank you for this!

@karlwebster4619 2 years ago

You guys make it look so easy. 3 years ago at 60 I decided to do my motorcycle test which I confidently passed. Learning to play the saxophone is something I have always wanted to do and for my 63rd birthday my wife has just bought me my very first Tenor Sax. Love it, and like the bike I wish I had started it years ago. There is one thing though, the bike is the easier of the two😁 I am really enjoying your brilliant feeds, I didn’t realise that there was so much to playing the saxophone. Will persevere though despite the squeaky notes. Cheers guys.

@oneliners-b4u 1 month ago

Very helpful thankyou 👌

@scrapstreams 4 years ago

I was taught what you are referring to as the Classical embouchure as the only embouchurel (our director was originally a French horn player and I also didnt learn alternate fingerings until 40 years later lol). Said 40 years later I also discovered a YouTube video that demonstrated the Jazz embouchure (although they didn't refer to it as such) and they explained that it allows a much fuller and louder sound. I was surprised as to how much volume and tone I gained! I was only playing Bari at the time, in both Wind Symphony and Jazz. I do sometimes catch myself playing my Alto with my earlier embouchure and realize how much less mouthpiece I have taken in at the same time. Earlier habits take time to break/change.

@gangofgreenhorns2672 4 years ago (edited)

Lip out; I feel like it lets me practice longer too, bc there is so much less tension--even when being careful. I went down in reed strength some when I switched.

@fulviodamico16 3 years ago

I’m rather partial to the “Jazz” embouchre, it just feels more comfortable for me. But sometimes I switch to the classical one, just for a change 😊🎷

@MrMelby 4 years ago (edited)

Excellent coverage and advice.
Nigel, killin' it, as usual.

@grampianscottage 3 years ago

I usually use the jazz style colourful playing. I like to show my real personality through my sax.

@Derrick-x3c 8 months ago

I'm 55 and starting the alto sax. My son plays the tenor. This lesson was very helpful.

@DavidPollard-x1r 8 days ago

That’s brilliant advice

@gormob9291 3 years ago

I’m a oboe player moving to tenor saxophone for highschool this year and I still am unsure how to form my embouchure and I have to do a lot of unwinding since oboe you need have to a very… different embouchure. Thank you for this :)

@terryjames7759 4 years ago (edited)

Thanks guy for the best embouchure mistake explanation I've come across. I tend to have a loose embouchure as my muscles tire and I tend to bite to overcome this. But the sad emoji is now burnt into my brain. Cheers

@domenicodd 2 years ago

Great video.... I was a clarinet player first, so when I started on saxophone, I had a pretty tight embouchure. I learned from a couple of teachers to use the "lip out" method; it really opened up the sound. Ended up playing mostly baritone, so the "lip out" style worked really well on that horn. Thanks for this great information!

@beverleysaxophone 4 years ago

Great advice Nigel and Joel! My first sax teacher was primarily a clarinetist and taught me the “lip in” embouchure. Since changing to the jazz embouchure my sound has started to open up. It was a painful process while my whole voicing needed to adjust, but I wouldn’t go back. Work in progress still !