Saxophone Intonation: Tendencies, Voicing, Embouchure, and Alternate Fingerings

Voicing and Embouchure

Think of voicing as your internal mouthpiece. Small vowel changes modify the resonant frequency of your vocal tract, which couples to the reed.

• To raise pitch: think “ee” (higher tongue), narrow oral cavity, with faster, cooler air.
• To lower pitch: think “oh/aw” (lower tongue), more open oral cavity, with round, warm air.

It is easier for the embouchure to lower a pitch than it is to raise a pitch. If a note is sharp, you can often relax the embouchure enough to lower the pitch several cents. But if a note is flat, you can usually only firm the embouchure enough to just raise the pitch by a few cents or simply brighten the timbre.

Practice flexibility: Using a tuner, sustain a note and then voice between “ee” and “oh” and “aw” without changing fingerings, and note how many cents you can adjust the pitch. Then do the same by relaxing and firming the embouchure and take note of how much you can manipulate each pitch. This teaches you to learn your voicing range and develop the flexibility needed to quickly correct pitch errors.

Alternate Fingerings: Why?

Use alternate fingerings where intonation is easily heard—sustained/lyrical lines, exposed chords, slow tempi, etc.. Alternate fingerings can also change timbre and response, so be sure to listen carefully to blend your tone within the section and ensemble. On woodwind instruments, closing keys/holes can lower a pitch, and opening keys/holes can raise a pitch. In fast technical passages, default to standard fingerings and manage pitch with voicing/air if necessary.

Below are some suggested alternate fingerings when you are required to significantly alter the pitch of a note, such as when you are playing the 3rd or 7th of a chord, or the note is inherently out of tune.

Pitch-Mapping

The following link includes a blank intonation chart in order for a player to map the pitch tendencies of their instrument.

Instructions:

1. Properly warm up your instrument and then tune to A = 440.

2. Sustain the written note on your instrument 2 or 3 times in a row while a friend watches the tuner:

• If the average of the notes is in tune, or it displays as only a few cents sharp or flat, don’t mark anything on the chart.

• If the average of the notes is flat (more than 5 cents), write the number of cents flat; i.e. –12

• If the average of the notes is sharp (more than 5 cents), write the number of cents sharp; i.e. +12

3. Repeat step #2 for every note within the range of your instrument.

4. When you have completed mapping the sheet, go back to the notes that were MOST out of tune and learn solutions to play them in tune by improving tone, correcting your embouchure, using alternate fingerings, etc..

5. Learn how dynamics affect the pitch for each note. On saxophone, when playing at louder dynamics, compensate for flat pitch by firming the embouchure. And when playing at softer dynamics, compensate for sharp pitch by relaxing the embouchure.

6. When you revisit your Intonation Map to check for improvement, always use your ears first before your eyes. Hear every note before you play it and then place the note with good tone and pitch using proper air and embouchure.

7. Complete a new intonation map anytime you change equipment like a new mouthpiece or neck, and even different reed brand/strength. Small equipment changes can move a huge difference in pitch tendencies.

10-Minute Daily Intonation Routine

1. Mouthpiece Pitch (1 minute). Check your embouchure and voicing stability by sustaining a pitch on the mouthpiece/reed alone. Pitch should be within +/- half-step of pitch indicated in chart below.

2. Overtones (2 minutes). On low B♭/B/C play overtones to stabilize voicing.

3. Long tones (5 minutes). Choose several notes to sustain with consistent tone, energy and resonance at various dynamic levels. Use a tuner to monitor your pitch adjustment at dynamic variances.

4. Drone (2 minutes).

• Set a drone on concert pitch (tonic) and sustain various intervals to the tonic drone with the goal of beatless sound.
• Remember that will need to lower a M3 approximately 14 cents and raise a m3 approximately 16 cents.

Resources

For an APP with detailed, colored fingering chart for saxophone illustrating common pitch tendencies and suggested alternate fingerings: APP: Fingering & Tuning Charts

For a deeper dive into practical tuning concepts and understanding intonation temperaments and just tuning chords: Tuning for Wind Instruments: A Roadmap to Successful Intonation

About Dr. Shelley Jagow

Dr. Shelley Jagow is Professor of Music at Wright State University School of Fine and Performing Arts (Dayton, OH)where she serves as Director of Bands, conducting both the Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, and teaches conducting. She earned top honors in Music Education degrees from the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) and the University of Missouri (Columbia) where respective mentors include Marvin Eckroth, Dale Lonis, Martin Bergee and Wendy Sims. She earned her Ph. D. in Music Education at the Union Institute & University (Cincinnati) where Colonel Timothy Foley, Frank Battisti, and Edward Wingard served as her mentors. In addition to studies in education, saxophone and conducting, Shelley also earned the Certificate in Piano Performance IX from the Royal Conservatory of Music, and was previously nominated for both the "Robert J. Kegerreis Distinguished Professor of Teaching" Award and the "Brage Golding Distinguished Professor of Research" Award.

As an artist clinician with Conn-Selmer, Vandoren, Meredith Music, and GIA Music, “Dr. J” enjoys working with school bands and presents clinics, performances, adjudications, and serves as honor band conductor at various state, national and international conferences and events. Venues include locations in various states/provinces/countries: Alberta, British Columbia, California, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Italy, Manitoba, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Netherlands, North Dakota, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Rhode Island, Saskatchewan, Scotland, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington D.C.; including conferences such as State Music Educators Conferences, the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the College Music Symposium (CMS), the World Saxophone Congress, and the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium.

Shelley also served as coach for the WSU student Avion Saxophone Quartet, which can be heard on Apple Music/iTunes. All members of the quartet are chosen annually on a highly selective audition process, and include music education and/or performance majors at Wright State University. The Avion Saxophone Quartet is a recipient of the Edgar Hardy Scholarship, the Dayton Chamber Music Society Scholarship, the Chamber Music Institute Fellowship, and the Wright State University Presidential Commendation for Excellence. The quartet has commissioned and premiered works from national composers all across the world. The group performs a diverse musical repertory and is often invited to perform at school, community, and professional events including the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA) State Conference, the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA) conferences, the International Society for Music Education (ISME), the United States Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium, and most recently the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland. The Quartet has performed throughout the United States in Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Washington D.C. International performance tours include Japan, Italy and Scotland. Shelley herself can be heard performing on the Emeritus Recording label, on National Public Radio Performance Today, and America’s Millennium Tribute to ADOLPHE SAX, Volume XI by Arizona University Recordings.

Shelley is also the author of Teaching Instrumental Music: Developing the Complete Band Program (2nd edition)(Meredith Music)—a resource rapidly becoming the adopted textbook for music education degree study across the United States and Canada. A mobile App is a recent addition to complement her book Tuning for Wind Instruments: A Roadmap to Successful Intonation (Meredith Music). Her newest publication is a set of exercises for instrumental ensembles titled Expressive Musicianship: Concepts and Exercises to Develop a Band’s Musical Potential (GIA/Meredith). Additional publications include Intermediate Studies for Developing Artists on the Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone and Bassoon (Meredith), and The Londeix Lectures a 13+ hours DVD set archiving the historical music lectures of Professor Jean-Marie Londeix (and translated by William Street, University of Alberta). Shelley is also a contributing author to both The Music Director’s Cookbook (Meredith Music), and the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series (GIA Music).

Website: https://www.shelleyjagow.com