{"id":99042,"date":"2020-06-30T11:31:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T15:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=99042"},"modified":"2022-11-15T15:23:33","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T20:23:33","slug":"the-best-saxophone-embouchure-wheres-that-bottom-lip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/the-best-saxophone-embouchure-wheres-that-bottom-lip\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Saxophone Embouchure: Where’s that Bottom Lip?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just completed a new saxophone video lesson entitled “The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson<\/a>” in which I teach my approach to the saxophone playing embouchure and playing the saxophone.\u00a0 While working on the sax lesson, I thought it would be a cool idea to search the internet for good photos of famous sax player’s embouchures.\u00a0 The photos I found are below.<\/p>\n

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The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson Only 9.99<\/a><\/p>\n

The word embouchure means “the way in which a player applies the mouth to the mouthpiece of a brass or wind instrument”. There are probably as many variations of embouchures as there are saxophone players in the world.\u00a0 Each a little different, each a bit unique.\u00a0 The goal of my lesson and this article is to see what commonalities we can find.\u00a0 In my video lesson<\/a> I am teaching my opinion and approach to embouchure based off of what I have learned and noticed through my many years of playing the saxophone.\u00a0 Here is the description of the lesson:<\/p>\n

In this new video lesson, The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson<\/a>, I give you the inside scoop on my approach to the saxophone embouchure.\u00a0 I talk about my journey with different embouchures and when I realized that there was a better way to play my sax in regards to the embouchure.\u00a0 I teach you how this type of embouchure effects your tone, intonation, sub-tone and endurance.\u00a0 I show you first hand how to do it and talk about how to practice this type of embouchure.\u00a0 Lastly, I will be posting a blog article with photos of great players like Dexter, Coltrane, Brecker, as well as many others doing what I believe is exactly what I am teaching in this video.(37 Minute Video Lesson)<\/p>\n

*The teachings in this video on playing the saxophone are based on my experience.\u00a0 They are based on my opinions that have been formed over many years of playing and teaching the saxophone. I understand that others might approach embouchure, tonguing, voicing and playing the saxophone in a different way entirely and that is ok.\u00a0 This lesson is based off of the approach that I have found to be the best for me and hopefully it will benefit you as well.\u00a0 \u00a0 Steve\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Dexter Gordon Embouchure-Lady Bird Video<\/strong><\/p>\n

The photo above is taken from the iconic Dexter Gordon video on Youtube of Dexter playing on Lady Bird.\u00a0 This is my “go to” video when I am teaching a sax student about the embouchure.\u00a0 Notice the bottom lip and the downward tilt of the head.\u00a0 Watch the video and you will see the effortless movement of Dexter’s lower jaw as he sub-tones.\u00a0 All these topics are talked about and illustrated in my lesson<\/a> also.\u00a0 You can see a sample of the video lesson here<\/a> when clicking on the lesson sample tab.<\/p>\n

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John Coltrane Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Coltrane!\u00a0 Notice bottom lip and slight downward tilt of the head.<\/p>\n

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Another John Coltrane Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Johnny Griffin Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnny Griffin!\u00a0 Not as much of a downward tilt of the head but notice the bottom lip and bottom jaw retracted in what looks like a sub-tone position.<\/p>\n

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Benny Golson Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benny Golson with a similar bottom lip. So far the four great tenor players above all have bunched up chins!\u00a0 I don’t know about you, but I was taught by a few sax teachers not to bunch up my chin but to point it down and try to make it flat.\u00a0 Interesting!<\/p>\n

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Coleman Hawkins Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coleman Hawkins with a similar bottom lip and bunched up chin.\u00a0 If you would like more info on this approach to playing check out my 37 minute video lesson<\/a> below where I talk about it in depth as well as it’s effect on tone, intonation, sub-tone and endurance.<\/p>\n

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The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson Only 9.99<\/a><\/p>\n

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Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins Embouchures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Tenor giants! Coleman Hawkins along side Sonny Rollins!\u00a0 Wow!\u00a0 Notice Sonny’s bottom lip rolled out.<\/p>\n

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Gene Ammons Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The incomparable Gene Ammons with a rollout of the bottom lip.\u00a0 Where is your bottom lip when looking in a mirror while playing?<\/p>\n

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Young Michael Brecker Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The amazing Michael Brecker with a slight rollout and a bunched up chin. Michael has a thinner bottom lip than other guys but you can still see it slightly rolled out……..<\/p>\n

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Middle Aged Michael Brecker Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

….and again……slight rollout and bunched chin……… Question:\u00a0 How much pressure does it look like Brecker is putting on that reed in this photo?\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Brecker Embouchure in Full Sub-tone<\/strong><\/p>\n

….and again in full sub-tone.\u00a0 Not the best photo but look at that bottom lip!<\/p>\n

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Max Ionata Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my favorite tenor players, Max Ionata!\u00a0 Slight downward tilt of head and rolled out bottom lip……. If these help get a tone like Max’s tone.\u00a0 Then they are certainly worth trying out!\u00a0 Don’t worry about the mouthpiece yet, try experimenting with what they do first…..<\/p>\n

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Bob Mintzer Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another of my favorite tenor players…. Bob Mintzer…….. downward tilt and rolled out.\u00a0 Bottom jaw looks pulled back.<\/p>\n

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Chris Potter Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

…..let’s not forget Chris Potter……..see the bottom lip and bunched chin muscles.<\/p>\n

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Young Joshua Redman Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Young Joshua Redman with downward tilt of the head and rolled out lower lip.<\/p>\n

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Middle Aged Joshua Redman Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

same with middle aged Joshua Redman…..<\/p>\n

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Mark Turner Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Turner.\u00a0 Sax sits a bit higher but that bottom lip is most certainly rolled out a bit. Mark Turner always seems to have perfect posture!<\/p>\n

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Jerry Bergonzi Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

The amazing Jerry Bergonzi.\u00a0 No slight tilt of the head for Jerry in this photo but you can see some of the red of the bottom lip.<\/p>\n

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Charlie Parker Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s get some alto players in here. Charlie Parker…….. No downward tilt for Bird but I see plenty of bottom lip!<\/p>\n

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Cannonball Adderley Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cannonball Adderley………<\/p>\n

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Another Cannonball Adderley Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Phil Woods Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of my idols when I was a young alto sax player in high school, Phil Woods!\u00a0 You can see his bottom lip and bunched up chin……..<\/p>\n

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Paul Desmond Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was curious about Paul Desmond as he has such a different and unique sound.\u00a0 But even with Paul Desmond you can see a\u00a0 downward tilt of the head and the bottom lip rolled out slightly.\u00a0 His chin does look a bit pointed here in this photo though.<\/p>\n

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Kenny G Embouchure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, To close the discussion once and for all, the incredibly “smooth” Kenny G. You can see the slight roll of his bottom lip in the photo above.\u00a0 In my lesson<\/a> below, I talk about the importance of thinking of the embouchure gripping the mouthpiece from the sides and not from top to bottom.\u00a0 Kenny G might not subscribe to this teaching of mine though because he always looks like he is smiling when playing in this photo and many others I have seen with the corners of his mouth pulled back.\u00a0 That’s ok though, he is Kenny G and what do his fans want to see?\u00a0 Of course, Kenny smiling at them while playing the most loving melodies and lines dripping with smoothness and emotion.\u00a0 It would make any heart melt at the very thought. (Except you hardhearted smooth jazz haters of course……)<\/p>\n

That is it!\u00a0 If you want to find out more about what I teach students in regard to embouchure, tone and intonation check out the 38 minute video lesson below.\u00a0 \u00a0Thanks for tuning in as we all talk about interesting saxophone topics.\u00a0 See you next time……..\u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/p>\n

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The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just completed a new saxophone video lesson entitled “The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson” in which I teach my approach to the saxophone playing embouchure and playing the saxophone.\u00a0 While working on the sax lesson, I thought it would be a cool idea to search the internet for good photos of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":99041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1074,50],"tags":[1984,1982,600,361,1985,1983,7,12],"class_list":{"0":"post-99042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-learning-at-neffmusic","8":"category-saxophone-stuff","9":"tag-best","10":"tag-bottom-lip","11":"tag-embouchure","12":"tag-mouthpiece","13":"tag-perfect","14":"tag-playing","15":"tag-sax","16":"tag-saxophone","17":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99042\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}