Saxophone Lesson: Mastering Low B and Staccato

Introduction to Low B

This section deals with one of the most difficult notes to produce on the saxophone: low B.

• Like low B flat, it requires firm fingers and is played like C, which we know.
• This key is right in the middle of the cluster, so you have to press it quite firmly.

To introduce low B, we practice going down by step.

• It's well worth practicing that a few times to get used to the action.
• In fact, you can just take C and B and practice it without even blowing into the saxophone. This way, you can get used to the key's feel and the pressure needed to obtain that pinging sound.

Note Control

• Low B is a tricky note to control.
• It's not the very bottom note of the saxophone; a lot of the sound comes from the last remaining open hole apart from the bell.
• Always strive to get as pure a sound as possible on low B.

Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes

• Try to avoid honking; use lots of air.
• Check that you're not biting too much.

Exercise 1: Low B Workout

Now we come to Exercise 2, a little workout for low B.

Introduction to Semi-Quavers

We've used many quavers in our pieces so far; now we deal with semi-quavers, which are half quavers.

• If a crotchet pulses that quavers up, semi-quavers will be:

  ![semi-quaver example]

• Like quavers, they are beamed together in groups of twos or fours, generally.

• If written singly, they have a double tail. Generally, you find that semi-quavers hunt in packs, in groups of twos, fours, or threes.

For example, refer to Exercise 3 where they have two beams connecting their stems.

Practice Techniques

Practice it slowly at first.

• As I touched on earlier, I like to use a technique called looping.
• This involves taking a section of a piece and playing it over and over again, starting fairly slowly and gradually increasing the speed until it settles down.

Example

Take the first bar and stop on the first note of the second bar. When we put the two bars together, we have an easy ride:

• Notice that the next two bars are the same shape but one step lower, involving the B.
• We can apply the same to that: take the first bar and stop on the F, then join them together.

When we put the whole of the first line together, it sounds like this:

And guess what? The next two bars are the same as the first two, and the final two are slightly different, concluding on the C.

Understanding Staccato

Now, let's discuss the next topic: staccato.

• Staccato means short and light; it does not mean fast.
• People sometimes confuse the marking of the staccato dot with speed. It affects the length of the note, not its speed.

Exercise 4

For example, in Exercise 4, the first bar sounds like:

• T. You can hear the notes aren't going faster, but they are shorter, so it's D.

You will need to work a bit for the next bar with the tongue:

• Ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, da.

It's good to say the syllables before you play it:

• Ta.

Then play, using that magic ingredient: air. This will help produce a nice bouncing staccato.

Additional Exercises

• Exercise 5: Jolly little exercise.
• Exercise 6: The reverse of that rhythm.
• Exercise 7: Slightly different again.
• Exercise 8: Slightly harder, as we have more semi-quavers to deal with.

Remember the same rule applies: lots of air, light tonguing, feeling the tongue bounce.

Important Reminder

Watch when you go up that you don't tighten up on the mouthpiece, as that can cause drag.

Understanding Dots

Now, we already know about dots, which extend notes by 50% of their value. Dots also apply to quavers.

• A dotted quaver will be worth three-quarters of a crotchet beat.
• These are normally followed by a semi-quaver just to make up that difference.

Exercise 10

Exercise 10, for example, uses that concept:

• It should sound nice and bouncy in this rhythm.

• Make sure that the semi-quaver is as close to the next dotted quaver as possible:

  • Tum ta tum ta tum.
  • Not tum tum, tum tum tum tum or even tripletized.
  • We want to hear dum da dum da dum, very polite, etc.

You can work up and down the scale, not just this scale but any scale.

You can transpose it into different keys (like D, etc.), developing a good tonguing technique in all tonalities.