Music Lesson: Exploring the Low Notes on Saxophone

Introduction to the Lowest Note

Now to the lowest note on the saxophone:
Bottom B flat, low B flat, or whatever you like to call it.
It is the lowest note the saxophone can produce when you finger it.

• Every hole in the saxophone is closed.
• It's fingered by fingering the C (which we know), plus the left hand's little finger on this D shape.

It's a bit of a stretch, but press it very firmly. If you press it correctly, you can hear a slight ringing sound. Boom! That means your fingers are doing their job properly.

Importance of Firm Pressure

If you press it too lightly, you don't get much of a sound. That means the holes aren't covering sufficiently, making the note difficult to produce.
If your fingers are fairly firm, the notes should come out fairly easily.

Remember: With all those notes, don't bite; otherwise, they will jump up.

Exercises for Producing B Flat

Exercise One: Step Approach

A good way to approach the B flat is by step:

1. Start on D
2. Go down to C
3. Then down to B flat

Secret to Low Notes

A secret of low notes is air. Lots of air. Imagine you're blowing out the candles on a birthday cake or blowing up a balloon. It's that sort of air: solid airflow.
But just double-check that you're not biting the mouthpiece; otherwise, you'll get a horrible, double octave sound.

Exercise Two: Scale Preparation

Exercise two prepares us for the scale of B flat major, which involves B flat and E flat.
Now, we talked about D sharp in the previous lesson, which is the same as E flat.
But low E flat obviously doesn't have a thumb key down.

• We work our way down to the B flat.
• Nice firm little finger action for both hands is required to do this smoothly.

Note: These are weak fingers, but they will get stronger with practice.

Exercise Three: Practice Going Down and Back Up

In exercise three, we go down and back up again. Eventually, you'll be able to play it rapidly without any effort.
But as I keep mentioning, the essential secret of fast playing is slow practice.

Important: Don't try to change your embouchure to help the low notes, as it will backfire. You risk creating a 'train crash' sound. Just keep everything constant.
What we need to do is develop an embouchure that works for every single note on the saxophone without much change, so the notes come out as freely as possible.

Exercise Four: Arpeggio Preparation

Exercise four is the arpeggio preparation.

• Firm action is required, especially when you go from D to B flat.
• We then practice the B flat major scale in its entirety, ensuring lots of support for those low B flats, same with the arpeggio.

Study in B Flat

This is a scale-based study using patterns. Here, we introduce a technique called rolling.

• When going from E flat to C smoothly, roll your finger using the black roller keys.
• The secret of a good rolling technique is to keep a constant downward pressure on the key and just pull your finger across.

Avoid: Replacing the finger, as this could catch the D between the E flat and the C.

Smooth Transitions

What we want is:

• Constant firm pressure
• Pulling across results in a nice connection.

The same technique applies in the opposite direction.

At the end of the study, you need to go from low C up to E flat. For example, focus on the last three bars using a smooth rolling technique.

Conclusion

When you put the whole study together, it should sound like this. You can create your own breathing spaces as you go.

Study in B flat.