Sax Dynamics

Learn how to use dynamics on sax in this Howcast video.


Hey. It's Troy Roberts here. And today we're going to talk about dynamics on the alto saxophone.

As you can imagine dynamics are the volume of a musical passage. And they really can shape a piece. In some case make or break it.

It's important to remember when you're playing really quietly to not kind of close off the mouthpiece and you're going to get a pinched sound. Want to keep the airflow really, really consistent whether you're playing loud or soft.

So, I'm just going to give an example of a little excerpt with no dynamics. And then something with dynamics.

Okay? Pretty bland. Now if I put some dynamics in there, listen to the difference.

So, the important thing to remember is when you play quiet you're actually slowing down the speed of the air. Don't try not to think about it as less air. And when you're playing louder you're speeding up the airflow.

The important thing to remember is that it's still a consistent airflow. The airflow is just happening. You're just altering the speed.

Popular Categories