Eugene Rousseau 《Steps to Excellence》

I. Saxophone FundamentalsA round embouchure

- Upper teeth rest on top of the mouthpiece- Lower lip curl over the lower teeth providing the cushion for the lip- Keep the embouchure round- Bite just strong enough for the reed vibrate probably (Bite too strong: sin

tone; Bite not strong enough: unstable tone)- Too much mouthpiece in the mouth: how tone; Not enough mouthpiece in

the mouth: lifeless tone

Warm air- Proper use of air is like using air in cleaning eye glasses- Blowing this way without mouthpiece, air can only last for few seconds, - Warm air blowing can be sustained for long air phrases with the mouthpiece

Breathing- Teeth rest on the top of the mouthpiece, breath through the corner of the

mouth- Take the breath very quickly - Breathe deeply

Pitch, Tuning and Intonation- Pitch A=440 - 442- Temperature ↑ ---- Instrument sharper - Temperature ↓ ---- Instrument flatter- Modern saxophone design for the best at the temperature at ~23 degrees - Tuning – adjustment of saxophone to pitch- Intonation – adjustment made in playing after tuning

Mouthpiece position

Mouthpiece pitch