How to Play a Soprano Saxophone

The soprano saxophone is used in jazz music and plays in the higher registers. It is the second smallest in the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Most soprano saxophones are straight but a few musical instrument manufacturers offer them with a curved bell.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Prepare the instrument by holding the reed in your mouth to dampen it. Loosen the clamp screws to place the flat side of the reed flush with the tip of the mouthpiece and gently tighten screws to hold firmly in place. Gently slide the mouthpiece onto the neck.

2. Place your left thumb on the thumb-rest and position all the fingers on the keypads. Rest the palms of your hands on the palm keys.

3. Rolling your lower lip inward over your lower teeth rest the mouthpiece, reed side down, on your lower lip. Place you teeth and upper lip on the mouthpiece to create a seal. Touch the tip of the mouthpiece and reed with your tongue

4. Position your body in an upright position with shoulders relaxed. Breathing deeply from the diaphragm, blow into the mouthpiece, moving your tongue away from the mouthpiece to produce each note.

5. Continue blowing a stream of air into the mouthpiece. Pressing on the keys and altering the volume of air blown into the mouthpiece achieve different pitches

Tips & Warnings

• Clean the mouthpiece with a lint free cloth and rubbing alcohol. Rinse with cold water and allow to dry thoroughly before use.
• Use a cleaning set specifically designed for soprano saxophones to keep the inside of the instrument fresh and moisture free.
• Routinely condition the cork with cork grease. Never place petroleum jelly, household or industrial grease on the cork. Use only cork grease specifically designed for woodwind instruments purchased from a reputable musical instrument store.
• A smiling mouth position is not recommended as it fatigues the facial muscles and can cause intonation problems. With practice your facial muscles can be trained to tighten and loosen to achieve tonal quality.