In my school clarinets aren`t allowed in the jazz band, and over time I`ve accepted this, but I`ve always liked jazz music and want to be in the jazz band. So, I`ve taken up learning the tenor saxophone. Unfortunetly I`ve being playing the clarinet for 6 years and can`t quite manipulate my embrochure to be able to play the lower notes on the tenor. High notes I can get without a problem, but anything below a low E is just extremely tempermental or non-existant, Bb isn`t even a possibility at this point. Has anyone made this switch and has any pointers to make the low notes easier?

Being a veteran of the Clarinet-Bari. Sax switch, I can say that Tenor is much easier to work with in the "Lower Notes".

1. The first thing is first, always, always make sure that you are putting the mouthpiece in your mouth... I know that sounds obvious at first, but when you really think about it, it becomes even more obvious what you aren`t doing. When playing the saxophone, you don`t want to have the mouthpiece coming in your mouth at an angle because your neck-strap is too low or too high... When your neck-strap is adjusted correctly, and you put your mouthpiece in your mouth, the mouthpiece should be going straight into your mouth (The closer it gets to about - the better, most of the time). This allows you to get out the lower notes easier.

2. Always have the air support!!! On a clarinet, you can blow as light as you want and still be playing... While this is slightly true for the saxophone, it usually isn`t... When playing in a saxophone`s lower octave, you must have all the air support you can muster, otherwise the tone dies.

That should be a decent start for you... If you have any other specific questions, I`ll try and answer them as well...

P.S. I have been playing Alto, Tenor, and Bari. Saxes for 2 years now...

i also switched to tenor for my schools jazz band. and i am a clarinet player. i also found it very hard to get the lower notes out at first, but one day it all just clicked. i helps to slur them down from a higher note like A, just take a good deep breath, and use plenty of air pressure, but be sure not to bite down too hard. it takes time, but you will get it

aim- CropCircleRadr07