[Dixielandjazz] Vibrato ala Bechet - Tuning

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

If you want to play in tune you have to tune the flattest note in pitch then 
yes the rest will be sharp.  That is if you keep the same embouchure all the 
way through. IMO this is a failing of many clarinet players who clamp on for 
dear life.

Lip tuning is a vital part of playing a woodwind instrument.  What happens 
is that you have to tune the higher notes with the lip since they will be 
sharp (on Sax).  Then you lip down the sharp notes which allows the reed to 
open and get a bigger sound and instead of straining to make some note sharp 
you simply relax into tune.  This gives you a trombone like tuning range 
controlled by the embouchure and not so much where the mouthpiece is on the 
horn.

I'm sure that you have heard dozens of sax players with that high school 
tight tone.  They don't have the concept of how to tune.  A good way to get 
around that and cure it is to teach them how to do a good chin vibrato.  It 
instantly stops the pinching and biting.  If you have students give it a try 
with them.

Putting the mouthpiece in a particular place and tuning one note is like 
saying it was tuned at the factory.  This is why so many musicians play out 
of tune.

I have played with many good musicians in big band settings.  No one pulls 
out a tuning meter and rarely does anyone ask for a Bb.  I have played with 
bands that from the first note were absolutely solid.  Why is that?  These 
guys know how their instruments play and how to play them in tune and how to 
compensate and they have trained their ears.  They listen with a religious 
fervor to every sound.
Larry
St. Louis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dick Sleeman" <dick at sleeman.nl>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Vibrato ala Bechet


> Steve Barbone wrote a.o:
>
>> Other reason Bechet may have preferred vibrato, especially on Sop Sax, is
>> that the early sop saxes were quite out of tune. Some had the lower 
>> register
>> in tune and the upper register sharp, while others had the lower register
>> flat with the upper register in tune.
>
> Isn't that the same thing? If the lower register is flat then you just 
> tune the instrument a little higher - and then the upper register will be 
> sharp!
>
> Picky, picky,
>
> Dick Sleeman
>
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