How to Swing on Sax | 4 tips for better style!

Summary

En este video, el Dr. Wally Wallace, saxofonista y profesor, enseña cuatro conceptos clave para mejorar la articulación y el 'swing' en el saxofón jazz. Explica la importancia de evitar el patrón de tresillo a tempos moderados y rápidos para sonar más fluido, enfatizar el final de las notas con la lengua para mayor claridad, separar bien las notas para evitar apresurarse, y usar la articulación 'doodat' en grupos de dos corcheas para lograr el estilo 'swing'. Recomienda practicar con estas técnicas e insiste en la importancia crítica de escuchar abundante jazz para interiorizar bien el lenguaje y poder swingear como los grandes.

Takeaways

• 😀 Get rid of the triplet feel, especially at faster tempos
• 😮 End notes crisply with the tongue to create rhythmic integrity
• 👅 Use 'dah' syllables between quarter notes to avoid rushing
• 🎵 Practice the 'doodat' rhythm ubiquitous in bebop
• 🎧 Listening to jazz recordings is essential for developing feel and articulation
• 😎 Smoother swing comes from straight 8ths and articulation, not triplets
• 🎶 Choose albums that really 'swing' to listen and learn from
• 🎷 The subtleties of jazz can't be fully notated - listening is key
• 📝 Schedule regular listening as part of your jazz practice routine
• 🎺 Work on tone, exercises, and more advanced concepts in future videos

Q & A

What is the main goal of the articulation concepts presented?

The main goal is to help saxophone players swing harder and sound more like jazz heroes instead of playing stiff, exaggerated triplet rhythms.

What is the first concept for improving jazz articulation?

The first concept is to eliminate the exaggerated triplet feel, especially at faster tempos. The eighth notes should be played closer to straight rather than as triplets.

How can sax players get a crisper, cleaner sound on their notes?

By stopping the note sharply with the tongue while keeping the airstream constant. This creates a clearer release.

What syllable is recommended for articulating jazz quarter notes?

Instead of a "da", use a "dat" syllable to articulate jazz quarter notes. This creates a crisper attack.

What technique helps prevent rushing through a series of quarter notes?

Insert a slight "um" spacer between each quarter note instead of tonguing "da-da-da". This separates the notes rhythmically.

What is the typical jazz rhythmic figure with two eighth notes?

The typical jazz figure is two eighth notes with a tenuto on the first and a sharp accent on the second. Also called a "doodat" figure.

Why can written materials never fully capture jazz articulation subtleties?

Because jazz is an oral tradition with endless nuances that can't be notated. Listening extensively is crucial for understanding the style.

What should sax players schedule into their practice routines?

Schedule regular listening sessions with jazz recordings, as listening is critical for developing good jazz articulation.

What will be covered in the next masterclass video?

Improving saxophone tone and some free exercises for tone development.

What album does Dr. Wallace ask viewers to name as their "swingiest"?

He asks viewers to comment with the album in their collection they feel swings the hardest.

Outlines

00:00

Introducción al video y conceptos clave de articulación 🎷

El video introduce al Dr. Wally Wallace y la Academia de Saxofón. Explica que se hablará de cuatro conceptos de articulación e inflexión para ayudar a que suene más como el jazz: 1) Evitar el patrón de tresillo a tempos moderados/rápidos, 2) Importancia del final de la nota, 3) Espacios entre varios tiempos de negra, 4) Figura rítmica de dos corcheas consecutivas.

05:02

Explicación detallada de cada concepto con ejemplos 🎶

Explica y demuestra cada concepto: 1) Alisar los tiempos en lugar del patrón de tresillo, usando la articulación para crear el swing, 2) Parar la nota repentinamente con la lengua al final para un final limpio, 3) Poner un pequeño espaciador "um" entre los tiempos de negra para no apresurarse, 4) La figura de dos corcheas es "doodat", con énfasis en la primera.

Keywords

💡Articulación

La articulación en música se refiere a la manera en que se producen y conectan los sonidos. En el contexto del video, se habla de mejorar la articulación para lograr un estilo de swing más auténtico en el saxofón. La articulación adecuada ayuda a crear un sonido más fluido y con mayor swing, alejándose de los patrones rígidos y estilizados que pueden sonar poco naturales.

💡Swing

El swing es un estilo de jazz caracterizado por su ritmo vibrante y su capacidad para 'balancearse'. En el video, se enfatiza cómo lograr que la música 'swinge' más, es decir, cómo tocar de manera que la música tenga ese balanceo característico del jazz, utilizando técnicas específicas de articulación e inflexión.

💡Notas de adorno

Las notas de adorno son notas adicionales que se utilizan para embellecer o decorar la melodía principal. Aunque el término específico no se utiliza directamente en el guion, el concepto se infiere al hablar de 'borrowing some language and style', refiriéndose a la incorporación de elementos estilísticos, como lo haría Stan Getz, para enriquecer la interpretación.

💡Patrón de triplete

El patrón de triplete se refiere a la división de cada tiempo en tres partes iguales. En el video, se critica el uso de este patrón para interpretar swing en tiempos moderados a rápidos, argumentando que resulta en una ejecución exagerada y poco natural, y se sugiere suavizar las notas para lograr un swing más auténtico.

💡Acentuación

La acentuación se refiere a la énfasis que se da a ciertas notas dentro de una secuencia musical. En el video, se menciona el uso de la acentuación en combinación con la articulación para crear un estilo de swing más suave y natural, destacando ciertas notas sobre otras para darle un carácter particular al ritmo.

💡Inflección

La inflección en música se refiere a pequeñas variaciones en la altura o intensidad de una nota. Según el video, usar inflecciones adecuadas es crucial para lograr un swing que suene más como los héroes del jazz y menos como un ritmo triplete rígido y extraño.

💡Sílabas de articulación

Las sílabas de articulación, como 'da' o 'ta', se utilizan para enseñar y practicar distintas técnicas de articulación en instrumentos de viento. El video sugiere modificar estas sílabas (por ejemplo, 'da' a 'doo') para cambiar la manera en que se articulan las notas, contribuyendo a un estilo de swing más fluido y auténtico.

💡Liberación limpia

La liberación limpia de una nota se menciona en el contexto de asegurar que cada nota finalice de manera precisa y definida. Esto se logra deteniendo la nota con la lengua, una técnica que contribuye a una articulación clara y es crucial para el estilo de swing en jazz.

💡Sílabas intercaladas

Las sílabas intercaladas, como 'dat' y 'doo', se utilizan para practicar la separación y el ritmo entre notas, especialmente en series de notas repetidas. En el video, se sugiere este método para evitar apresurar las notas y mantener un ritmo consistente y swing.

💡Tradición oral

La tradición oral del jazz se refiere al aprendizaje y transmisión de conocimientos musicales a través de la escucha y la imitación, más que a través de la notación escrita. El video subraya la importancia de escuchar grabaciones de jazz para captar las sutilezas del estilo y la articulación que no se pueden transmitir eficazmente a través del lenguaje o la notación.

Highlights

Primer hallazgo significativo del texto

Segundo hallazgo notable del texto

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

style Master the subtle art of

articulation and you'll swing harder

than a troubled marriage in the 1970s

[Music]

[Applause]

hi and welcome to the saxophone Academy

I'm Dr Wally Wallace and if you're

interested in saxophone master classes

and product reviews please do consider

subscribing and hit the like button to

make your do into a doodat which we'll

talk about here in a second now today

we're talking about four articulation

and inflection Concepts that are going

to get you to swing harder more like

your Heroes and less like the stilted

strange triplet Rhythm that maybe some

of us learned early on

foreign

[Music]

these Concepts and hearing them in

context so this Etude is based off the

Jazz standard there will never be

another U borrowing some language and

style from Stan Getz off his solo from

the 1956 classic the steamer let's take

a listen

[Music]

[Music]

foreign

so the first concept you have to

understand to start swinging Like Your

Heroes is to get rid of the triplet

pattern especially at moderate to faster

tempos if you're like me you learned in

your sixth grader Middle School band

class that swing eighth notes equaled a

triplet figure and after the 1940s and

especially moderate investor tempos

that's just simply not really true it's

quite an exaggeration if you play that

way it's going to sound stilted and

frankly rather silly so it should not

sound like this

foreign

[Music]

what we want to do is smooth them out

and use articulation and inflection to

create the swing style so it sounds more

like this

[Music]

now to achieve that smoother swing style

we simply straighten out the eighth

notes more than you might think

especially at moderate to faster tempos

we really do play nearly a straight

eighth note it's the inflection and

articulation in the accent placements

that create that so I would practice

your skills with straight eighth notes

and then starts to tongue the offbeats

or use an articulation pattern like the

one in these examples now before we go

on I need your help in the comments

below let me know which album in your

collection do you think swings the

hardest what is the swinginess album you

have in your collection let me know in

the comments below to help out the other

Academy members that have some good

recommendations for listening

concept number two all's well that ends

well meaning the end of the note is

critically important now in jazz and

concert band as we learned early on we

typically think of articulation as

saying ta is what I first learned in my

beginning band classroom there's nothing

wrong with that I translate it more to a

DA to lighten up the tongue syllable in

the surface area of the tongue that's a

story for another time but in classical

music and concert band we think of a da

da da articulation where we have tongue

at the front of the note then a more

diffuse ending there's a little bit of

an air fate and Jazz we want to get used

to stopping the note with our tongue so

we keep the air constant and then Dot

it suddenly stopped so we have a cleaner

release by stopping the Reed by touching

it lightly with our tongue without

anticipating that with our Airstream our

Airstream is almost independent of our

tongue well I mean literally it is

independent of our tongue so our air

keeps going and it's almost surprised by

our tongue touching the Reed so we have

a very crisp clear energy the note that

then makes the rest not a pause in

between notes but the rest then has

rhythmic integrity

so how do we practice this well I like

to have my students practice a quarter

note quarter rest quarter note quarter

rest so what we do is play the quarter

note stop it with our tongue but keep

the air pressure so we're basically

using our tongue like a valve

adding and removing our tongue without

backing off the air pressure take a

listen

[Music]

thank you

so remember instead of The Da syllable

quarter notes in jazz in general that is

going to be a good syllable instead of a

DA or H the air sound ends the note that

ends with the T in the syllable and it's

our tongue lightly touching the Reed

Without backing off the Airstream

next concept multiple quarters in a row

there's a fine art to playing a series

of quarter notes most human beings I've

met that when they have multiple

coordinates in a row they tend to rush

so here's a little trick to get you

putting the right amount of space and

Clarity between the notes using instead

of just da da dat where one quarter note

can bleed into the next and they rush we

put a little spacer in between with a um

in syllable so instead of da da da we

say dat and dat and dat and say it with

me it's kind of fun ready go

[Music]

now listen to me play it once and you

sing along then you play it

[Music]

[Music]

now let's listen to this in context of

the Jazz Etude listen to the separation

of the quarter notes how they don't rush

but there's a nice little spacer in

between

[Music]

next up is a rhythmic figure that is

ubiquitous post Bebop it is two

consecutive eighth notes either isolated

or to end a phrase now all too often if

students are reading these I will hear a

hoodoo syllable what we want is a doodat

let's take a listen to how this works in

context of the Etude

[Music]

laughs

so the way we might notate that if we're

being very precise is a tenuto marking

followed by a house top accent long then

short and accented do that do that stay

with me ready and do that do that do

that do that we hear that all the time

if you listen to Charlie Parker so many

of his lines will have that figure that

inflection either in the middle of a

line or at the end of a line so let's

practice that I'm gonna play it you sing

it back and then you play it

[Music]

foreign

so these four Concepts will get you a

long way towards sounding more like your

Heroes but here's a caveat to all of

this the English language fails

spectacularly at expressing the nuances

of this oral tradition we call Jazz my

spoken instructions written instructions

notation through any software program

cannot begin to express the subtleties

that are part of this art form there is

no substitute for listening all the

answers to all of your articulation in

swing questions are in the record so if

you're not listening a lot to Jazz it's

never going to sound right so here's the

good news you get to listen to a lot

more recordings of jazz make it part of

your practice sessions schedule it and

it will happen now I'll be back next

week when we start to transcend long

tones and talk more about the Nitty

Gritty of making your tone even better

and some fun free exercises so until

then

go practice