Hemke Tenor
What are some good reeds/mouthpieces for jazz tenor saxophone?
I’m trying to make my tenor saxophone sound more jazzy. Right now it sounds more like a concert band saxophone. I swing the notes and everything and it still doesn’t sound jazzy. Right now I use Hemke reeds (strength 3) and I don’t know what type of mouthpiece I use. Is there a different type of reed I should use or a mouthpiece that would be good? Not to expensive!
Forgive me for making a couple of assumptions:
1. You are in middle or high school band
2. You may or may not own your own horn, but your mouthpiece is probably plastic, if you don’t actually know what it’s made of.
There’s a lot of stuff in your question, so bear with me.
First, playing technique:
Sounding jazzy isn’t really about “swinging the notes” per se. It’s more about placement of the note against the beat (on, off, around, etc.) Sometimes this requires more swing, sometimes less, or even none. This should be something you talk over with an experienced jazz player (not necessarily a sax player, but it might help), who you could hire to be your private instructor.
Your sound is controlled by many factors, but only a small component of this is the equipment (sax, mouthpiece, and reed). The sound you ultimately achieve is primarily affected by the things you do with your body: embouchure, tongue, throat, and diaphragm. Your posture (how you sit or stand) while playing also can influence these other factors and change your sound. This is also something a sax teacher can help with.
Now, about equipment:
I don’t mean to say that your horn shouldn’t be of good quality. Differences in age of instruments (and relative repair status) or construction techniques between manufacturers can change the character of a sax’s sound noticeably to an experienced listener.
Reeds function, for the most part, identically between similar products. What you get with a quality reed is a more consistent cut between each reed (in a box of several), the choice of more or less heart, larger or smaller window, etc., customized to your taste and playing preferences. There are even specialty reeds made of synthetic materials like plastic, or coated in plastic, although I don’t generally recommend them for most players. Note: Rico reeds come in a “Jazz” variety that allows for very specific strength choices. I’ve never tried the Rico Jazz reeds, but I know players who use them and like them.
Generally you can say:
more heart = darker, longer break-in time, moderately long lasting. Vandoren is a good example of this type, also Rico Royal.
less heart = brighter, faster speaking, short break-in and shorter life span (overall playing time). Rico is a prime example of this type.
There are so many reed characteristics it’s difficult to get into them all here. Try a few out and make sure to break them in by soaking them for at least 5-10 minutes before playing. Tap water is fine, although snobs may tell you it isn’t.
Another thing about reeds: a hard reed on a very small facing, small to medium chamber mouthpiece can sound pretty dead, and the older and more worn that it is, the more dead it will sound. Experienced players can overcome this and vary their internal setup (embouchure/throat/diaphragm) to try for more overtones (a more “live” or “thick” sound, sometimes called “warm” and also referred to as bright vs. dark). Younger players often haven’t developed the musculature required to do this effectively, so their sound tends to stay in the concert band/marching band realm.
The construction material of a mouthpiece (plastic, hard rubber, or metal) can have a dramatic affect on timbre. Without knowing what kind (brand and material) of mouthpiece you are using, I can make a guess: it’s probably the mouthpiece that came with the horn. If so, it’s plastic, and has a very narrow tip opening with a medium facing. This is a piece that’s designed to speak consistently and loudly for a beginner. It’s not really provided to give you maximum artistic expression. It’s just there to get you through beginning band, and then be replaced with something better. This sad fact is often true of beginning band horns, too.
I recommend you try a budget priced hard rubber piece with a reed like a LaVoz or Rico Jazz in a slightly weaker strength than you are currently using. A used or sale priced Vandoren T35 with a medium soft LaVoz or 2 1/2 Rico Jazz might surprise you with it’s presentation of sound, even on a cheap horn. On a good horn, this combination can sound like MONEY!!!!
I personally use:
Soprano: Rico 3, 3 1/2, or 4 — depends on my mood — Mouthpiece: Rousseau Studio Jazz 6
Alto: La Voz Medium Soft or Medium — Mouthpieces: Rico Royal Graftonite A5 (plastic), Selmer Scroll Shank C* (hard rubber-vintage), Rousseau Jazz metal 6 or Rousseau Studio Jazz 6
Tenor: La Voz Medium Soft or Medium — Mouthpieces: Dave Guardala Studio (metal), Brilhart Levelair 6* (vintage metal), or a couple of hard rubber Vandorens (T35 classical/T45 java) depending on what’s right for the job
Baritone: Rico 3, 3 1/2, or 4 — Mouthpiece: Rousseau JDX 7 (hard rubber–works for both jazz and legit)
CE Winds Alpha Series Tenor – Vintage Bronze w/ Gold Genesis Mouthpiece