I visited London the other day and came across two busking sax players down the Tube. Both sounded good from a distance especially with the favourable acoustics; both were flying up and down the scales and arpeggios, with licks and riffs to grace any Jazz stage. But, in my opinion, they were both completely rubbish players! Why? Because, (and this sounds quite shocking - but it is so true of so many sax players - ) they were not playing in tune! Their internal intonation - i.e. their tuning relative to themselves - was simply all over the place. The top notes were flat, then sharp, the middle notes were mostly sharp, upper part of the lower register flat... and so on. Hideous - flashy, but hideous.
My own theory about these players (and there is reason why they are playing down the Tube rather than on a stage) is that they have done a lot of practice, lots of scales, they know many of the Jazz Standards and they have a fair knowledge of Jazz Harmony. But they have left out one crucial exercise - yes, Long Notes.
Disciples of Saxophone Basics will note that I introduce Long Note practice at Stage 3 - in other words, as a teacher of saxophone I introduce my pupils to a life long study of Long Notes after just three weeks from starting.
So what is the proper way of practising your Long Notes? At its absolute best the whole exercise takes about 30 mins. I suggest that if you are playing catch up with this exercise or if you are really looking to improve your intonation (tuning), bedding in a new mouthpiece or just looking to build a better sound then you should get stuck into this exercise and try to do it properly at least 5 times a week for 2 or 3 weeks. At that level of intensity you will start to notice a difference in your tone and control before too long.
Start on open C# and play a note for as long as you can, starting very quietly, getting steadily louder to full volume and then die away to nothing. A C# should last about 25 to 35 seconds without too much trouble. The more extreme you make the dynamic contrasts the more 'good' you are doing your technique. As you play the note listen carefully to your own sound and try to make the sweetest and most even sound you possibly can. Don't use vibrato. Then move to C, then B, then Bb and so on down to bottom Bb. The low notes will be very short compared to the open C#. Pause between each note so that you can recover properly and give the next note your very best. Then start again from C# and work up, chromatically to top F#. Phew! As I say, that will take you a while but you will find you have a very different relationship with the instrument after doing the exercise.
If time is limited - and let's face it, Long Notes are pretty boring, then miss some notes out but always start at C# and work down, then start again at C# and work up.
We have heard about the 10,000 hour rule to achieve mastery; here's another one: you will only ever be as good as the hours you spend on long notes, no matter how many hours you spend practising other techniques. The exercise is life long; you never reach a point where you don't have to play long notes any more. Don't try to judge your progress after only two or three repetitions of the exercise - it takes time to reap the rewards, but the rewards are there to be had. The Long Note exercise will give you the control and poise to make the very best sound - in tune, controlled and professional.
