remember that when you move your mouth, your embechure (sp.?) changes. and that can affect your tuning. if you want that old Vernard Johnson sound, move your mouth. if you want smooth, up-to-date sound, do it from the diaphragm. watch classically trained singers (opera and others) they don't do vibrato with their chins (like today's gospel choirs). they do it from their diaphragm.
please also remember that vibrato should NOT be done ALL the time. it should be used appropriately to ENHANCE playing at the proper time and place in the music. anything done too much will be overkill and come across as cheesy. kinda like only playing the blues scale.
Hello Board of Horn Players,
My Name is Kreston Smith. I am a Grad of the University of Memphis - Music Education Saxophone and the Owner of Bartlett Music Academy. I have been teaching sax since 1993. THe proper way to use vibrato is by raising and lowering the lower teeth a slightly. This is a craft that takes a LOT of practice. I recommend the book
Larry Teal Art of Playing the Saxophone. Larry Teal is classical expert on the saxophone and teaches this method in his book. Larry teal is one of the most repected authors in the saxophone community and is a required reference book for most college students. The embrochure will not change if the muscles of the face form it and not the lower teeth. Most sax players bite into the lower lip for support this incorect. Take a magic marker or a sharpie. Close your teeth. Now place the marker in your mouth and hold it with the upper and lower lips only. You can also purchase a piece of medium soft tubing from the hardware store (like a water hose) and practice squeezing the tube closed. Again you do not use your teeth. They should closed and ONLY the lips are involved in this exercise. Once you have perfected this your embrochure will be set. Afterwards, working on vibrato can be done this way.
Hold long tones (about 4 tied whole notes) while moving teeth up and down about the height of the head of a pen (when I say a slight movement I mean slight). Move the teeth only not the chin. Move in quarter notes at first, then eighth notes, triplets, sixteenth notes. The best vibrato is going to be somewhere between triplet and sixteenth. Some great examples of Vibrato can be found on Billy Joel's "Just the way you are" Phil Woods is the saxophone player, any thing by Kirk Whalum, Paul Desmond, John Coltrane, Miles Davis(Trumpet) and yes regretfullly Kenny G. Kenny G is not my favorite player in the world, but he has got a great vibrato. For classical vibrato, I recommend listening to Donald Sinta, Allen Rippe (University Of Memphis Professor. GO to their website he has some mp3's to listen to), Joesp Wytko, Branford Marsalias and myself. Go to my website at
www.bartlettmusicacademy.com. I have 11 examples of my playing from classical, jazz, gospel, and r&b. I hope this helps you.