Jazz Lessons - Volume, Support, and Tone
by Shannon Kennedy
If something truly has an impact on you, it finds a firm grasp on your memory
and helps to shape you and help you grow. My first lesson with Greg Vail was
in the summer of 2002, and even though it was several years ago, I can still
remember it like it was only a few days ago.
I hadn't even been playing sax for a year yet and for lack of a better way to
explain my ability - I played like a girl. I did not support or blow, could not
read music that well, and pretty much just sucked. I had gotten as far as I
had by using my ears and playing softly so that my mistakes were covered by
everyone else playing around me. However, in a lesson, you play by yourself,
so I had no one to cover my playing.
After hearing a sore attempt at "Bye, Bye Blackbird", Greg got in my face
about my tone. He told me that in order to have good tone and volume as a
sax player, I needed to support my air by taking in enough to play and blowing
hard into my sax. I had to exert the same amount of power and lung support
as if I were trying to blow out a candle on the other side of the room. Not
meaning more air in a shorter time, but the same amount of air with more
power behind it.
He taught me a metaphor that at the time had me doubled over with laughter,
but I now know actually made sense. I had to imagine I had no legs and no
arms and a huge spider had just dropped down from the ceiling in front of me.
Since I didn't want the spider on me, I had to try and blow it away. So of
course you are going to blow as hard as you can to get it as far away from
you as you can. You don't use short bursts of air because it will swing back
towards you, so you use a strong constant airstream.
I'd have to say that I don't still imagine that there are spiders hanging in front
of me while I play sax, but I'd also have to say that I don't sound like a timid,
little girl any more either.
