Hints on Tone Production

When an audience listens to a musician, the first thing heard is the tone quality. Therefore, it’s important to practice GOOD tone quality. On a wind instrument, it’s all about breathing and embouchure.

NOTE: My belief is that in order to build a supportive air stream, it’s important to play with a fuller tone (generally louder) to build proper muscles. Here are some tips to help build good tone quality.

·         Start with LONG TONES. (5 minutes a day if possible) The process listed is from easiest to most difficult:

o   Begin playing a note in a comfortable register of your instrument. Play it as loud as possible (with a good tone) for as long as possible, trying to keep the sound steady (like a computer tone). Play at least six or seven notes and rest when the embouchure gets tired. BLOW!!!

o   Once you can play a steady tone with no waivers, begin adding dynamics to the long tone process. Start loud and gradually get as soft as you possibly can (until note fades away to nothing). The key here is to allow the sound to simply fade away.

o   The version that starts from soft to loud, then back to soft, is the most difficult and should be done last. Sneak in, crescendo to fortissimo, then decrescendo back to absolutely nothing!

·         Next, pick one-octave SLURRED scales (so you can hear finger blips). The idea is to focus on tone production and keeping the fingers relaxed. Try to play at least five slow-slurred-scales each practice session. (They key here is SLOW.)

o   Pick a register of your instrument that’s comfortable to play.

o   Play the scale as loud as possible (with a good tone).

o   Keep hands close to the instrument and relaxed!

o   Make sure the tone quality of each note is clear and not “honky” sounding.

·         Gravitate to two-octave scales that are played slightly faster. Scales are a part of every piece of music so begin practicing them like in a “musical” manner. However, it’s better to practice “slow and accurate” over “fast and sloppy.” The more you practice mistakes, the more you’ll have to play them correctly to undo those mistakes.

·         Choose pieces of music that are slow and don’t require technical practice.

o   The fewer leaps, the better (especially for younger students).

o   Many instruments have specific books designed for tone production. Ask your private teacher for suggestions.

o   While practicing slow and legato passages, make the main focus the quality of tone. Does the music match the quality of practice done with the long tones? What about the slow-slurred-scales?

o   The whole point is to begin with simple exercises and graduate to more difficult “warm-up” music so both embouchure and tone are the main focus.

·         Tone production exercises should be a part of every practice session! Scales are the easiest form of tone practice (if done with that in mind) because it’s easy to hear when the quality of tone changes from note to note.