A slap-tongue is a percussive articulation. It is achieved by creating suction between the tongue and the reed, then quickly releasing it.

When looked at closely, there are two main categories of a slap-tongue: open and closed.

A closed slap-tongue is produced while maintaining a traditional embouchure. Meaning, the bottom lip maintains normal contact with the reed. When learning how to closed slap-tongue, it is paramount to remember that slap-tonguing is an articulation. When produced correctly, you are able to produce a sound after you closed slap-tongue. A closed slap-tongue is what composers usually refer to when asking for a slap-tongue.

An open slap-tongue is produced by sealing the embouchure with the tongue. Contrary to a closed-slap tongue, an open-slap-tongue is more of an effect. While still being a true slap-tongue, it is impossible to produce a sustained tone immediately after. This is due to the mouth leaving the reed. To notate this effect, write the word open over the suggested slap-tongue articulation.

How to Open Slap-Tongue.

There are many ways to approach slap-tonguing. I find that proceeding in this order gives one a full arsenal of slap-articulations in a minimal amount of time.

1. Fold the front part of your tongue and create a small valley in your tongue.

2. Place a clean flat object, such as a credit card, large popsicle stick or tongue depressor on top of the small valley you just created in your tongue.

3. Create suction between the small valley of your tongue and object. Repeat until you are able to have the object remain without holding it.

4. Repeat step two and three using a saxophone reed.

Tip: Try anchoring the front part of your tongue behind your bottom teeth and move that middle part of your tongue up and down. You can feel this movement if you place your finger where the reed will eventually go. This is the movement that creates a slap-tongue articulation.

5. Place the reed on the mouthpiece as you normally would. Form your normal embouchure, BUT instead of placing your lip on the bottom, place your tongue where your lip would normally go. Create the same suction, this time on the reed. Once you are able to create suction, swiftly pull the tongue off the reed. It is okay to slightly lower your jaw. This should yield a non-pitched open slap tongue.

6. To obtain pitch, repeat the previous step and expire air out of your mouth. This should yield a pitched open-slap-tongue.

7. Only once you are able to produce non-pitched and pitched open slap-tongues do I suggest moving on to the closed-slap-tongue.

How to Closed Slap-Tongue.

1. Form a normal embouchure.
2. Create suction on the reed with your tongue, as you did to produce an open slap-tongue.
3. Use the slap-articulation to start the note.

For beginners, I suggest trying is first on a middle C.

It is important to focus on sustaining the note for a couple of seconds after you produce the slap-articulation. This assists in training your embouchure to remain normal.

General Tips.

Remember that your tongue is a muscle. Like any other muscle in the body, it is important to remember that it takes time to build it. Be patient and practice daily, for short periods of time. For example, instead of trying to learn how to play a succession of of slap-tongues over a line, it is much more efficient to learn how to play two slap tongues very close together.

Some people may find it easier to slap-tongue in the lower register. This is usually because one is still able to produce tone in the lower register with a looser embouchure. When learning how to slap-tongue, people usually loosen their embouchure because they are focusing on creating the new articulation as opposed to an optimal embouchure. If you maintain your normal embouchure, you should be able to produce a slap-tongue throughout the range of the saxophone. By practicing slap tonguing throughout the range of the instrument, you ensure that a proper embouchure is maintained.

Try slap-tonguing with different parts of your tongue, as well as different parts of your lip, until you achieve your desired result. You may break the reed the first few times you achieve a slap-tongue. If you do, you are using more tongue strength than needed. Try to use the least amount of effort to obtain the desired result. Regardless, I suggest practicing on reeds that are past their prime, or that are not usable for performance. Some find it easier using soft reeds, others with hard reeds. Experiment until you discover what works best for you.

Further Study: Christian Lauba, Jungle.

Circular breathing is the technique of inhaling through the nose while exhaling out of the mouth. This technique allows one to sustain pitches for an infinite amount of time. Circular breathing is not a “contemporary” technique or even a technique unique to the saxophone. It is a technique that has been in use for centuries on a variety of wind instruments.

How to Circular-Breathe.

1. Form a normal embouchure around your thumb.

2. Blow air against your thumb and let your checks to semi-inflate while maintaining control of your cheek muscles.

3. Repeat Step 2 while breathing in and out of your nose. Practice long inhalations and exhalations in and out of the nose, as well as swift inhales that take in a lot of air. Remember: always push air out as if you were going to be sustaining a note on the saxophone.

4. Get a glass of water and a straw. Repeat Step 3 using the straw in place of the thumb. In order to circular breath (and keep the bubbles going), push air out with your tongue while inhaling quickly through your nose. During that short period of time, the back of the throat naturally closes itself off. Depending on the size of the straw, you may want to slightly pinch it in order to create a resistance level similar to that of the saxophone.

5. Once you are able to sustain the bubbles in Step 4, try doing this while playing a middle C on the saxophone. At first you will probably hear a dip in the sound when you take the quick breath in. This is okay. With practice, it goes away. You may also notice that it is easier to circular-breathe while playing softly. If this is the case, practice softly and eventually add volume. It is important to have a solid foundation and feel comfortable with the technique before you try to move forward. Lastly, since circular-breathing on one note is actually the hardest form to master, practice your scales while circular-breathing. This way it becomes natural to circular-breathe and no longer something you do as an extended technique.

General Tips.

I find the key to circular-breathing is maintaining control of the embouchure and cheeks. When practicing, I often find that thinking about having a “stuffy nose” helps. Some people try to take in far too much air through their nose. Thinking about a stuffy nose often reminds students to limit their intake to only what they need. Lastly, I cannot overstate the importance of pushing air with the tongue. While not necessary to circular-breath, it is what enables me to maintain control of the technique in all registers and dynamic levels. It also enables me to maintain my embouchure while executing the technique.

Further Study: Christian Lauba, Balafon.

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