How to Choose an Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece: Classical and Concert Band Edition

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• professional saxophone playerHirai Naoyuki
  Born and currently residing in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture. He picked up the saxophone after joining the wind ensemble in high school, studied under Akira Kamei and Toshihisa Ogushi, and went on to Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. While at university, he studied classical performance under Kazuo Tomioka and Masahiro Owada. After graduating, he studied jazz saxophone with Akira Omori and Hidefumi Toki. He is currently active in jazz combos and big bands, as well as in ensembles such as wind ensembles and saxophone quartets. He also holds highly popular improvisation workshops across Japan, known for being easy to understand and fun.

How to choose an alto saxophone mouthpiece

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A truly wide variety of shapes and materials have been released by various companies, making for a remarkable diversity of individuality.

Even if you can try it out in the store, in just a short time—with playing techniques that bring out the strengths of that mouthpiece,LeadFinding a match for that is an extremely difficult task, isn’t it?

Yes, it's quite difficult to find a mouthpiece that really suits you.

I, the author, have also always been troubled by mouthpieces and have tried many different ones.

With that experience in mind, I’d like to share my recommended mouthpieces this time.

I haven’t tried all the mouthpieces that have been released.

I only wrote about things I actually tried,Since the instrument and reed setup varies from time to time, playing with today’s setup could result in a completely different impression.I think so.

Please be aware of this point and continue reading.

Top 3 Recommended Mouthpieces for Classical/Wind Ensemble Players

In the classical and wind ensemble fields, the desired tone color is to some extent predetermined.

It varies a bit by era and country, but to me it means a sound that is glossy, brilliant, warm, mellow, resonant, and with a solid core.

For example, a young saxophonist who will lead the next generation,Kohei UenoThe tone colors of Mr. X and Mr. Hiroshi Matsushita fit that image perfectly (though they themselves might have a different image).

How is it?

It's a beautiful tone, isn't it?

We’ve selected three mouthpieces to recommend for those who prefer this kind of tone.

Selmer | S90 180

Alongside the company’s S80 C Star (One Star), this is a classic, time-honored masterpiece.

It was the mouthpiece that I had been using and relying on the longest.Glamorous soundI feel (it).

If you specialized in studying the saxophone, it’s the kind of piece you’ve probably played at least once; I believe the aforementioned Mr. Ueno uses it as well.

It’s a proven mouthpiece, but let’s actually play-test them and choose the one that resonates the most.

Vandoren | Optimum AL3

This is the mouthpiece that made the author switch from the Selmer S90 180 they had been using for a long time.

Compared to the S90 180, it feels like the tone is more mellow and moist.

Also,The sound comes together easily and is easy to control.It felt that way.

It seems that the aforementioned Mr. Matsushita is using this one.

I think there’s relatively little variation between individual units, but I still recommend trying them out and choosing the one you like.

Selmer | Concept

A superbly refined new product from Selmer released in 2013.

This mouthpiece was released as a contender to revive the popularity of the Vandoren Optimum.

In fact, I completely fell for that assassin myself and ended up buying it.

I felt the Optimum AL3 sounded a little congested in the high frequencies, but the concept around that area...Without causing stress, it sounds smooth.I think there are many players who use this mouthpiece as well.

I think there’s little variation with this one as well, but please make sure to try playing it.

By the way, I chose what I thought was the best photo from these of when I tried playing it.

Lastly

Next time, I’d like to introduce some classic mouthpieces commonly used in jazz and pop.