Kenny G does this thing called circular breathing. He is one of the very few people in the world who can do it. It is breaathing in and out at the same time so he never has to stop and take a breath. This part of the reason he plays so smothly. Iam in grade 11 and have been playing the alto sax since i was in grade 5, listening to kenny G for even longer

You have to play from your soul

Certain people like certain things. Its important to remember that this post was about how to get that sound and not if other people like it or not.

The Sound:
1. Get a good soprano a cheap one won`t do it. If you don`t play soprano buy a cheap one and work your way up to a better one you may not like it.

2. Buy good reads. To get the best reed you should inspect it some so just buy them one at a time.

3. Get a good mouthpiece. Same thing as # 1

4. Get a good ligature

5. Buy lots of cds and listen to them over and over.

Good Luck!

i play alto.... can a truely smooth sound come out of these and is a tenor better for performance n stuff? i really dont want to play soprana coz i dont like high notes that much haha!!

I can produce that sound. It lies all in equipment and practice (Doesn`t everything lie in practice?). I moved from a Bundy II (that little piece of crap!) and moved to Oleg`s personal horn (see my forum listing about Oleg.). Big differece. Open tone, better intonation, and a beter control of tone. I can have a piercing tone, like the Pop specials of today, a Bebop sound, Like Charlie Parker, and also a soft melow tone, for soft ballads. I also can get great intonation, for classical. It lies in the horn, even though I could get it (pretty hard) on my old Bundy II.

Get a soprano sax, place the mouthpiece in your mouth...shoot yourself in the head. In about one week the gases will build-up and expel a similar sound to the Gagmeister. Another week the smell will be similar.

You know, I got the privilage of getting to meet Maynard Ferguson (birdland...fireshaker...malaguena). But anyway, he said some things that make a lot of since. You say you wanna play just like Kenny G. That is fine, but if you just listen to one player, and learn to play just like them, you will only get to be second best to that person. But if you study more than one sax great, and put all of their good qualities together, and lose the bad, you fill find your own sound, and will become #1 to you.

Would you people quit inferring that the word "great" belongs in any sentence with reference to Kenny Gag. It is the silliest thing I have ever heard. Kenny Gag is to `great` music as the Yugo is to the great song of the highway.
It is just another example of the American consumer`s penchant for embraceing mediocrity - be it film, television, books, other visual arts, and especially music. The problem is here that Kenny Gag doesn`t even reach for mediocrity. I can`t think of a more irritating sound - along with his many clones. The art of music appreciation is like learning to love good literature - it doesn`t necessarily come easily. Like most good things in life, it takes a little work and experience to savor what is truly wonderful in the aforementioned art forms.
Kenny Gag is simply `Dick, Jane, Judy, and Spot` - a sinister form of `sonic lobotomy.`

Here is what I would recommend:
1. Get a decent soprano.
Yanagisawa, Selmer Paris, Keilwerth, B&S, Yamaha, are all good names. I have a cheap Chinese
Jin Yin soprano. The pads are not centered. It has removable necks
and a screw that tightens directly
down onto the neck, instead of one
that pulls the brass tight onto the neck. It never forms a good seal.

2. Go to a music store that has a large selection of soprano mouthpieces, and try different mouthpieces until you find one you like. I went to a music store that didn`t have much selection, and I ended up with the best mouthpiece they had for me, but not the best possible for me. I can`t play altissimo notes at all with it. It has flaws on the tip rail as well where the brass shows through. It was an expensive French one - B&G or something like that. It also doen`t fit the popular reeds very well without trimming and I am not very excited about reed trimming.
So I am still looking.

You might want to get a mouthpiece that you like first, and use it to find the sax you like most.

3. Soprano is the hardest of the original Adolph Saxe types of saxes to play in tune. It takes a lot of practice.
They say that straight sopranos are easier to play in tune than curved ones. I personally prefer a curved one. I don`t like holding my
arms out so far as with a straight one. Decide which kind you want. Try different models.

first, to whoever said that kenny G was one of the few people in the world who can circular breath, she is dead wrong. i know like 10 people at my scholl alone!! who can circular breath, and they`re not even professionals. it is a silly trick that doesn`t do that much in performance, it is just a trick!!

second, i don`t mind the people who like kenny g, fine, i`m open to all music, if i don`t enjoy his music thats my problem, but please, please don`t be ignorant!

don`t say kenny g is the greatest sax player when you`ve never listened to rollins, getz, bird, coltrane, desmond, shorter, hernderson, mobley, carter, and thats just sax players!! there`s so much good music out there, and when you say that Kenny G is the greatest sax player, you are taking all these people who have devoted their life to the advancement of music, and flushing their lives down the drain its infruiating.

to compare, it is like when jazz cats say that kenny G sucks without listening to him its not far, (but its far more of a crime yo say gorelick is the greatest sax player) so please all you kenny G fans, enjoy him if you must, but at least try expanding your horizions, you might find something you like, and it wont do any harm

as i said above, i do not at all like kenny g, but it is a persnal opinion

Just to say some `positive` things...to this subject...really all of you guys are immature...to the fact that SOME of you/not all, think kenny g sucks...that shows your `REAL` musicial side...and you know...get ahold of your self...any musician that devotes itself to music and his/her talent...i give them a thumbs up...reguardless,lets try to make this a good place to talk in...please...im new...and right now...im not so sure! Well thanks for some ppl...who really dedicate their selfs...to welcoming ppl...well anyway...good luck with sax...and everything else...got to split....

Peace..
Hayley

I think its great you`re hearing a variety of sounds and styles. Your desire to define yourself as a sax player says a lot (of good) about you as a musician. Keep it up!

I really don`t care for Kenny G. However, if that’s your bag go for it. And don’t let other silly folk sway your taste. Continue to practice and study Kenny G. a lot. Good luck.

Thanks Matthew!

btw.....where are you from?

Heyley,

I live in Dayton, Ohio.

Ringo:
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!
how old are you??

Hayley