I have devised this warmup to work on multiple aspects of playing including activating the use of one’s inner ear and larynx, finding the optimum placement for creating the embouchure, and determining the strength and flexibility of the reed. It is applicable to any saxophone.
This exercise should be played in its entirety, very slowly, and without any overt manipulations of the jaw, tongue or teeth. Pre-hearing the pitches and allowing the larynx to respond to the dictates of the inner ear will prove successful in executing the music. By asking the player to slur to and from the first overtones of the lowest notes at the end of each example, it will become evident if the player has taken in enough reed/mouthpiece AND if the lower teeth are exerting the necessary upwards pressure. The tongue must remain in a elevated, wide position throughout. Remember, only the movement of the air and the subtle adjustment in the larynx should be activated in order to achieve the pitches and overtones indicated. (Make sure when the overtones are produced that they are “pure”–without any hint of other pitches being heard.) Since this exercise focuses on the lower register of the saxophone which contains the least resistant and most resistant notes, it will allow one to find the reed that exhibits the proper strength and greatest flexibility.