I read that the front teeth should touch the mpc but I seem to play 
with my teeth off the mpc to avoid the vibration. How important is 
the teeth contact with the mpc?
Thanks;
Bill

I'll do this sometimes if the nerves in the teeth are especially sensitive
on a given day.  You can get away with it easily on bari sax.  Somewhat on
tenor and bass clarinet.  The smaller horns need more support to control
the pitch.  You may go flat while playing loud.  Check yourself against a
tuner.

Also, more open tip mouthpieces create more vibration.  Black rubber
patches at the tooth contact area help, but you need to get use to them. 
I'll even use 2 of them on some mouthpieces.

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Bill:  By far, the majority of players do play with the teeth on top of
the mouthpiece.  I find it is necessary to exert the correct control
with the embouchure and jaw.  With the teeth on the top of the
mouthpiece, you only have one side moving (the  bottom lip/jaw).  With
the mouthpiece shaking around loose, you have it moving all over, not
just up and down, but side to side.  With the teeth on top the
mouthpiece, as Forest Gump says, �Well, that�s one less thing to worry
about.�

But that all is just as far as control, varying jaw pressure to fine
tune pitch, bend notes, or vibrato.  Still, there is the problem of
applying sufficient pressure to control the reed, a reed of reasonable
strength, and a mouthpiece with a reasonable tip opening.

Even with moderate tip openings and reeds it is just about impossible to
apply the correct pressure with either a double lip embouchure, or with
the upper teeth off the mouthpiece.

Likely, you are playing with insufficient embouchure pressure.  That
will cause a player to play flat, so to make up for it, the player must
push the mouthpiece very far onto the cork.  This causes the low
register to come in tune, but the upper register will not respond
easily, and embouchure pressure must be increased.  This makes the upper
register sharp in relation to the low register.  Or if the player tunes
in the upper register, the low register is very flat.  As the player
gets up to the palm key notes, there is difficulty getting the notes to
respond.  If the player increases embouchure pressure even more, in an
attempt to get those notes to respond, due to the mouthpiece position,
they tend to be very sharp.  If the player lips down, he loses reponse
on those notes.  A player who plays too tightly has a different set of
response and tuning problems.

Now, let me explain� I am not an advocate of the very loose, no
pressure, embouchure school.  Nor do I advocate a very strong bite.
There is a correct pressure somewhere between these two extremes that
allows a full, resonant tone, and good intonation and response, without
excessive embouchure manipulation, throughout the entire normal range of
the sax.

The exact amount of embouchure pressure needed depends primarily on
three factors:  (1) the reed strength, (2) the tip opening of the
mouthpiece, and (3) the length of facing of the mouthpiece.  I have
outlined a method for finding this correct pressure (and it works for
whatever reed strength and mouthpiece facing you may be using) in one of
my articles on SOTW, Tone Production for Beginning Saxophonists.  In
Beginner�s Corner 3 & 4, I outline a very simple embouchure formation
method that results in, very easily and intuitively for a player, the
same embouchure that Teal spends an entire chapter to explain.  These
three articles can be found at:  http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/

If vibration through upper teeth bothers you, as it does with more than
a few people, especially with bari sax, bass sax, bass and contrabass
clarinet, simply using one or two rubber patches on the top of the
mouthpiece will make it more comfortable for you.  Some complain that
the rubber patches cut through too quickly.  Simply apply one of the
thin clear patches over the thicker black rubber patch.  The clear
patches are much stronger, will not bite through.

Make sure you use the same brand clear and black patches, and that they
are precisely placed on each other.  If a large patch is put over a
smaller patch, or laps over the edge of the one directly on the
mouthpiece, air will hiss through the gap at the edge of the lower
patch.

The black and clear  patches by Selmer and Runyon Products are all the
same size and shape.  In fact, Selmer�s are made by Runyon.  The black
and clear are both cut on the same die cutting machine, with the same
dies, so they are precisely the same size and shape.  They do make a
small patch (for soprano sax) and a large size.  I discovered the air
leakage thing by putting a large clear patch over a small black patch.

Paul


David wrote:

>  I read that the front teeth should touch the mpc but I seem to play
> with my teeth off the mpc to avoid the vibration. How important is
> the teeth contact with the mpc?
> Thanks;
> Bill
>
>
>
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--
Link to Paul's articles from Home page of "Sax on the Web":

  http://www.saxontheweb.net

or directly to Paul's articles at:

  http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/

Listen to Paul's MP3's at:

                http://briefcase.yahoo.com/tenorman1952

and view photos.

Paul-
Thank you very much for taking some of your valuable time to answer 
my question. The fact is I read about placing teeth on the mpc in one 
of your articles! So I will go back and review the article and pick 
up some rubber teeth gards too. 

Perhaps you might be amused to know I'm a middle aged guy that just 
rediscovered my 1925 Conn New Wonder Alto in the basement. I had the 
instrument put into play condition for a big $55.00 dollars and am 
having fun relearning the horn. I don't remember learning very much 
technique in grade school band back in the early 60s. Seems like the 
expectation was to learn to read music and play a few marches for the 
yearly concert. I do remember a tenor player was trying to growl and 
make other interesting sounds but the teacher told him to quit it! 

Thanks again for all the energy you have put into the website and 
postings on all the sax forums.

Bill