Long tones as morning meditation

Saxophone players, and probably brass players too, seem to always have a strong reaction to practicing long tones. Some people, especially younger pupils, find practicing long tones tedious and boring. Others find the simplicity of playing one note for a long time calming and enjoyable. I’ve always enjoyed playing long tones and it has really helped me develop my sound, to the extent that I even got complimented by Dave Liebman. It is so important for a horn player but often over-looked. It's not hard to make progress, here's how:

How you frame your thinking about playing long tones can change how you feel and think when playing them. If you allow yourself to enjoy the process it slowly becomes enjoyable and even stress-relieving and therapeutic.  I like to think of playing long tones as meditation. I am not an expert on meditation by any means, but playing long tones is the closest I get to meditating and it feels good. Here’s how to do it, and it’s simple:

1. Choose a method of playing long tones. 
I have recently been playing them in 4ths or octaves, for example holding a low D, then jumping to the G above without tonguing and in the same breath, holding for as long as the note still sounds good. Try to match the same sound for both notes. Other options are by half step, diatonically up or down a scale, etc. All are good to do.

2. Focus on your breath. 
Get a big breath, filling your lungs and expanding your diaphragm. Start the sound with a soft tongue to get a clear attack, and support the note with your core muscles and diaphragm as you play. The breath you push into the horn should be steady, slow, controlled. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down away from your ears.

3. Focus on the sound of the note. 
Strive to make the sound consistent and pure. No wobbles. In tune. Steady level of loudness. Make the sound enjoyable to yourself, musical, beautiful.

4. As your mind starts to wander to other things, bring it back to the breath control and the sound of the note. 
Repeat. Repeat.

My mind wanders a lot while I do long tones and so will yours. It’s OK and normal. Let the thoughts pass and return to center to focus on breath and the sound you are making.

You will feel more calm, relaxed and ready for the next thing after you have done this for even a few minutes. At first your notes will wobble, they will be slightly out of tune, and you may not enjoy the sound. If you do this every day even briefly, you will soon see huge improvements in your tone.