Most of you who know me probably don’t know this but, this past Christmas I asked for a saxophone and a flute. I got them both! (I must have been a very good girl.) I thought it would be fun to learn something totally separate from what I do daily. But, as it turns out, in trying to learn this new instrument, I find myself finding new sources to add to my knowledge of vocal production. So I’d like to share the following video with you.

This video is part of a 14 part series of lectures on how to blow into a saxophone. The lecturer is Harvey Pittel. At the time of these videos he was teaching at University of Austin and is an ex-student of Joe Allard of Juilliard. What he has to say about breathing and embouchure resonated so much with me and with my thinking about breathing and preparing for singing. So I’d like to share it with you.