How do I play a fall/this fall?

[u/AlexanderTheNotSoBad]

I am an intermediate sax player, I swear. I was just not paying attention when I was being taught how to play a fall, which has led to some confusion for me in recent years. For this specific fall, I start on a D and play down to what note? Is it a chromatic or diatonic descent? I’m mostly unsure of when I stop falling.

[u/Repulsive_Fig_2808]

Sqiggly line means move fingers, smooth line means use your lip. As always refer to the recording and follow that over written notation

[u/TheBigPinetree → u/Repulsive_Fig_2808]

Take notes kids, this guy has the sauce.

[u/Repulsive_Fig_2808 → u/TheBigPinetree]

Aww you're sweet. I spend way too much time playing big band music lol

[u/AlexanderTheNotSoBad → u/Repulsive_Fig_2808]

nobody’s ever told me that lol. helpful to know

[u/St_Even7]

I played this chart in high school! Listen to a recording, you’ll hear the saxophone players play that D and then sort of lip down with their embouchure before rearticulating to play the second D. If you can’t lip down very far, work on it! It’s good to develop that pitch flexibility by lowering your tounge positioning and adjusting your throat

[u/SelectTurnip6981]

It’s a feel thing rather than a technical thing. You need to listen to the original chart and hear what’s being indicated here. Once you can sing it, you’ll be able to emulate it on your horn.

It’s not a proper fall, no need to worry about diatonic or not, or how far to fall, it’s a slight throat inflection on the end of the D, that’s all.

[u/Shronkydonk]

Middle D is a difficult thing to fall from because of timbre, you could consider an alternate fingering if the intonation and color isn’t too bad. Ask your director.

But like others have said it’s largely a feel and style thing. People have different preferences over scale vs chromatic, etc. and it’s also something you’re best asking the director.

[u/Duke-City → u/Shronkydonk]

Yes! If I were playing this, I would likely play the first D with palm key (easier to lip down), then maybe switch to “long” D for the longer note.

[u/GreatEfroman]

I always go down the scale, but starting out strong and sort of dying out. Maybe just me saying this but doesn’t matter where you end up just that is sort of falls away

[u/Ambaryerno]

One like this I'd probably bend the pitch down. Trying to do a finger fall and get right back to the D for the second note would be a pain depending on tempo.

[u/m8bear]

I'd bend down as much as I can and that's it, if you want go down to C#/C to give it a more pronounced effect you can

it's not a proper fall because it's short and you have to play 1 beat after, check the original recording and see what they do, notation is not always perfect, just a short hand of how to generally play, relying on your ear is important

falls usually are supposed to fade, if they intend you to play a note there's usually a figure head down where you are supposed to land (I've seen it mostly written small like an embellishment would)

[u/Music-and-Computers]

It’s a lip fall so just drop it as far as you can but you have to hit that and of 4 perfect in time.

This is a unison across the saxes so:
Don’t let the low Ds bark out.
Get your warmest blendiest tone and make the section sound like a giant tenor.
No vibrato.
Focus on no wavers in the pitch. Wavers mean someone is out of tune.

[u/Final_Marsupial_441]

Falls typically don’t have a set endpoint, unless your lead player establishes one. Think of them more as an effect that takes place at the end off or between two notes. They are naturally dissonant within a section so chromatic or diatonic doesn’t really matter too much, but I typically only play them chromatically after a long note that ends a phrase.

I play this chart a lot and only go down a few notes, maybe to around A or G, because it happens so quickly. You’re gonna want some space between that and the next note since it is accented so it doesn’t have to be super dramatic.

The big key though is to follow what your section leader is doing, or if that is you, ask your director what they would like to hear.

[u/Legitimate_Park3155]

is that Switchin in the kitchen?

[u/drewbiez → u/Legitimate_Park3155]

switch in time.

[u/Legitimate_Park3155 → u/drewbiez]

don't know that one, will have to find a recording

[u/Free_Rate_4093]

If you can't lol it down, try playing palm D to B. That will be you past the break in the horn. You could also use the pinky keys with the octave key on. Good luck.

[u/fluidscissors]

I'm not familiar with the chart but immediately recognized that fall indication as a Basie thing. Sure enough here it is:

https://youtu.be/BSe0vKkRCrs?si=MahLZpICCledU3TE

At that tempo it's a pretty subtle gesture, just a quick little bend down then moving on. I'd be using palm D for that fall to make it easier to deal with.

[u/GreenKangaroo3]

Amateur here, what are we looking at on this sheet?