Subtone is an advanced technique of tone generation on woodwind instruments, particularly the saxophone and clarinet.[1] It is often described as a soft, breathy timbre that is usually produced in the lowest range of the instrument with low volume.[2]

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Photo of Ben Webster, one of the early popularizers of the technique.[3]

The subtone is used predominantly in jazz, where it has been characteristic of saxophone and clarinet playing since the Swing era with players like Ben Webster and Benny Goodman. Other early practitioners from the 1930s and 1940s include Lester Young, Harry Carney, Woody Herman, Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins. More modern examples of the 1950s, 1960s and beyond include Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, and Grover Washington Jr. Its unique timbre and quiet temperament lends itself well to jazz ballads, where it has been historically utilized.[4] However, the subtone is regularly employed in virtually every genre of jazz, whether the tempo be fast or slow. The diversity of the below list demonstrates this, as there is an example from the Swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, from cool jazz of the late 1950s, and from jazz bossa nova of the mid-1960s, to name a few.

Notable examples

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Some notable examples include:

Notes

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  1. ^ "Definition of SUBTONE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  2. ^ Pete (2013-09-20). "Subtone on the Saxophone". Taming The Saxophone. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  3. ^ Kernfeld, Barry (2003). "Subtone". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J433600. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  4. ^ Kernfeld, Barry (2003). "Subtone". Grove Music Online. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.J433600. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  5. ^ 78 Record: Coleman Hawkins - Body And Soul (1939), retrieved 2020-04-06
  6. ^ "Duke Ellington - At Fargo 1940 Live". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  7. ^ 78 Record: Woody Herman - Early Autumn (1949), retrieved 2020-04-06
  8. ^ Vinyl Album: The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959), retrieved 2020-04-06
  9. ^ Vinyl Album: Ben Webster / Oscar Peterson - Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (2016), retrieved 2020-04-06
  10. ^ Vinyl Album: Dexter Gordon - Go (1962), retrieved 2020-04-06
  11. ^ Vinyl Album: Stan Getz And Joao Gilberto Featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim - Getz / Gilberto (1964), retrieved 2020-04-06
  12. ^ "Coltrane* - Live At Birdland". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  13. ^ "Bob Brookmeyer - Bob Brookmeyer And Friends". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-04-06.