Forum: Late Bloomers

Similar to many of the member's postings in the Late Bloomers category, I was a young sax player through high school and into college, playinng at the college jazz band level for a few years until the late 1970's. During college, I picked up the guitar and later sold my Selmer Mark VII alto to pay...

I'm trying to sand down a #3 because it's too stiff. (I'm doing Hirsh's break in method on a Jazz Select). I'm using #600 sandpaper and only pull the reed away from the tip. I also sand on both sides. Is this OK? Anything else I should do or be careful of? Thanks.

First off... hi all. I tried picking up the sax a few years ago, but life got in the way, so now I'm at it again with a vengeance. To that end, I spent a great deal of time here on SOTW reading different reviews, tips etc... looking for a few things to make my practice time a bit more enjoyable...

I was just having trouble getting clear bass notes so I took out my tools and tested every screw - particularly in the upper stack - and found one was loose. Now my bass notes play well again. This incident prompted me to get on my soapbox once again. This is the advice I wish someone had given...

I have been playing saxophone for nearly a year and a half. Last Autumn I managed to talk my way into a semi pro big band, and have been flying by the seat of my pants ever since :) I am an extra 2nd tenor - a very good seat for a section player. It's a geat thrill to play with experienced...

If we ignore the fact I have managed to break a second mouth piece!!!! Things are going well here. As I am waiting for delivery of new mouthpiece I have decided to look at my "theory" homework and now have a number of questions. Have printed out the 12 major scales - to learn - and now wonder...

Hi one and all, i am new to the sax,(alto) 6 months, after playing lead guitar for 25+ years. Loving the alto and cant play it enough, well till the lip gives in. my question is, could some one give me any tips on playing quietly,(never thought i would be saying that) i still have every thing to...

So, I am a 23 year old tenor guy. I picked up saxophone when I was 19 years old. After doing some touring with bands, I am going back to school. I have no formal training. I had a few lessons with a college student, and the rest is .pdf files and The Saxophonist's Handbook. I am going into a...

After years of using a visual digital tuner, I am now just using the organ stop and the sustain pedal on the electronic piano to produce a drone. Much better! When playing a major fifth above the drone it chimes right in. However I am less certain of being right in tune when playing a major third...

I did some house cleaning in the last month and sold my two C Melodies, a trombone and a metal clarinet. Now my office only has my Vito Alto, my Amati Classic, my Buesher Aristocrat alto and my Buescher True Tone "Rotary" alto. I have been taking lessons with the Amati Classic stencil and I have a...

I just got my Harry Hartmann carbon reed. Wow, very smooth. I normally use a #3 cane reed , but went to a med/soft for the Hartmann and it is just about right. For all you late Bloomers the best advice I can give you is this: you do not have enogh time to screw around with cane reeds! Get a...

Dam - just about to practice and I have dropped my mouthpiece and it has broken. Would ask my Teacher but he is on holiday for two weeks. I have an alto sax 1957 Conn and it had a second hand Yamaha mouthpiece. I have had a quick look on the net and there are all sorts of mouthpieces and a...

The title says it all. I thnk that the band went up a notch this time due mainly to the fact that my playing skills went up a notch (I'm the weakest link). It's a Dixieland Band called Bordello Rhythm, and the lineup is drums, rhythm guitar, valve trrombone and me on alto sax. The guitar player...

Getting a bit frustrated with my breathing and my teacher says its an unusual problem - I have been waiting for the problem to get better but its not!! Basically I cannot work out when to breath in a piece of music and more often than not I end up completely out of puff by the end of a piece. It...

I am having some fantastic lessons and being set all sorts of things to do, but am currently tempted to cheat on this one. It sounded really easy to begin with, I have been asked to write out in music form the notes and beat to frere jacques. I have worked out the notes (with some help!) and have...

I have been having allot of issues lately with my rhythms and just staying on the beat. I just cant seem to count right in my head, and do it right. I always fall behind, get ahead, play rhythms the wrong way, or get lose my pulse. I just started practicing with a metronome, its helping, but i...

Hi Folks, I think I know the answer to this, but for an intermediate "come-back" player (playing again after 25 year hiatus post-high school), how much trouble and I making for myself by switching my daily practicing between three or four different mouthpieces? All are quality pieces, it's just...

I was sitting in the coffee shop this morning when a ska version of "I'll Take You There" (made famous by the Staple Singers) came over the sound system. Got me to thinking. Are there any play along CD's with notation where the sax is just part of the horn section rather than playing the melody? ...

I was planning on joining a community band next week, I already contacted the band director, and he has already replied and is looking forward to me joining them and there is no audition to join. My question is what qualifications should I have or how much do I need to know even though there is no...

I'm an old guy who switched to guitar in the early 70's. In 2002 I tried to get back into the sax and bought a black nickel Guardala BN501 tenor. No matter how much I practiced it just seemed that the Guardala had to be pushed hard with air. I remember playing a '68 Mark VI with a Berg, and it...

Something that I have found helpful is to write out a slow major scale in Finale (or any othe music writing software) and play along with it. I play first in unison, then 3rds, then 5ths and then 4ths - listening very carefully. I realize that Finale will use a tempered scale, but just playing...

A woman on youtube demonstrated correct articulation and said that the very tip of the tongue touches the very tip of the reed. I have to admit that my tongue is about an half inch over the reed. I tried her approach and my articulation sounded much crisper although it will take some time...

I am beginning to think that I just moan and question all the time - so sorry in advance, the problem I guess is that I have no friends who play any instruments so when I get a question I have no- one to ask. Those of you who have suffered through my journey with me will know that I now have a...

I just got a Legere (plastic) reed and I wish I had started on one. Both the Fibrocell and the Legere are great, but the Legere is better. I almost quit the sax because of the hassle associated with reeds. This Legere plastic reed may last for years and if it wears out I'll just get another....

Here's my problem and i hope someone can help...... I have a Selmer S80C* that is GREAT.... I also have an Ebolin Brilhart 1* and a Rico Metalite M5. The shank on the Selmer is much longer than either the Brilhart or the Rico and when tuned up goes on the cork about 2/3 down. When I tune up with...

First of all, don't judge me too intensely...I had good intentions, really. It's vacation season, which for me, means that my work schedule is complicated to say the least. Add to that, house guests, sick kids and my own travel and the result is SERIOUS distance from this instrument I love so...

Hi I read somewhere where it gave a few description to describe what Diminished vs Augmented Vs Dominant sounds like just in general terms and how you can do differentiate them by ear. I am referring to the Seventh Chords. Can someone please give me a few blurp on each so I can note in down and...

Hi, I'm a lapsed late bloomer in the UK. I started playing at 30ish about 10 years ago on alto, switched to tenor and did a few exams (last one grade 6). I then got laid off from two jobs in fairly quick succession, moved cities twice and now would desperately like to start playing again. I'm...

I am trying to take on board everything my new teacher has said - changing my stance, putting top teeth on mouth piece dropping bottom jaw etc and he has increased my reed from one and a half to two. so, why am I sqeaking on notes higher and including middle C? I am still getting a ridge on the...

Hey, everybody. I just posted parts 3 & 4 of my YouTube mini-series on overtone basics. PART 3: How overtones... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4MWImTFocg PART 4: Why overtones? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV5wGgoBk3A In them I discuss & demo the 2nd harmonic. More importantly,...

I'm always seeking motivation in one way or the other so I was listening to an interview with Saxophonist Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and he was talkiing about how he motivates younger players by the lessons he learns from older players and a thought occured to me. How cool would...

Talking hypothetically about a person who has only taken up the sax (and music) in later life, but they have progressed rapidly in a short period of time - so much so that if they were a teenager, they'd be considered very talented and get all sorts of support and assistance and maybe even...

Ok. First lesson under my belt.... Hopefully an old dog can learn a new trick (I'm 47). I still sounds like I'm strangling a goose. Having trouble making a decent sound with only the mouthpiece. I am able to play a note or two with the neck and the entire horn. Does this mean I'm putting...

Hey, Folks Gather 10 sax players and you'll have 11 different ways to break in and take care of your reeds. I've tried many of them. Here's the system I use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRAKij61y_g It's easy, straight-forward, and helps my reeds play well and last long. And it's...

I just played my 2nd professional sax gig last night - a wedding reception. The trombone player in our band is an old veteran and that helps a lot. We play Dixieland mostly. I was a lot better this time and made very few errors. If I accidently squeak a note, I go back and squeak it again to make...

Hey guys I have just started playing this year at the age of 40. I have a new YTS 275 and think it's great. I will get a bari in time too. With so many of you out there having been playing for a long time and owning many horns I was wondering where did it all start? What was your first horn? I...

Sorry for the quick 2nd posting here -- but I just uploaded part two of my embouchure lesson on YouTube. It picks up where I left off on part one posted earlier this week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib9rhuk9HXs&feature=player_embedded sincerely, ~ Rick

Hi, Folks. I just posted the first of two videos on saxophone embouchure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0IijB7gxPg&feature=player_embedded In it, I demonstrate and explain how to form an embouchure that's suitable to your mouth. There is also a tone comparison of tight vs. loose...

Had my first session today with new teacher - he is clearly in a different league to my old one - studio, music dec, filing cabinets of music - am very happy BUT my stance is wrong, the way I am holding the sax is not right and the way I hold the mouthpiece is completely wrong. So, had to move...

Hi all. Well, the end of this month will be my 2 year ann. playing the tenor. Although it's been a long haul it's been worth it. I'm now with a paino music recording and teaching person. I've made great strides with my timing issues and my sound is now developing. I try not to call myself a late...

After reading Progress after One Year thread I decided to start this one. This is my first thread after joining SOTW one and a half year ago. In late October 2008 desire to learn to play sax became uncontrollable and I found Dan Perez (my teacher) here on SOTW and started lessons on alto....

I haven’t posted much of late on SOTW – I have been so busy practicing:) It’s now exactly one year since this late bloomer started on tenor saxophone. I am amazed how much has happened. Last summer, my teacher suggested that I enrol for a music conservatory summer course (at which he was an...

I am sure it happens to the best of us but right now cannot find the enthusiasm to practice. I missed my last lesson (was at emergency hospital with youngest son) and left it too late to phone to explain why I missed it so now need to find a new teacher. Truth be told, although I love the idea of...

I am currently using this online tuner http://www.seventhstring.com/tuner/tuner.html I know that all my notes come out in tune but some are +10 cents sharper, does this equate to when people refer to 'the sound is too bright', are they related in anyway? When I sustain the note i am...

I do. I was wondering if anyone else here at SOTW does.

hello all; my history w/ reed instruments dates to my 20s. i discovered Sidney Bechet and promptly bought a sop sax & clarinet. this went a grand total of nowhere once i found out there was work & discipline involved. after a 30 year gap i bought a tenor on a lark. very early Chu-era w/o the nail...