Beginners/Intermediates post your recordings here ->Nov.2011

[Face Ache Mike]

I can`t imagine a more difficult task than trying to emulate one of the sax playing greats, down to their timing, phrasing etc. Its hard enough just making a tune sound good "your own way"! I can definitely understand wanting to assimilate some of their style into yours, to let your style be influenced by theirs but to try to become them for the song, thats a tough one.

I`m not criticising you Claude, I`m thinking out loud whether its good to make a goal of sounding the same... I can see that it would add things to your musical arsenal such as being able to use certain players techniques/effects and how they articulate but I don`t see how aiming to be a saxophone impressionist can be a good thing. Please don`t think I`m aiming this directly at you Claude, its just your comments set me off thinking about this

Ok, as for Mr Clegers Autumn Leaves... I found it overall relaxing, quite muse-ical (ha nice pun!) I felt that you were a little inconsistent though, sometimes dragging notes out, sometimes chopping them short, sometimes a little behind, sometimes right on. So, it became a disturbed, slightly agitated relax. Like sunbathing on an ant hill.

Maybe I`m being hyper-critical, I just got back from an irritating band session. Feel free to disagree

[cleger]

I can`t imagine a more difficult task than trying to emulate one of the sax playing greats, down to their timing, phrasing etc. Its hard enough just making a tune sound good "your own way"! I can definitely understand wanting to assimilate some of their style into yours, to let your style be influenced by theirs but to try to become them for the song, thats a tough one.

I`m not criticising you Claude, I`m thinking out loud whether its good to make a goal of sounding the same... I can see that it would add things to your musical arsenal such as being able to use certain players techniques/effects and how they articulate but I don`t see how aiming to be a saxophone impressionist can be a good thing. Please don`t think I`m aiming this directly at you Claude, its just your comments set me off thinking about this

Even worse if you're trying to emulate a trumpet player But in all seriousness, I do agree with you and in any case I don't have the talent or time to try to copy someone completely. I'm just trying to learn from "my betters" (which is pretty well anyone who has ever picked up an instrument ).

Ok, as for Mr Clegers Autumn Leaves... I found it overall relaxing, quite muse-ical (ha nice pun!) I felt that you were a little inconsistent though, sometimes dragging notes out, sometimes chopping them short, sometimes a little behind, sometimes right on. So, it became a disturbed, slightly agitated relax. Like sunbathing on an ant hill.

Maybe I`m being hyper-critical, I just got back from an irritating band session. Feel free to disagree

Not too critical at all, those were some problems that I had thought of. Some of it was from trying to think of how the tune was played by Miles and some from me just not being a very good musician.

here's a recording of Miles playing the tune with Cannonball Adderley that is the style that I was after

[cleger]

Once more with feeling.. and energy.. and...

IOWTBWY

I took my eye off the ball for a second but managed to get back in.

I missed this one up to now. That's sounding nice and crisp to me, good going!!

[cleger]

Here are a few tunes from the rock&roll band I'm in. Looking for suggestion on how to improve phrasing with a swing feel (as played on the song Liqour Store). Thanks!

click here

I enjoyed that Rockplayer, unfortunately I don't have any suggestions for you. I thought your style was great for the tune and fit in very well with your band-mates.

[Face Ache Mike]

Cleger, Thanks, what I`m aiming for.

RockPlayer, Thats well beyond intermediate level if you ask me. Your playing is more fluent than my talking. Only suggestion I can think, which I don`t doubt you`ll already know, for playing swing is to keep thinking de-daah, de-daaah etc simple but effective. Hopefully someone better qualified can advise you. I tend to swing when I should play straight, I keep getting told off for it ha! Only thing I`d do to improve is raise you in the mix, your presence should be stronger but I`m a (wannabe) sax player so I`m biased. Your band is absolutely rocking an` a-bopping. Love it

[Bill Mecca]

a couple quickies, Ihappened to open the pc and look for stuff to play tonight and came across some of my backing tracks and did these two quick, one take after running thru them once to try to remember them LOL

Comego

and

Teen madness

yeah, I've done em before, but had more fun with them this time. ;-)
clams and all...

[Wilbur Weltklang]

Hey Claude. I always thought that Miles was out of his depth alongside the likes of Coltrane and especially Cannonball. The virtuoso fireworks would come to an end and then Miles.....parp!....................................................................parp parp! hehe.
He did have a way of embellishing the melody though. Art Pepper did this too...and said that it was his poor memory.
I'm thinking that perhaps something like Steve Neff's approach tone lessons would help in this dept.?
Bill: Excellent! TIG do 'Teenager In Love' but my part is relegated to 'long tone wilderness'
cheers, Mark.

[Face Ache Mike]

Bill, As always, I enjoyed your playing. You`ve got me thinking.... Your playing is very lyrical, down to little inflections that make the words stand out. I remember you saying your teacher said to "make it musical" or words to that effect. So, how are you doing this? It seems you`re memorising both the score and the lyrics, your hands playing the notes and your breath and tongueing "singing" the words. Am I on the right lines? As you know, I use a sheet because my memory is poor. I was wondering if I should add the lyrics to help me with phrasing. Sometimes, even though I play note for note, it doesnt seem to match the lyrics ie more or less syllables. I`ve no idea how that happens. Ive been paying more attention to my phrasing by trying to remember how its sung eg I watched Will Young singing Leave Right Now lots of times before recording so that I could recall his words and try to match him. The same for Dusty Springfield/IOWTBWY. Am I doing it right? Any tips? Thanks

[Wilbur Weltklang]

Hi Mike. Most music can be subject to many interpretations by artists adding embellishments and ornamentation to what would otherwise be an ordinary score.
There is a level of 'internalising' a melody that allows you to investigate other ways of expressing it. I think this comes from looking away from the sheet and trying to re-shape it with the ear to make it fit in a way that the original singer would have sung it.
Sheet music is a tad mechanical in this as that if you wrote it as the 'original' it would involve reading at a far more difficult level.
Have a look at some of Curtis Swift's transcriptions.
cheers Mark (unfortunately not Bill)

[Face Ache Mike]

Cheers Mark. I do know what you mean and the looking away and reshaping is what I`m doing lately, remember the glitch on ermmm the Dusty Springfield one? I think Ive got the right idea but need more practice at it and becoming more confident, and then more explorative with the songs.

p.s. Yes, I have some of Curtis` transcriptions and I do see what you mean. Every little inflection is expressed as a note. I`ve seen midi files so detailed they contain ooohs aaahs groans you name it. In fact, the Will Young one, the first few notes, I thought were lyrics and I played them as such. Then on closer inspection I found it was a long subdued HhmmmMMmMMmm.

I`ve made the "mistake" of playing only the notes and not paying attention to the sung words.

[Rockplayer]

thanks for the feedback folks, I think you're being easy on me though... but then, we're always our own worst critics. A couple years back I posted some tunes, haven't done much recording since but I do check out what folks have been recording all the time, the improvements of those of you who have stuck with it are substantial! I'll listen to others who are accomplished post their work and for the most part it's all "overly polished"... I think there's more to be learned from the folks who, like myself, are working away at becoming better sax players for no other reason tha we love doing it. Look forward to hearing more from everyone. By the way, I'm not much of a critic, typically I like most of what I hear from everyone, it's encouraging me to get away from my comfort zone (blues/rock) and try my hand at playing some jazz (which I truly suck at). thanks!!

[Bill Mecca]

Thanks everyone. didn't respond sooner, it's been one of those days, and this evening taken up with trying to figure out an issue with my Linux install on this laptop (still not right I think its the video card) anyway....

Mike, I'll have to think about it....hmmmm, I just stick it in my kisser and blow...LOL seriously though, those tunes I picked out by ear... I know them from hearing them for years, so when I play the backing, I start to play, hit some wrong notes, figure out the right ones (or nearly right ones) and then hit record. I'm singing the lyrics in my head while I play, I love to sing, but as I get old my vocal tuning is a bit better but my range is not. I remember when I could sing in a falsetto. haven't been able to do that in a very long time. I think it was Dexter Gordon (probably one of many) who said you need to know the lyrics.

I get these tunes started trying to stick to what listeners remember, then I either muck it up and start improvising, or just start playing around with it, but the lyrics are always in my head.

So my best advice would be learn the lyrics by singing along with a commercial recording, if putting the lyrics on the sheet helps you remember do that, but mostly just have some fun with it.

hope that helps...;-)

Like I said I stick it in my kisser and blow into the skinny end and wiggle my fingers. (Mark, Dave Woodford said the same thing nearly when I recorded Wild Weekend with only sax no guitar after he had given me the chords and I made up a backing track in BIAB. what you said about long tones on Teenager... )

[mrpeebee]

I recently bought a second neck for my Selmer SBA tenor and just put a soundclip on YouTube to compare the sound differences between the new and old neck.

See this SOTW thread for the link in case you are interested to hear the sound differences as recorded in a simple "Selmer SBA Neck Comparison Blues":
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthr...mparison-Blues

Peter.

[tjontheroad]

Hello Gents I have not been around in while. Please excuse my absence. I took a break from playing. I think it did me some good. Anyway, you guys doing a tune of the month for April? I'm inchin' to give it a try.

[The A Train]

I was looking at that Hal Leonard 'Jazzy Blues' book that 'Bags Groove' was in and *Chitlins Con Carne* caught my eye. I tried it and it has nice movement and I think we could get some really nice takes here with it. The folks that want to play it jazzy can do it up that way and those that want to go more bluesy can as this tune can be done either way. I've even heard it with a Latin backing. Aprils TOTM?

[Face Ache Mike]

Welcome back, Tim.

Alan, If I can find a decent midi I`ll have a go. Just watched this.... Yes, I`ll have a go

[tjontheroad]

Thanks Mike,

There's a cut I did last year of Bags Groove on my soundclick page
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...songID=9391716

I'd give another try if you guys want.

[cleger]

Hey TJ!! Good to see you around these parts again.

I'd be game to give Chitlins a go. I'm not familiar with the tune but I'm always game to try something new.

[The A Train]

Nice video Mike -those cats are cookin'!...Claude, you have Hal Leonard 'Jazzy Blues' -it's in it.

Even Stevie Ray did it:

[cleger]

Hey Alan, I have a couple of backings for that tune. I just meant that I've not played it and I don't have any recordings of it.

Very cool SRV video, I still love listenening to his music. I saw him in concert shortly before he was so tragically killed, he put on a great show.