Having a go at Petite Fleur on Soprano

[BeBopSop]

Hi all,here I am having a go at Petite Fleur, I am an ongoing amature, but I welcome constructive critisism. I was purposely playing fast vibrato as a trial sound, but when I played it back it didnt sound so fast and wide as I thought? It seems to me now that what I hear as a player, is different to someone listening to me?



http://soundcloud.com/saxplayer/peti...r-with-vibrato

[Dave Dolson]

John: This tune is expected from anyone playing soprano. It IS Sidney Bechet's tune - have you listened to him do it? Good for you that you played it. I barely heard any vibrato - just another lesson in how one THINKS they sound as opposed to how it comes across to others.

One comment . . . I think you need to shove the mouthpiece in a bit further. Thanks for sharing. DAVE

[Swaman]

I really enjoyed that. The background is precious. Something you might consider is to play longer phrases and continue the vibrato (which is fine) through all the notes. Taking a breath or stopping the sound after such short phrases gives the feeling of being unconnected. Still, you're on the right track. Straight ahead & strive for tone!

[hornlover]

Good standard for an amateur.The tone is o.k. but you need to sustain the notes a little longer especially at the end of a line .Forget fast vibrato otherwise it will sound as if you were trying to imitate Bechet.Vibrato will come naturally as you progress.The important thing here is 'feeling'.Listen to the vocal version .Overall a good effort .All the best .HORNLOVER .Colombo.

[BeBopSop]

Thanks for the above tips, its good to be encouraged and helped. I have listened to the great 'Sidney Bechet' play it many times, and although I acknowledge his talent I wouldnt want his sound myself (probably couldnt do it anyway) I have been listening to Steve Lacy a lot (who I would like to play like) but just cant seem to imitate his sound, I dont know how he gets all those sort of vowel sounds, and I suppose because I have been trying to copy him so much I have come away from vibrato quite a lot,as he seems not to use it very often.I must practice sustaining the notes longer as you say (I have been told this before) the play-along book I was folowing dictated to a degree the note lengths, but even these I may of cut short?
Thanks again,
John

[CooolJazzz]

There are a lot of aspects of your own playing that sound different when you hear the playback of a recording than you may have thought it sounded while you were playing, but in my experience vibrato is usually the one thing that stands out the most. There's just something about the "feel" of applying vibrato that makes it seem more prominent to your own perception while you're playing than it actually sounds when listening to it after the fact. Welcome to the "I could have sworn I was using more vibrato than that" club.

[BeBopSop]

There are a lot of aspects of your own playing that sound different when you hear the playback of a recording than you may have thought it sounded while you were playing, but in my experience vibrato is usually the one thing that stands out the most. There's just something about the "feel" of applying vibrato that makes it seem more prominent to your own perception while you're playing than it actually sounds when listening to it after the fact. Welcome to the "I could have sworn I was using more vibrato than that" club.

I think it would be interesting to play a piece using 'extreme vibrato' while recording, and then play it back to see what it sounds like, and see how far one could go before sounding 'silly'.I think from what I can gather it might be a benefit for me to hike-up the vibrato (from where I am now) as my audience of one (wife) says she prefers it! But best to get a wider opinion methinks!!!!

[CooolJazzz]

Vibrato is a very subjective matter for the listener. I personally don't care for a fast vibrato. It sounds nervous an irritating to me rather than pleasant. Then again, a fast & wide vibrato can make for a nice special effect if used selectively rather than constantly. It's important to be able to use a variety of different vibrato styles though, especially when playing in a section where a particular style of music may call for a specific style of vibrato. If you're playing mostly solo, I would use whatever style of vibrato YOU like best because vibrato is one of the more identifying characteristics of a person's individual sound and style. That doesn't mean you have to pick one particular style of vibrato and use it on everything because there will always be a time and place for something different, but the vibrato you use most often will become part of your stylistic identity. Make sure it's one that YOU can identify with rather than trying to please everyone else, because that will never happen. (Just my opinion)