Ol' Mpc Doc said:
I totally agree with you that "learning to play the piece you've got" is much more productive toward becoming a better player than constant equipment experimentation but perhaps you'll agree that "the piece you've got" should not offer any significant impediment to improving as a player. In my experience, many "stock" mpcs at all price levels DO create impediments to a given player's improvement and these impediments are often subtle and elusive. No "justification" is required for trying to address individual requirements for equipment any more than offering "lessons" to improve playing skills does. In my work with hundreds of players at all levels of development I can quickly determine whether it's the player or the equipment that needs improvement - and I don't hesitate to candidly identify which one it is and respond accordingly. Players with deficient skills will not become better players because of some equipment purchase - they'll simply (possibly) be enabled to play at their own best level more easily. For some players that's enough. For others, having the most "irreproachable" equipment available (5-digit Mk.VI's, "holy grail" mpcs, etc.) and still playing in a mediocre fashion should be embarrassing but usually isn't for some reason. Maybe just being affluent and ostentatious about their purchases is gratifying enough. I think some people just want to "belong" to the "saxophone community" and don't play well enough to deserve acclaim or acceptance as players so they become "equipment enthusiasts".
Everyone should read this a few times; it's brilliant even if Doc did steal it from me. Just kidding Doc. Doc's right on the money here even if it stings and I thought I was the only one who knew this aspect of the mouthpiece equation. Start thinking psychologically. This is exactly where it's at if you really want to know. What Doc is saying here is that most mouthpieces are basically defective in that they create "impediments". If I understand him correctly he mean barriers to creating one's own sound i.e. the mouthpiece having more to do with the sound than the player because let's say the baffle is too high so the player gets a buzz or too much treble (brightness) that won't go away no matter what he does.
Doc says "Players with deficient skills will not become better players because of some equipment purchase - they'll simply (possibly) be enabled to play at their own best level more easily."
Ya see, it's not that we have mouthpieces that need to be improved upon as much as it's that we have mouthpieces that are impeding our development with regard to tone and growth because they're dictating how we sound to varying degrees instead of the other way around while not enabling us to sound the sound we hear in our heads. Personally, I honestly and truly believe that everything out there maybe with the exception of Links and Meyers sucks and we'll talk about them in a minute.
Now Doc says, and I love this "For some players that's enough. For others, having the most "irreproachable" equipment available (5-digit Mk.VI's, "holy grail" mpcs, etc.) and still playing in a mediocre fashion should be embarrassing but usually isn't for some reason. Maybe just being affluent and ostentatious about their purchases is gratifying enough. I think some people just want to "belong" to the "saxophone community" and don't play well enough to deserve acclaim or acceptance as players so they become "equipment enthusiasts"."
I'll add here, or they become mouthpiece makers or classical players. HA HA HA!!!!! Here's another secret I'll let you in on, there's no such thing as classical saxophone!!!! AH HA HA HA!!!! I know I'm bad.
So, what happens here is that for example you go to try out mouthpieces and perhaps you try one that's louder or some other crap and your immediate response is "Oh yeah! I hit a home run. Joe Jerk plays it so it must be great" until you get home and realize that it's all volume and nothing else and that your favorite player never really played it himself but wanted to see his name in an ad or that he sounded better on his old piece. Of course these days that's becoming normal and accepted even by the players that use obnoxious mouthpieces. What a shame too because saxophone can have such an amazing sound.
So what do you want? I'll tell you because you probably don't know. You want a mouthpiece that you can play and not the other way around, one that allows your personal sound to shine through without any extra noise created by the mouthpiece, plays a variety of reeds, has lots of overtones (color) is VERSITILE and, you want something that has enough volume to play in today's situations. And I'll add, TO VARYING DEGREES. Now, that's a mouthful, that's asking for a lot, okay? The reason being is that what creates volume is more baffle/smaller chambers and that also substantially reduces your ability to sound unique because the baffle is driving, ya understand? YOU want to drive. Shoot, the mouthpiece doesn't even have a license and you're going to put thousands of hours of practice and dedication into the hands on an innate object?
Why do you think the spectrum of difference of sound is smaller than ever? Oh, you didn't know that? Think about it, Coltrane, Dex, Sonny Rollins, Getz, and everybody you love played Links on tenor (Meyer or Brilhart on alto) and they ALL sounded TOTALLY different! That's because the mouthpiece didn't get in the way of what they were playing because of the design. THEY HAVE ROUND CHAMBERS just like Adolph Sax said the sax should have in his original patented design of the mouthpiece. That's how simple it is, we can't see the trees because the forest is in the way. Links, my mouthpieces, SR Technologies "Legend", and Feddie Gregory's are the only mouthpieces made today that have round chambers and I'm sorry to say that mine are unavailable right now.
So, how do you think two piano players make the same piano sound differently? By using different phrasing, understand? They're driving because they don't have anything to rely on but themselves. I studied with piano great Sal Mosca for ten years and when he played a gig he'd pick out the notes that didn't work and just didn't play them. He has that kind of command over his playing. In essence, let's say he can play ANY mouthpiece only in this case it's a piano. He didn't have a choice, understand? Today, ***etaboutit, every modern sax player sounds practically the same so the only way you can identify someone immediately is by their technique and for me that means that the art is gone and this is because nobody wants to work hard enough and I'll admit that they lack volume in a lot of today's situations. Ya see, modern, high baffle mouthpieces are like fast food. It tastes good at first but it gives you coronary heart disease, dig?
I'll give you another analogy just in case you still don't "get it"and believe me, it took a very long time for me to get it so don't feel bad and be grateful that you have someone like Doc to explain this stuff because this stuff is as elusive, and unknown as some ancient religions and I believe that only a few people that ever lived fully understand it. Okay, in an interview with Dave Guardala he said "The mouthpiece should do all the work" and to be quite honest, I think everyone pretty much sounds the same on them. At least that's what I think. On the other hand when I studied with Joe Lovano he once told me that the harder he has to work the more individual he'll sound.
Well, I disagree with both of them. For Guardala, the reason I stated above. Joe? Well if you have to work as hard as he is then there's no way your ideas can flow entirely freely because you're straining yourself. Joe has a difficult time getting low notes out if you noticed. Somewhere in the middle is the answer, at least that's what I think so when you are looking for your individual self, look no further than a Link or round chamber piece and if you can't play it then look at yourself because no matter what mouthpiece you choose, sooner or later you're going to be challenged by your music in some way and if you let a bunch of stuff get in the way like mouthpieces, reeds, horns, obsessions like the internet, or any thing else, you'll never play even good. Phil