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Creating a note that doesn't exist

2K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  milandro 
#1 ·
A True Bari Story: Every alto player knows if you raise your left leg, lean the horn to the left, then half cover the bell, you can get a low A if needed. ...SO... a few years ago I was setting in with a very nice big band that featured some heavy hitters from the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. On one particular passage, there was a two measure power moment that called for a low A from the bari... which I didn't have since I was playing an old Zephyr at the time... I noticed that the 2nd tenor man next to me had a middle G in the same measures, so I proposed to him: "Hey, let's do a Roland Kirk thing here. You play the G with your right hand, then stick your left hand into my bell so I can bark the A... His initial response was: "HEY! I've got my own job to do over here!"... so when the time came, I poked him in the ribs, leaned the bell over & he did it!!!!

We later experimented with making a sort of mute using construction paper inserted into the bell to extend the tube making the low A possible. The lead alto guy who is a monster player with a doctorate in music performance gave us a look which expressed he wasn't impressed, so we abandoned the project.

The only honorable thing to do was.... buy a bari with a low A, so I did.
 
#7 ·
Nothing new here and plenty of references in the archives on how to do this (including inserting your knee in the bell while standing and having someone next to you covering the bell by half)

There are also videos this one describes the process and gives you the possibility to buy the extension material.

 
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