In candyland, you shuffle the cards, take a card and move to the nearest color, occasionally get stuck until you pick up a red card, and continue until someone reaches the end…..

Similar to some other kids games.  I suppose kids maybe learn about how to identify colors and count with the game…..

When you’re learning saxophone you had better know how to count and how to play the notes.

In most ways saxophone isn’t like candyland.  It’s not a linear process with random cards.  The basic mechanics are a requirement to make music, not the goal.

There are many elements to use together when you play saxophone.  You need to develop them through focus and persistence.

You’ll have to think about how to play, put emotion and feeling into your horn, and make music with others among other things.

So it’s more challenging and you won’t reach the ‘end’ just by playing.

Saxophone is also something worth learning and worth playing well.

Saxophone disaster!

What do you do?!?!

Saxophone players generally practice what they want to play.

But sometimes things go wrong, esp. when you’re soloing.  Then what do you do?

In those cases you need to be able to move smoothly, possibly in a new direction.

One way to help with that is to practice playing a long with records and even hitting shuffle, so you don’t know what’s coming up next.

You’ll learn how to use your ear better and be able to play in situations that you’re not quite as comfortable with.

And you’ll become a better saxophonist.

A real saxophone player should be a musician.

And a musician shouldn’t depend on their instrument to make music.

It’s just something the music goes through.

Today I tried playing a harmonica, hadn’t known that different notes sound as you breath in compared to when you breath out.  Playing it for a minute helped me understand how it works.

Playing a song on clarinet or flute that you already know on sax is going to feel different than saxophone.  It helps you work on your ear since your fingers are moving differently.

If you can play some piano too, it’s going to expand your sense of music and make you a better composer.

I saw Joe Craven play a banjo made out of a can, a cake pan, and a shoe string.

He’s a musician.

Be like Joe.

Judo, Karate, Wushu, Tae Kwon Do, Wing Chun, there are a lot of styles of fighting.

All of them are different.

But that doesn’t make one wrong.

Different sax players have different styles too.

Some players are more flexible with different kinds of music.  A lot of that comes down to how much you listen.

You can also play your saxophone like Bruce Lee approached martial arts and take elements from many places.  By doing that he created something very powerful.

Probably not wise.

You could just hurt yourself more and not be able to play sax for a longer period of time.

I was in a car accident that totaled both cars last saturday.

Felt okay that night, so I played some clarinet.

But then I took a few days off because of the whiplash and the second day feeling much worse.

A neckstrap sounded pretty painful, so I’m using my harness.

Today I practiced again for a little bit and it felt all right.  Didn’t sound so good though because I had missed a few days.

Hopefully the reed was partially to blame!

But really, you shouldn’t push yourself too hard.  Practice when you should.  Usually there isn’t a good excuse.

Occasionally there is.