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Saxophone Practice Challenge Day 1

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Saxophone Challenge

Day 01 – Saxophone Challenge!

Over the next thirty days, commit to practicing your saxophone at least ten minutes per day.

The combination of musical dimensions that you should use and practice include:

Tone, technique (including finger touch and embouchure, Feel/Emotion, Dynamics, Rhythm, Phrasing, Space/Rest, Notes, Articulation, Vibrato, and Listening.

Understanding how the dimensions of music work together is crucial to understand, so take the time to make sure you ‘get’ the idea.

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Tip – Set a time each day to practice and build the habit of practicing saxophone.

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Mindset Lesson– Procrastination can keep you from playing your saxophone.  Some of it has to do with thinking that getting better is a huge task that you can’t handle.  It also has to do with fear of how you will sound.

You just need to break it down.  Ten minutes isn’t a long time!  If you focus on what is important, those ten minutes can help a lot.

Use some time that you usually spend doing something unimportant like watching TV.

And pick up your saxophone!

Keep Track:

Keep track of what you practice each day.  Shoot me an email at the end of the week and let me know how it’s going for you!  There will be a prize for people who keep track of what they practice every day and send it to me each week.

And Sign up, if you have not already.

The Saxophone Dip

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When you play stuff you know on saxophone, it sounds good.

When you play stuff you don’t know, it doesn’t sound as good at first…..

So it might be tempting just to play stuff you know.

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However, if you never grow as a player, you won’t be that interesting to listen to and you yourself might start feeling bored with what you play.

The learning curve on saxophone means that when you play something different, something challenging, the level that you play it at will be lower than something familiar.  It will ‘dip’ (phrase from Seth Godin) and then rise again.

When you have mastered the new stuff, your level of saxophone playing overall will rise.

But it can be tough to get through the dip.

Cannonball and P. Mauriat Saxophones

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Both lines of saxophones are made in Taiwan.  Cannonballs are designed in the US.

A long time ago, instruments from Japan did not play very well, but they have greatly improved.  So much that both Yamaha and Yanigasawa are two of the four major players in the saxophone manufacturing realm.

Like Cannonball and P. Mauriat, Jupiters are made in Taiwan as well and have gotten a lot better.  I have a Jupiter alto that sounds decent.

The brand names Cannonball and P. Mauriat are purely for marketing purposes.

Cannonball Adderley did not play any role in the Cannonball company.

And P. Mauriat was a French musician who did not play saxophone.

Several people have told me that they liked Cannonballs and P. Mauriats.  So try one out and see if you like it.

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A Warning to All Saxophone Players with Metal Hooks on Their Neck Straps

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Protect your saxophone!

Some neck straps have a metal hook covered by rubber and others are just metal.

The rubber can wear down though and then there is just bare metal that goes onto the ring that holds your sax.

Over time the metal rubs and the friction causes wear.  Eventually this can accumulate and dig a groove through the ring.

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The weight of your saxophone could cause it to break and allow your saxophone to fall.

So check to see if you have this problem!

If your neckstrap hook has worn past the rubber, see about getting rubber put back on it.

I used rubber tubing myself.

A quick fix could be electrical tape, but that’s only temporary.

Beginning Sax – Reed and Mouthpiece Issues!

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More on beginning saxophone issues from Randy Hunter.  His lessons and books are available through Sax Station- Beginning Sax Lessons
Randy:

My recommendation is that you play with a student model mouthpiece for about a year. It takes this long to develop a solid embouchure and conception of the tone you are looking to produce.

Begin with a couple of cheap number two reeds. If you are careful not to break them, they should provide two or three weeks of play time. Afterwards, move up to number 2.5 reeds.

You will likely find a good deal of inconsistency in reeds. For this reason, I recommend having two or three reeds on a rotation. This way you will be more likely to tell if any problems you have are reed or embouchure related.

You’ll know a reed needs replacing when:
– the tone starts to suffer.
– you start experiencing a lot of squeaks.
– you begin having difficulties playing the high register.
– the tuning begins to suffer.
Generally, you can expect to get 2-3 weeks of play time from most decent reeds.

Randy Hunter
Jazz Saxophone Instructor
Artist Affiliate
Emory University
Atlanta
Author: “Beginning Saxophone: The Jazz Approach”
Author: “Complete Jazz Styles” etude, duet, and jazz combo books

Beginning Sax – Picking Alto or Tenor Saxophone?

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I had been talking to Randy Hunter, who teaches sax at Emory University, he has written books and lessons specifically for beginning sax players.  His lessons and books are available through Sax Station- Beginning Sax Lessons
Randy:
The first aspect for consideration is whether you should learn on alto or tenor. I usually recommend that kids begin on alto because of size and weight considerations, but allow adults the flexibility to make the decision based on personal preference. Listen to a variety of alto and tenor jazz saxophonists, making note of your tonal preference. If you strongly prefer the sound of the tenor, go with it. If no clear preference emerges, or if you are concerned about the weight of the instrument, choose alto.
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Your next question may be whether to rent or purchase a saxophone. My recommendation is that you rent from a band instrument store that offers maintenance included with the rental. This way, you are assured that your instrument is in working condition, and have the flexibility to change from alto to tenor, or vice versa, once you have a better idea of your preference.

Avoid purchasing a cheap off-brand instrument. Some of these instruments are low quality. You may also have a difficult time finding a repairman that will work on it a year or so down the road when it needs servicing. If you are not certain about the quality of a particular brand, contact a saxophone repairman.

I also recommend not purchasing a used instrument at first, unless you have an experienced sax player or repair shop that is willing to play-test it. You should know that your instrument is in good playing condition.

Randy Hunter
Jazz Saxophone Instructor
Artist Affiliate
Emory University
Atlanta
Author: “Beginning Saxophone: The Jazz Approach”
Author: “Complete Jazz Styles” etude, duet, and jazz combo books

Saxophone Improvisation – Telling a Story

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And the train crashed!

Wait…. come again?

What train?  When?  Who was on it?  Where?  Why?

You may have heard that you should tell a story when you improvise on saxophone.

So you shouldn’t start your saxophone solo with a crazy complicated statement that leaves a lot of questions or doesn’t make sense.

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The audience needs to relate to what you’re saying.   So start off simple and build.

If you take an idea and add it, change it, then make it more complex, that will make sense if it’s related to what you ‘said’ earlier through your saxophone.

One reason that people love when you include quotes from other songs in your solo is that it is something they understand, something familiar.

If they recognize it, then you have something in common with the audience.

Using an idea and revisiting it later in your solo does a similar thing, it keeps the listener with you as you improvise and tell your story.