Out into the saxophone interweb wilderness! Figured I would write about a few sax & music sites that I follow.
The site Casa Valdez can hook you up with some deep analysis of music and saxophone!
I started following it a little while ago, Valdez took lessons from Paul Contos who I also saw a number of times as part of the Monterey Jazz Festival’s music education program.
This is not stuff that the casual fan or beginning player will necessarily be able to digest easily. But that is the point. Clearly Mr Valdez sees his audience as sophisticated musicians.
His site is packed with technical analysis, informative reviews and reflections, and some insightful advice on playing saxophone. He has the knowledge to help sax players especially, but any musician will profit from reading what he writes. The site also includes things like breakdowns of the different chord progressions used by guitarists on specific albums.
There are video clips of live performances that he analyzes in his usual technical manner. Mr. Valdez is on very good terms with a number of contemporary working musicians.
These relationships are put to good use in the form of interviews and book excerpts. For example, there is a lengthy and in-depth interview with saxophonist and teacher Fred Lipsis, covering many different aspects of his music and teaching career. These types of candid conversations give a unique glimpse into the world of working musicians, and highlight the hard work and excitement that make up that sort of lifestyle.
If you are a serious student of music, Casa Valdez can probably help you with some things. From the technical break downs of songs to the almost obsessively comprehensive fingering charts, this blog is a great one to check out.
i am going to check out cv website
also i have a question, i recently had this happen
on one of my saxes the question is what makes
the mouthpiece stick to the cork if you leave on for
like a month, i went to take off the mpc and the cork
came with it needless to say to the repairman. also one
other question how do you articulate a dotted eighth with a
sixteenth?
thanx in advance
barry
Cool, casa valdez is a good site. The cork can expand and contract. There is an interaction between the cork and mouthpiece so that they stick together. You wouldn’t want the mouthpiece to just slip on and off. So depending on the conditions, it doesn’t surprise me that it could stick together and possibly break off some cork (especially if it’s older cork).
My solution would be to not leave the mouthpiece on for a month….
I answered the articulation question in a post.
-Neal