When you first start to learn a new skill, whether it is learning to play the sax or anything else, you have a lot of questions that you will need an answer too. The big question is where do you turn for this help. Ideally you will turn to your teacher and they will have the answers for you. But what if your teacher is unsure or you don't have a teacher?
Well, you could ask your local music shop, your school music teacher or any other musician that you know but there is no guarantee that they know anything about playing the saxophone.
The Internet is probably one of the best resources at your fingertips. You can google your question and see the thousands of music related sites that will appear, these could well give you the answers you need and probably a load more of information besides. Personally I use a couple of forums, these are great places for anything sax related. including information on instruments, technique, repairs, players, courses, recording etc.
The 2 main forums are Sax on the web (http://forum.saxontheweb.net/) this is an American site that has a worldwide membership and is huge. There is a massive amount of information on this site, the other one is a British based forum called Cafe Saxophone ( http://cafesaxophone.com/)It is run by a Professional saxophonist called Pete Thomas and is a very friendly site. It has various sub sections that cover various categories. Pete also has a charity section that raises money for children's charities. This site is linked to Pete's own site that has a huge amount of info relating to the love of our lives.
Both of these sites are good sources of information and well worth joining. There are other forums out there and they should be investigated. If you find any good ones then please feel free to let me know.
Go explore and learn from what you find.
Saturday 15 May 2010
Sunday 9 May 2010
Casual Sax rehearsal
The first practice went well this afternoon, with only one person missing (holiday) We got through five pieces including 'I feel good', 'Blue Moon' (Mud version), 'Crazy in Love' (Beyonce), 'fun,fun,fun (Beach Boys), 'Sir Duke'.
Crazy in love has got some very 'interesting' rhythms in, this will need some detailed practice, to say the least.
Funx3 has been dropped as the second page is very repetitive and boring,but the rest are in. The Blue Moon and Crazy in love have been arranged by one of our band members Chris. He has arranged them for multiple saxes rather than a quartet as this gives us a fuller sounding arrangement. They are well worth playing and have had received very favourable praise.
Tea and home made cake was very kindly provided by Sarah (our host for the afternoon)
Our next rehearsal is in two weeks time, allowing people plenty of time to get their heads around the arrangements.
further updates to follow.
Keep blowing!
Crazy in love has got some very 'interesting' rhythms in, this will need some detailed practice, to say the least.
Funx3 has been dropped as the second page is very repetitive and boring,but the rest are in. The Blue Moon and Crazy in love have been arranged by one of our band members Chris. He has arranged them for multiple saxes rather than a quartet as this gives us a fuller sounding arrangement. They are well worth playing and have had received very favourable praise.
Tea and home made cake was very kindly provided by Sarah (our host for the afternoon)
Our next rehearsal is in two weeks time, allowing people plenty of time to get their heads around the arrangements.
further updates to follow.
Keep blowing!
Saturday 8 May 2010
Band Practice/Casual Sax
Thursday night is band practice night. I play in a community big band in Kibworth, Leicestershire, that meets once a week. We gig through out the year, but this year has been quieter than normal for us. We are in the middle of setting up our own website and hopefully that will get our name out to the public.
We are about 22 strong but depending on the size of the venue we sometimes put out a resticted band of 16.
We have a large sax section but are always short of trombone player, why are they so rare?
We play a wide range from Miller through to Goodwin and back again and make a pretty reasonable sound.
We have a couple of gigs coming up in June, one is an 80th birthday party near Peterborough and the other is a regular gig, the North Kilworth Millenium green village BBq.
This is our 5th year at N.Kilworth and as our illustrious leader is away, I get to wave my arms around. (The picture on the right is from that gig last year.) We keep this gig very relaxed with loud shirts being the order of the day and as many members as possible can play. Halfway through we stop to go and cook our own food that is supplied by the local butcher (very tasty)and generally a good time is had by one and all.
In the past we have put together a sax quartet for special occasions, and as this is not a regular thing, we are called 'Casual Sax'. Well this year we have decided to resurrect the group and open it up to all of the sax section (9) Our first rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon and I have got to sort out the music for it. It should be interesting as some of the players have not really played in a sax ensemble before. I will keep you upto date with how the session goes and what we have decided to play at the BBq. I would like to get a recording of the band to upload to my blog if I can work out the technology needed. Hopefully the weather will stay fine and I will post some more upto date picture mid June.
We are about 22 strong but depending on the size of the venue we sometimes put out a resticted band of 16.
We have a large sax section but are always short of trombone player, why are they so rare?
We play a wide range from Miller through to Goodwin and back again and make a pretty reasonable sound.
We have a couple of gigs coming up in June, one is an 80th birthday party near Peterborough and the other is a regular gig, the North Kilworth Millenium green village BBq.
This is our 5th year at N.Kilworth and as our illustrious leader is away, I get to wave my arms around. (The picture on the right is from that gig last year.) We keep this gig very relaxed with loud shirts being the order of the day and as many members as possible can play. Halfway through we stop to go and cook our own food that is supplied by the local butcher (very tasty)and generally a good time is had by one and all.
In the past we have put together a sax quartet for special occasions, and as this is not a regular thing, we are called 'Casual Sax'. Well this year we have decided to resurrect the group and open it up to all of the sax section (9) Our first rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon and I have got to sort out the music for it. It should be interesting as some of the players have not really played in a sax ensemble before. I will keep you upto date with how the session goes and what we have decided to play at the BBq. I would like to get a recording of the band to upload to my blog if I can work out the technology needed. Hopefully the weather will stay fine and I will post some more upto date picture mid June.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
School concert
Tonight was a school concert at one of my schools. Loads of small items from all sorts of groups. These ranged from the school concert band playing Grease,Abba,Yakety sax and Pirates of the Caribbean to a Rock band who had trouble with their electrics and recorder groups, vocal groups and soloists. The sax group played Mambo No.5 and Chatanooga Choochoo and I did a Soprano duet of Me and my shadow from the Rat Pack guess spot book.(I must remember that if the piece has 3 pages, then to put them in the right order on the stand before we start playing. Luckily we both realised and managed to play round it.!)
There was a superb song from a vocal goup, of Lollipop, I am hoping to scrounge a copy of the score of this and see if I can arrange if for the sax group as it had some excellent harmonies.
This was a really good event with the kids doing themselves proud and I am looking forward to next week when we bring out some new pieces for the sax group. That will keep them on their toes.
There was a superb song from a vocal goup, of Lollipop, I am hoping to scrounge a copy of the score of this and see if I can arrange if for the sax group as it had some excellent harmonies.
This was a really good event with the kids doing themselves proud and I am looking forward to next week when we bring out some new pieces for the sax group. That will keep them on their toes.
Monday 3 May 2010
Adult Sax Group
On a Monday I have a sax group at my house. It is made up of 3 adults who have all passed grade 1 and working towards grade 2. They meet once a month and this is their 3rd session. They have never played in any other groups before.
Tonight was a good session with a breakthrough on a new trio called stranger things. They got through it on the first attempt. We each took it in turns to conduct the piece through and this helped with understanding how the 3-4 time signature works. This is definately something that we will use again and probably worth trying yourself if you are stuck with a piece that you are practicing.
Well done guys, see you in a month.
Tonight was a good session with a breakthrough on a new trio called stranger things. They got through it on the first attempt. We each took it in turns to conduct the piece through and this helped with understanding how the 3-4 time signature works. This is definately something that we will use again and probably worth trying yourself if you are stuck with a piece that you are practicing.
Well done guys, see you in a month.
Sunday 2 May 2010
What sax is right for you?
This is not to do with which brand of saxophone to play, rather which pitch of horn is right for you.
The main thing to take into account is your physical size. Most children start on an alto because it fits their hands well. Some are so small that they go off of the idea and take up something smaller like the recorder. There are a couple of options available to those students and they are, The Alpha sax. This is a full size alto saxophone that weighs less and also has some of the more difficult to reach keys missing. It is suitable for players up to grade 3 as these missing notes are not required. They cost about £400 to buy or rent from £90 a quarter. (personsally, I would buy it and sell it on if I didn't keep playing). The other option is a curved soprano. They are a lot lighter and great for small hands. The main thing to remember about these is that they take a lot of puff to blow even though they are small. These are available to rent or buy.
A lot of adults also start on an alto because the store advises them that the alto is best to learn on. They then discover the tenor and love the tone and depth of sound that it gives and wish they had chosen it instead. My advice is don't be put off by the sales assistant, ask to try a tenor and if you like it then opt for it. This also applies to the soprano. If you decide the baritone is for you, you will more than likely have to buy one as they are very difficult to rent(also very expensive!)
The best way to find out is to either go to a shop and try them out for size, or contact a local teacher and ask if you could try theirs out. (please remember that teaching is their livlihood and that they may expect you to pay for their time, but you will get an unbiased opinion as to what is best for you).
Most teachers are happy to do this. I normally get a couple of contacts a year regarding this subject and I have people come and have a honk before they part with their hard earned cash.
The main thing to take into account is your physical size. Most children start on an alto because it fits their hands well. Some are so small that they go off of the idea and take up something smaller like the recorder. There are a couple of options available to those students and they are, The Alpha sax. This is a full size alto saxophone that weighs less and also has some of the more difficult to reach keys missing. It is suitable for players up to grade 3 as these missing notes are not required. They cost about £400 to buy or rent from £90 a quarter. (personsally, I would buy it and sell it on if I didn't keep playing). The other option is a curved soprano. They are a lot lighter and great for small hands. The main thing to remember about these is that they take a lot of puff to blow even though they are small. These are available to rent or buy.
A lot of adults also start on an alto because the store advises them that the alto is best to learn on. They then discover the tenor and love the tone and depth of sound that it gives and wish they had chosen it instead. My advice is don't be put off by the sales assistant, ask to try a tenor and if you like it then opt for it. This also applies to the soprano. If you decide the baritone is for you, you will more than likely have to buy one as they are very difficult to rent(also very expensive!)
The best way to find out is to either go to a shop and try them out for size, or contact a local teacher and ask if you could try theirs out. (please remember that teaching is their livlihood and that they may expect you to pay for their time, but you will get an unbiased opinion as to what is best for you).
Most teachers are happy to do this. I normally get a couple of contacts a year regarding this subject and I have people come and have a honk before they part with their hard earned cash.
New to playing the sax?
Have you got a hankering to play the sax? fancy yourself as the next Stan Getz? whats stopping you then? Ah you don't have a horn to call your own. So what options are open to you then. Well, you can either buy, borrow or rent one.
Buying can be risky as you don't know what is a good saxophone or a bad one and you could end up spending a fortune on a heap of junk.
Renting is less of a risk as you pay rent each month and this will normally cover servicing costs too. Some shops will only let you rent for a specific peiod and then expect you to buy the sax. Others will let you rent and if you decide to buy, then they will allow some of the rental money against the purchase price. Be aware that this is not always a good option as the purchase price can be inflated. You may be better off checking other shops for the same horn and just accepting the rental money gave you the chance to decide if the sax is right for you .
If are thinking of playing the soprano saxophone, you may find it difficult to rent one as they are seen as specialist instruments or you pay extra for the privilege.
I normally recommend a shop based in Taunton, called John Packer (www.johnpacker.co.uk) as their rental costs are very reasonable and they allow up to six months rental against the purchase price. They also rent Sopranos too and they are happy to deliver the instrument to your home.
It is worth doing your research before you make any commitment before signing an agreement.
Borrowing one can be useful as it is free, however the sax may have been under the bed for a few years or been played constantly for ages on rock gigs. Well like most things that have been heavily used or in storage, it may need a service for it to work properly. You, as a novice, would probably not know there was anything wrong with the instrument and feel that the reason it is making funny sounds is your fault. It would be worth getting a technician to give it the once over, and this is a nice way to say thank you for being lent the sax.
Buying can be risky as you don't know what is a good saxophone or a bad one and you could end up spending a fortune on a heap of junk.
Renting is less of a risk as you pay rent each month and this will normally cover servicing costs too. Some shops will only let you rent for a specific peiod and then expect you to buy the sax. Others will let you rent and if you decide to buy, then they will allow some of the rental money against the purchase price. Be aware that this is not always a good option as the purchase price can be inflated. You may be better off checking other shops for the same horn and just accepting the rental money gave you the chance to decide if the sax is right for you .
If are thinking of playing the soprano saxophone, you may find it difficult to rent one as they are seen as specialist instruments or you pay extra for the privilege.
I normally recommend a shop based in Taunton, called John Packer (www.johnpacker.co.uk) as their rental costs are very reasonable and they allow up to six months rental against the purchase price. They also rent Sopranos too and they are happy to deliver the instrument to your home.
It is worth doing your research before you make any commitment before signing an agreement.
Borrowing one can be useful as it is free, however the sax may have been under the bed for a few years or been played constantly for ages on rock gigs. Well like most things that have been heavily used or in storage, it may need a service for it to work properly. You, as a novice, would probably not know there was anything wrong with the instrument and feel that the reason it is making funny sounds is your fault. It would be worth getting a technician to give it the once over, and this is a nice way to say thank you for being lent the sax.
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