Wow, part 6 already! These do get long with videos and comments and then the page load time starts to get really slow so I have to start a new post. This keeps things moving a little faster.
So, get out your favorite tune that you’re working on and consider making a video, post it to Youtube and then we’ll post it on here to share with other members.
La Donna E mobile – just what u rock & rollers don’t want to hear.
I played this piece, i heard it in my head, i recorded it, i played it back.
What i hear in my head is not what i hear when i play the recording,
but its close to what i hear in my head. For this recording i used a La Voz reed,
the ZZ reed was playing twice as sharp in this register & i couldn’t control
what i heard as well. I know the sound that i’m looking for and i’m getting closer to it! one day…
Hey Sxpoet, really cool song 🙂 It was one of those songs that I thought I remembered what it was when I read the title but once I heard it then I was like “now I remember this song” LOL
Your ability to control the timing in your playing, like we talked about before, as shown HUGE improvements in such a short amount of time. What have you been doing for practice? Do you use a metronome at all? Thanks for sharing this and keep up the great work 🙂
La Donna E mobile is actually one of many grade 1 exam pieces, whereas i am doing three grade 2 exam pieces. So as i didn’t do grade 1 and i’m doing grade 2 i should be able to do a grade 1 piece ortherwise i’m in trouble.Saying that i can’t quite do one of the grade 1 solo pieces which is a poor show, and the piece in question is the teddy bears picnic!
The three grade 2 pieces for the exam, two with a piano player and one solo piece, i practice everyday 15 mins for each song with metronome, then with backing tracks.
I’ve being doing them for over a month & i’m still not timing perfect throughout each song! really hard work for me & if i practice for longer everything goes downhill concentration wise. probably to do with my age (56).
I also have to demonstrate scales Fmaj,Dmin,Gmaj,Dmaj,Amin as well as their arpeggios.
Having probs with arpeggios remembering the order coming back down (D/F#/A/D/F#/A/D/A/F#/D/A/F#/D).
A good exercise for scales my teacher suggested is do it in the order 1,2,3,1/2,3,4,2/3,4,5,3/4,5,6,4/5,6,7,5/6,7,8,6/7,8,9,7/8/
then back down
8,9,10,8/7,8,9,7/6,7,8,6/5,6,7,5/4,5,6,4/3,4,5,3/2,3,4,2/1/
Then try playing it like a jazz swing piece.
The members videos shows everyone has improved over the months – which shows how keen everyone is!
My Alto Sax is in the shop, so I figured now was a good time to do an upload on the Tenor….this is my very favorite song of Johnny’s. On the Chromatic Scale required in the solo, I missed hitting the low Eb so please forgive me but it’s been a long, LONG day at work and the Saxophone really helps to settle down and relax. My son put his video editing skills to use and for the solo we decided to play a little bit more up close/personal. Thanks Johnny for releasing such a fantastic song….look forward to seeing the next one to be released 🙂
It would help it I pasted the youtube link:
Michael, your efforts are really starting to pay off my friend! You’re getting the growl now, you’re incorporating some trills…it’s these things that can help make a performance really shine. Your tenor tone is getting bigger too.
You are coming off the beat here and there. Try tapping your foot all the way thru with the beat, this helps us to play along much tighter with the groove/band.
Thanks for your help as always Johnny and it’s a work in progress, I’ve learned a lot but still have so, so far to go–I’m trying to listen to the drummer to help follow that beat like you’re talking about….no easy task with this song. I think on those Chromatic Scales it’s impossible to hit every single key in a solo like this; I actually tried that and it slowed me down a lot LOL I think you mention that in your lesson on Glissandos too and you talk about getting about 90% of the notes is good? I have worked on Chromatic Scales like a mad man every since I started you Altissimo course and they are a part of my regular practice now.
The reed I’m using here too is what was, I guess you could call, the “2nd” best choice out of the box because I wore the first one out and it sounded even better than this reed I’m using here LOL It sounded a little more brighter and with more edge than this reed and it lasted me a long time! It freaks me out about the Javas, that there’s is one reed in the box that plays UNBELIEVABLY good and some that don’t, so I have to try them all and see which is that one good reed. So I’ve learned that the “wise” Saxophone student will buy a box of Jave reeds and not just ask the man over the counter to sell you 1 or 2 of them.
Jake and I will be uploaded the duet of one of your Love songs very soon, we think you’re going to like it 🙂
Very good show Michael – i’m starting to go stir crazy as i haven’t been able to play my Sax for over 12 days now .
My embouchure will probably have collapsed by next week.
I do daily chromatic scales & scales with my fingers at
the same time mentally imagining the note positions on the
sheet music.
i’ve also been relistening all my recordings and realised how badly out of tune some of the notes are.
The only thing i did do before going on holiday was to record all the notes on the Sax so that i could listen to them to remember what each one sounded like!
Keep up the hard work – can’t wait to hear your recording with Jake!
Wow, major improvement in a lot. Your sound is getting fuller, the quick key changes are more fluid than they have been in the past (good job with the chromatics), growling and trilling. Its starting to come together!!
Your tone sounds better than your last few videos too, doesn’t seem to have the sharp harsh sound, it smoothing up while having edge!! I like it.
Thanks Jake…I’ve been working like a Mad Man on a lot of things, in this video I wasn’t using my first reed of choice from the Java box as I wore the first one out. The simple USB mic I use doesn’t really capture what my Saxophone really sounds like (how loud/edgy it is) but will be getting a home recording studio going soon and will be looking to get some help with Johnny on setting it up. The last couple of videos, like Rock Around the Clock and Mack the Knife sounded a little harsh due to reed experimentation. Yep, it’s starting to come together…still got a long, long way to go.
Hey Michael, it’s great to hear your improvement. Your performing on the sax is getting more natural both in the way you visually come across and musically. The one comment I would add to others made (which you’re likely aware and are working on, and was Johnny’s first comment to me) is to be more conscious of how you start and stop the notes. As an overall impression to me the notes come across shorted in duration. In the quick tonguing phrases, the time the note is off then back on, has a bit too much “off” time, and notes at end of phrases.
As new students to the sax our initial milestone is to be able to get all the notes in that are on the sheet, but how the notes are “played” has to be in development and not shortchanged. The old quality vs. quantity adage.
But improvement is huge for sure, and your mouthpiece/reed selection is getting dialed in.
Here’s a list of commom problems that Johnny corrected for me after i went through the members videos-
Yup, you have summarized the most important point of getting to be a good saxophone player. When you “Trawl” through all the tips I give in the comments you’ll find they all get repeated over and over (as in the list you gave). You can buy every sax instructional book in the world and you won’t find anything new as far as that goes!
1. not giving the horn enough supporting air,
2. not blowing loud enough to develop tone,
3. control over starting and stopping notes,
4. being too sharp or flat from not having the mouthpiece too far in or too far out,
the mouth being too far in or too far out on the mouthpiece,
5. not adjusting the embouchure when playing in different registers,
6. fingers coming up too high off the keys,
I would add to #4 that when most people sound out of tune it’s not only because the mp is too far in or out (this is where fine tuning comes in) but rather because they are not doing #1, #2, #3, and #5. Yes, when all those important things come together it will eventually make your playing sound in tune.
thanks johnny, for correcting me!
Thanks Kevin–upon watching the video I noticed that too, which is a great thing about the blog; it’s a work in progress…don’t we just love that word, progress? LOL Cool, thanks guys 🙂
Thats what i love about the Sax,
such a lovely challenging instrument,
from one day to the next,
when you slap on that reed,
it takes on a life of its own,
and you wonder to yourself,
is it in control?
i often begin to fret,
when the reed gets too wet,
or the pinky’s missed the key,
and my teacher frowns at me!
or the sheet falls off the stand,
when i forgot to press start,
with the cable wrapped round my legs.
Still life is interrupted,
when that beast begins to blow,
and the horn bobs up and down,
when i pucker up my lips to blow!
the kids put on their headphones,
the dogs are on the horizon,
there i am all alone,
with my loyal saxophone!
Hello Everyone,
Hey Michael, that video of watermelon man was great buddy. Can wait for the next video
Jake, I saw your video of you with your band. I must say that was awesome man!
Anyway, while I am still in practice mode. I had the chance to do another saxophone video guys hope you like:
http://bandhub.us/s/53d528a025aaeaef6400000e
Louie
Hey Luis, great choice of song for the Saxophone….never even thought about that one but you opened my eyes up on this one—thanks much for doing it and the kind words of encouragement.
Good for you to get into the practice mode because that’s exactly what we have to do. I’m curious about the bandhub thing you’re doing, never even heard of it before but looks to be a great tool for sure. I’m wanting to check it out.
Just one quick suggestion–is it possible to turn up the recording volume on the Sax to hear it better? You picked a beautiful song for sure! Thanks so much for sharing this and keep going, I love your Saxophone set up 🙂
Wasn’t gonna post a video but what the heck.. I have been away camping and at a nascar race the past 4 days and haven’t played my sax until tonight!! Really missed it.
I am playing along with Mustang Sally. I am playing the bass beat along with the song. I took the solo spots and improvised a solo using 5 notes!! Just did it tonight so in time should get even better. I am using new reeds and think I have found a winner for now. They are Rigotti Golds Jazz 2.5. They were recommended to me by the man who made my custom mp after I sent him a video. I don’t like the java greens and the reds are a little bright for some songs. Still a work in progress finding the setup but I feel I am getting there. I am using a hand finished Guardala MBII.
Still gotta open up on those upper notes. I just read Michaels forum post about relaxing the throat and I need to really focus on that more. I can feel myself tensing up as I am getting ready to blast that high note and that is the opposite of what I need to do, hard to overcome that!!
Luis, I can’t seem to view your video, won’t load for me for some reason. I will retry again a little later.
JAKE: What a MAJOR difference in your tone! Those reeds must be working great for you, awesome. Are they a Cane/synthetic reed? Do they make them for both Alto and Tenor? I’ve never heard of them before so I’m curious. What size are you using? Please make sure you got that same tone going for our duet!
I just stopped by the repair shop today and paid the guys for their work; so the Alto is soon to be finished and Custom MP that I had ordered for it coming in about a week or so. They took a look at the Alto I have and spoke very, very highly of it. It’s made by Yamaha.
For me, the thing about relaxing the throat is more mental than anything else; but it’s something I have to, right now, consciously think about and tell myself to do. Try it and see how it goes for you; start slow and gradually go from there. If you feel the muscles in your throat start to tighten up, back off and start over. When I do that, the high notes in the 2nd lesson of the Overtone series, that I just started working on today, come out very nice/clear; so it was a great, great step in the right direction. I’m “knocking” on the doors of the Altissimo range 🙂
These reeds are 2.5 mediums. They are a cane reed. After a quick look on Amazon it appears they do have them for alto. I haven’t tried them on the alto as I am working on my setup for the tenor. Not sure if I would get a similar sound as I am using a different mp on the alto. Like I said, I have never heard of them either, they were recommended to me based on a video I sent to the guy that did my custom work to the Guardala MBII piece I am using.
I will def use these in the duet because they play a nice smooth tone when I need to slow it down for the love songs!! I have been asked to play “Can’t help falling in Love” for a wedding next year (of course I am using Johnny’s version) and initially was going to use the alto but after playing these reeds, they have changed my mind. Think I going back to the tenor for the song. What a difference a reed can make. Such a good feeling when you head in the right direction!
Michael band hub I discovered via a post from someone that view one of my Youtube videos.
I feel it is a great way for everyone to play together or play parts of a song.
The app or program record the song separate from everyone and then if you like the way it sounds then you submit. Share it with the music community, friends etc. Also Michael, you can control the volume on your end.
Jake, I hope you can view it. Maybe we all can play a song together there (free to sign up)
I also went out and purchase a Dave Guardala mp (King Curtis) using 2.5 Java reeds. But on my upper D — I get a squeal. Oh well I’ll figure it out–work in progress with the new setup.
Rock On Guys!
Hey Luis–are you enrolled in Johnny’s Altissimo course? If not, I strongly suggest you do….it will put an end, once and for all, to those squeaky notes. He shows you how to have total control/mastery over the normal range of the Sax and it’s only a stepping stone to hitting in the Altissimo range; so the point being is that his Altissimo course will DRAMATICALLY improve your ability to play in the normal range of the Sax….that alone is worth every penny for the course; let alone that once you get the necessary things under your belt in this normal range. I think any member here who is working hard to apply themselves in the Altissimo course will tell you the same things I’m telling you because they have seen the difference in their own playing and the gains they’re making. After having total mastery of the Sax in it’s normal range/Octave, then you’re ready to move on and he shows you how to play in the Altissimo range. I’m working on the final exercises he teaches before starting to play in the Altissimo range and I’m know I’ll be playing up there very soon 🙂 So do yourself a huge favor and get registered for it; the price he charges for the whole course is way less than the price we’re paying for our kids to get their drumming/violin lessons….and they only get with their instructors once a week for 45 minutes. The advantage of going through Johnny’s course here on the site is that, because you have links to all the instructional videos, it’s like having him teach you any time, any day, as much as you want right over your cpu.
Thanks for the band hub link, will definately check it out.
Hey Michael, I have sign up for it — and you are right it worth every penny. My squeaky note (D) — I wanna say is due to the new setup and getting used to it.
Louie
Hi Luis,
i have Sax lessons once a week & i said to my Sax teacher that when i practised every day that i used to alternate between a metal & a non-metal mouthpiece when practising.
He told me stop doing that & stick to one mouthpiece all the time, because he could tell that my embouchure sounded different when i turned up with a different mouthpiece & wasn’t impressed.
So now i only use the metal one, as i want that more edgy sound.
Hey Sxpoet: You bring out a very, very good point. Your sax teacher is exactly right because we have to “train” the muscles in our embouchure to play with the MP we’re using and that’s very hard to do if we’re constantly switching from one practice to the next, so thanks for bringing out this very important point.
LUIS: So glad to hear you’re in Johnny’s Altissimo course; work hard and hope to hear you playing those high-screaming notes in time to come 🙂
Thanks Sxpoet,
I also want the edgy sound so that why switched to the metal mp. Hopefully, I’ll get the edgy dirty sound by Thanksgiving (hihi)
Jake, That lower register is really filling out nicely tonewise. MP and Reed choice are your best to date! Though ya gotta give credit to your air delivery, and embrochure of course.
One thought for you to consider- Your playing style has developed whereby you use the “scoop” embellishment to the start a pretty good percentage of the notes. To produce the scoop sound the oral cavity has to change it’s shape and spacial volume. Your tone could possibly sound even bigger with less scooping. Curious to what other’s think of this thought…
Luis, it’s been decades for me since hearing that song. Glad you picked it. Nice performance. The start of the notes and note changes (tonguing) didn’t seem to “pop” as cleanly as your previous videos. Loving the tone from that sax!
Thanks for your observation Kevin. You know, I have formed a habit. I don’t even realize I am doing that scoop sometimes. When I listen to my recordings it is pretty evident that it is there. LOL. Sometimes it sounds good and others not so much. I will really have to work on playing the scoop when I want to, not when the habit does. I have been working on the full range of the sax to really get those low notes. One exercise I have been using is playing appregios (1-3-5) in a song series. Johnny has examples of this in his How to Play Killer Blues Book. I have been focusing on getting those low notes to come out. They definitely take a little more focus to nail them consistently. Thanks for noticing the tone as well. I can’t say how many different reeds I have here in front of me before trying those ones.
Hows your recovery? Hope you are doing well and your lungs are cooperating with your sax playing!!
luis, final got to see the video. I am using chrome and had to go to my settings and uncheck “use hardware acceleration” to get the video to play.
Sounding good. Sounds like you are on the rite track with your new setup. Sounds like you have been playing for a while. You should challenge yourself and add some flavor to the song. It seems as though you follow sheet music for the song. Use those notes but embellish those notes to make the song really speak to us. Johnny does many of these examples in his playing. There are endless things you can do to make this song really come alive.
Michael and I are working on a project. We started with the basic sheet music and now from what we have worked on sounds so much more heartfelt and lively!! Hopefully we will get it posted in the next couple weeks or so.
Good luck on conquering that D squeak. Could be just getting used to the new setup. I like the idea of the bandhub you introduced us to. I joined and am already contemplating throwing some tracks into others looking for some sax!! It would be cool to come together sometime and do an all sax song. That would have been perfect for Kevin’s “In the still of the Nite” song he did. By the way, that sound
luis, final got to see the video. I am using chrome and had to go to my settings and uncheck “use hardware acceleration” to get the video to play.
Sounding good. Sounds like you are on the rite track with your new setup. Sounds like you have been playing for a while. You should challenge yourself and add some flavor to the song. It seems as though you follow sheet music for the song. Use those notes but embellish those notes to make the song really speak to us. Johnny does many of these examples in his playing. There are endless things you can do to make this song really come alive.
Michael and I are working on a project. We started with the basic sheet music and now from what we have worked on sounds so much more heartfelt and lively!! Hopefully we will get it posted in the next couple weeks or so.
Good luck on conquering that D squeak. Could be just getting used to the new setup. I like the idea of the bandhub you introduced us to. I joined and am already contemplating throwing some tracks into others looking for some sax!! It would be cool to come together sometime and do an all sax song. That would have been perfect for Kevin’s “In the still of the Nite” song he did.
Don’t know y that posted twice?? technology?? LOL
was gonna say that sounded great Kevin!!
recorded this in July
stopped playing for 18 days
and recorded it again today (august)
now i’ve got a lot of work
to get my embouchure back!!
I think my sounds are more flat & dull compared to the previous recording.
Hey, Sxpoet just watched/heard your video. The second one wasn’t to bad, just a little flat. Other than that, the tune was good on this end.
Hey Jake, glad you saw the video and yes I was reading the music. It was my first time playing it. I’ve never really commit any music to memory yet.
Let me know if you guys want to work on something together. Maybe we can hack something up (hihi).
Until then Rock On Guys!
Taking the little guy to see the Monster Jam .
Louie
thanks Luis,
its back to some serious practise for me!
I had a go at Johnny’s “Jingle Bell Rock”
– recorded it, and its so bad i ended up
laughing at the recording!
This was my 2nd attempt at playing Jingle Bell Rock!
Had to put this on youtube,
just to remind myself what happens
when i stop playing for long periods,
and in the future if i’m having a bad sax day,
i can listen to this and think i’m still improving!
Sounds like i’ve been hitting the bottle,
then got the Sax out!
I defy anyone not to laugh!
Sxpoet, I will never laugh at you or anyone trying to improve on their sax/music skill. Never sell yourself short bubbly!
You want to laugh, when I returned to playing the sax, I made the mistake to have several drinks and attempt to play a tune. That my friend should have been career ending for playing but instead. I pushed forward, till I could play a simple tune (twinkle, twinkle little star).
Then, I took it to the next level and try very hard to remember the music theory and lessons I had as child.
Like yourself sxpoet, as a young child I felt like I wasn’t improving. I still feel like that but then remember there are some folks that can’t even sustain a note. You my friend sustain a song/tune Jingle Bell Rock!
By the way the tune I tried to play and made a fool out of myself in public but somehow mange to win my wife’s heart was “Just the Way You Are”.
As Johnny would say it’s a work in progress RocK On!
You’re cool Luis!
when i recorded Jingle Bell Rock & played it
back – i burst out laughing!
i spent 8 months learning, take 18 days off,
and my sound has changed. lol
to experience failure is just as important to gain success!
through it we grow stronger and lay waste to all
the obstacles that lie in front of us.
With music when i listen to it i have to feel it, and i love
to experience what feelings it brings out.
Then when i play i try to express what i feel,
to me music is a higher level of communication,
it crosses all languages!
sxpoe, 18 days is long. look at the bright side though. that is a fast and uptempo song. you did have some timing issues while playing but to accomplish that song with only 8 months (or should you say 7 with the last month off, lol) is quite an accomplishment. Your embrochure will come back, keep pluggin away at it.
I took 5 days off for a recent trip and can’t believe how sore my bottom lip is after playing a few hours when i finally got back. its still healing up.
it is amazing how quickly you can lose the progress you make when you have worked so hard to gain it. but with the practice time you have to commit to playing, your tone will come roaring back!! work on those long tones!! does it every time!!
thanks Jake – my lips a bit sore as well!
but practice i will!
!
Here’s a classic James Taylor song that I thought work for some multi-track recording and a little improv practice. Trying to get back into practicing again. High notes are pretty thin so I hope you don’t have to cringe to much… The end of the song has a nice repeating chord pattern, so tried to improvise some riffs and counter melody stuff. So perplexing to try to practice this, cause I never know what I’ll play the next try, and memory’s not good enough to remember what I played last. Had some audio settings a bit out of sorts giving a hint of distortion in a few spots.
Fun song to learn and play in any event. Hope you like it.
Really nice, Kevin. You had me glued to your youtube, lol, wondering what you would play next over the melody.
Jim
nice kevin. your tone has such a softness and pleasing sound. very nice with the vibrato as well. Sounds so cool when you combing those 2 saxes and they just sing in harmony. i liked the improvising as well. hats off 2 u!!
KEVIN: What a gorgeous choice of song to play on the Saxophone…very well suited for the Alto Sax. This is a prime example of what I’ve always felt; that there are so many songs out there that are actually better played on the Alto over the Tenor. It’s really good to see you here on the blog uploading too; can’t believe how well you’re playing knowing how badly you got hurt in that accident with a collapsed lung?!? That “duet” style of playing/upload really adds a lot; doesn’t it ? 😉 I’m getting my alto back from the shop very, very soon….Jake and I are almost ready to do the duet using Johnny’s song.
I hope, for any members who may be hesitant to upload a video of their playing here to the blog, will look at Kevin’s video and feel encouraged to want to upload something….after being in a major accident and having a collapsed lung; how could his video/playing NOT encourage anyone to share a video with everyone? Keep going Kevin!
couldn’t agree more michael. videos are posted so you can get a critique and help in improving. i hope people aren’t intimidated to post videos because they don’t think they are good enough. for all the newer members, take a look back to blog 1 where kevin and michael did their 1st videos. in only 1 short year, look at the videos that are posted now!! this all happened because of the videos they had posted and with the help of johnny and other members, got tips to improve. they took those tips and worked diligently on improving and wow it shows!! it also gives you a timeline of your overall improvement. it can be used for motivation to keep chugging along on the sax. the sax def has its days where it is not your best friend. simply looking back shows the improvement and makes those rough days worth it!! i know i have learned from the critiques of others as well. Sxpoe went back through and made a list of the common areas in which we all got advice on how to improve! especially in the beginning, we all tend to have a lot of the same issues and they can be worked through with the help of others. you might not notice something subtle you do everyday but with the many eyes that can see the video here on the blog, mite point out something small that can have a drastic improvement on your tone and overall playing!
Let’s see some videos and we all can improve from them!
just ran across this performance with 20 saxophones.
thought is was pretty amazing, I hope Adolph sax got to hear something like this in his time…
Hey guys, sorry I just got the embedded videos up now!
The blog used to send me an email every time someone posted one but it doesn’t do that anymore and so I just now saw all these youtube links here! I thought you guys had slacked of but no!
Hey Johnny: Yeah, figured something with the server or something was up….when I sent you that e-mail that I was posting the Watermelon Man; I wasn’t “begging” for your attention or anything LOL but noticed videos weren’t being embedded into the system so it was just for the purpose of “heads up” kind of thing. You’re a busy guy, now worries; just keep this great Saxophone instruction going for us so that we can get better 🙂 Do you know when you’ll have another song release done? I was thinking about how you had talked about “I was made to Love Her” in a King Curtis style of version? What an awesome song for the Sax….yeah!!! 🙂
Speaking of “heads up”—Jake and I will be posting the duet of one of your Love Songs we’ve been working on very, very soon now…just waiting for the guys from the shop to call me and tell me the Alto is ready; should be any day now but they’ve been really busy too–I have a couple more of your songs for Tenor done too but wanted to share the duet Jake and I did first; 2 Saxophones are better than one :)–We put in a lot of hours into getting this thing ready and hope you’ll like it; so watch for it. We did a lot of things the embellish and really make it for what it is; a love song. The cool thing is that it appears other members we’ve talked to wanna start doing the duet thing too, Jake will be starting a new project with another member and I’ll be starting another project with another member. I did “Happy” by Pharrell Williams in Part 5 of the Member’s videos and it was great, great fun; check it out when you get the chance. Just please forgive the Intonation of the Alto; it was before it went off to the shop & WAY out of tune.
yes that Stevie Wonder song has been “almost ready” for a while and the other day I went to polish it up and found some important tracks gone missing from a back-up attempt I had done previously. So, now that has set me back a bit but it’s next on my list so shouldn’t be too long now….it turned out pretty cool as I was able to add a big horn section to the backing track.
Hi! I haven’t got a video for this but I’ve been doing some recording with some online friends from another forum I belong to (not music related, but related to the subject of the song) and we’ve put the results up on bandcamp, here:
http://thehookvents.bandcamp.com/releases
I hope the link works. This is the first time I’ve committed my sax playing to record, apart from for my own listening, so I’d be interested to hear what you think (and a little scared!). I solo a bit on the intro and take 12 bars at the end – otherwise I’m just vamping acompaniment back in the mix. Mainly using the blues scale (with a major third thrown in there) and playing the changes. For the record, I’m playing my ’46 Beuscher Big B with a Dukoff MP.
Hope this is okay.
Hey Gareth, your link worked great on my cpu….you sound great! Don’t be scared–we’re all here to help each other get better and have fun doing it. I love the sound you’re getting from you Sax set up; that is such a cool, cool Saxophone! WOW, you’re playing with a 1946 Beuscher 🙂 I really dig what you guys did in this song too. Vintage Saxophones have a sound to them that I don’t think modern Saxophones can duplicate; so distinct and so, so good! I have the CD collection that you can get called “The Big Horn” you can find the links from Johnny’s other site http://www.johnnyferreira.com and the sound you’re getting is reminiscent of that collection; go to Johnny”s site and check out the links–I posted in the forum about it a few weeks ago in the “repertoire” section titled “I got the Big Horn Collection in the Mail”
I would love to see you, too, post a video of your playing; sounds like you have a lot you could share.
Thanks for your kind comments man! Yep, you can’t beat a good vintage sax. I don’t know, but it’s something about the quality of the brass in old saxes that seem to give them that fat sound. I love all those honkers and screamers in the Big Horn collection, and it’s a sound I aspire to – I must get it. At the moment my playing is a bit more Chicago blues – probably because I’m a harp player – I use it a bit like I use the harp, but I’m trying to develop mixing more major pentatonics with the blues scale to get a more West Coast or New Orleans RnB feel. Johnny’s Killer Blues course is really helping with that. I’m loving the videos on here and will have to try producing something.
Ya link is working Gareth, you’re getting a pretty big tone now good work. This tune is a good example of what you can do with just the simple blues scale. You could have chosen to go major with it but you went minor which works too. The thing to remember tho is when you hit the 4 chord you can’t play the D minor, has to be major. the A will sound ok with the 3rd being a minor but not the 4 and 5 chords. on a major blues that is….if it were a minor blues it’s different rules.
Thanks Johnny, that’s really helpful feedback – that is one thing I find with the simple blues scale – if I’m not careful it just becomes an unthinking pattern and that’s when the clashes you describe can occur. So that’s a good lesson learned! Sometimes, I think for improvisation the simple blues scale can be a bit of a straight jacket as much as great help, so I’ll keep working on those major pentatonics.
“straight jacket” ya that’s a good one! We can use it as a spring board and go from that of course and also do other interesting musical things and of course listen to players that are much better than ourselves and steal their ideas.
This video post here in the blog is not me playing a song; I got my Alto back from the shop earlier today; the guys did an awesome job with it. I’m on the 3rd overtone lesson in Johnny’s Altissimo course and getting close to starting to learn about the Altissimo fingerings Johnny teaches…..and something good happened 🙂 You can imagine my excitement and I’m trying to contain it; easier said than done! I have a custom-built Guardala MBII coming for this alto next week; the MP I’m using is one some locals gave me; give the alto a “jazzy” sound. This alto has a very “bright” tone to it and it’s going to be really cool to see the result of an edgy MBII paired with this bright tone 🙂
Thank you so, so much Johnny for your Altissimo course-so wonderful to have it available v.s. the
“slim pickings” that you get online. The gains to be made in your lessons do wonders to a person’s playing…it’s going to take me a little while to fully “process” mentally what has happened here 🙂
Michael, I was smiling and shaking right along with you! Normally I wouldn’t be so surprised but you’ve only been playing for about one year. Most people are still trying to get the high F and maybe F# at that stage. Good for you for following along and not getting side-tracked. I think that’s a common problem for many… buy a book, not complete it then buy another one or look at a youtube lesson, then another one without even giving the first one a chance. When I create a lesson or a course, in my mind I know that I can guarantee success for anyone who follows it and actually masters the lessons but I can’t really guarantee it because I can’t control who will follow thru or not…. you have to actually do the work and thank you for proving it! Wow, you’re not only hittin that high G at will, you’re climbing up step by step in full control, that’s awesome man! And I know you haven’t even finished the altissimo course yet because I haven’t even put the very last lesson up yet, which btw is now done and will go up shortly. I know you will inspire some people and you should be very happy because you have really accomplished something that not every sax player can do.
Hey Johnny, I wanted to share this with everyone to show what can happen by applying ourselves to what you teach…but exactly like you say WE have to do our part. (This fall will actually be a year and half of playing LOL)
I did NOT expect this and was so excited I almost kept it to myself; not keeping “secrets” from you or anyone LOL but I just didn’t know what to do–who can blame me? I had to “pinch” myself and do a “reality” check to see if this was really happening. Today’s an off day for me and I tried them on the Tenor…..same thing! The Altissimo G on the Tenor is slightly “stubborn” in comparison to the Alto. Funny thing is that one set of fingerings that you teach works great on the Alto, but for the Tenor the 2nd fingerings you teach work better, so I’m forced to now have to work on both LOL
I’m in the 3rd overtone lesson right and what got me wondering is I was hitting very, very high notes from the low Bb like you teach; so I simply could NOT help but think about was I ready to at least just trying and see what happens and what you see on video is what happened. I had NO PROBLEMS hitting these notes with your fingering and when that happened I HAD to try the other notes, one after another. I was surprised/freaked that, the higher I got, the easier it got. I just made adjustments in my embouchure, air supply from the diaphragm, etc.. Every single one of your fingerings work great…….if someone’s having problems hitting an Altissimo note, I would think it’s more due to not having mastered something else like Overtones, Subtones, etc. rather than an “alternative” fingering that many people will go to the internet and look for? That’s just what I feel like, based off of my experience from your Altissimo course.
Just because I’m starting to hit these notes DOES NOT mean I’m going to skip ahead; I’m still at the 3rd Overtone lesson right now and don’t want to miss steps, I’ll check out the other lessons you talk about later. Give me some time before I start using these in a song….I’m in somewhat of a ‘processing’ mode to make sure I still hae my “wits” about me LOL
PS
hey Michael, I added your post to the “Altissimo Course” info/sales page as a real person’s testimony. These types of testimonies are very helpful for other people because they can see the thing actually works and is not just something we’re trying to make a quick buck with. I hope this inspires more people… I hope you are ok with me adding it there, if you are not comfortable with it just let me know.
LOL of course you can use it…..on the funny side; I’ve resumed working on “Samba Pa Ti” now that the Alto is back and was wondering if you could tell me on the licks that goes from C to C# (alto sheet music starts at measures 25) what you’re doing to get that “Samba” type of feel; it’s a little tricky. On your video for this song, what I’m asking about starts at timer 2:31. I feel bad because I’m completely fluent in Spanish and looks like you’re doing a little flutter tongue…but I’m not quite sure when I try it.
Jake and I will be uploading the duet in about a week or so, he’s out camping in the wilderness…..and he took is Saxophone with him LOL
Just going back and forth between the 2 notes… on alto they are C# to B, just back and forth about 4 times. Just listen to the rythme and copy it.
When i fall in love – 1st attempt at playing with
a completely different embouchure to my normal
embouchure.
Tried to create an old sax player sound without
the vintage sax obviously, excuse the squeaks this
is where my embouchure reverts to the old embouchre
when i fail to give the sax enough air support, mainly
when i run out of air.
Are you falling in love with a fish? Seriously, you got a good tone going especially closer to the beginning, later it started to sound like your muscles were getting tired, I guess either the new embouchure or the reed too stiff, which is maybe the cause of the sqweeks.
Thanks for the tip Johnny–I hadn’t looked at the sheet music since I took the Alto to the shop and thought off the top of my memory that it was C to C#, but it’s B to C# like you mentioned. Next to the Watermelon Man, Samba Pa Ti is my very favorite song of your’s–it’s been a super, super fun song to learn and it goes back to my roots/upbringing 🙂
Thanks Johnny – my muscles were getting tired.
It was an experiment with the tongue in a completely
different place.
Like playing overtones to start off
we place the tongue in different positions
and try to remember.
Then with practice
we do it without thinking!
This position i can now use for different effects.
tongue placement is important and one of those things to work on and really experiment until it’s just natural where to place it. Eventually you’ll never even give it a 2nd thought but for now you’re doing the right thing by experimenting.
SaxPoet, You did start well but began to fade, such that your #6- “Not playing loud enough to develop tone” was the rule that slipped the most on perhaps.
I kept looking for the fish to start floating on his side LOL (just kidding of course).
I’m also struggling with the embrochure getting limp as I try to make it through a piece from lack of practice these last 4-5 months…
Thanks Kevin,
Back in 2010 had key hole operation and had my gall bladder taken out. Took me 6 months before i could roll over in bed without being in agony!
So i can’t imagine what you’ve been through, or going through.
next month i start playing in a church band with another sax player, one player playing melody, the other playing harmony – so at the moment concentrating more on time keeping!
From what i’ve seen you’re doing quite well!
My 3rd and best so far. I am getting better with audacity.
Saxohol
Us and Them
I was using my Jody Jazz ESP 6. Still figuring out Audacity.
Saxohol
hey way to go Randy!
Some nice stuff goin on there. you have really good timing and rythme. seems like you’re ready to explode but a few things holding you back…
I would suggest when you practice play way way louder than you’re playing now…get it out. it might not sound good at the moment but ploaying louder over the next few months will give you a better tone.
Another thing I noticed is your vibrato… a little too wavery and shakey. this is good for now, at least you’re getting out a vibrato which can be a big problem for some. it’s all in the speed, you’re getting it nice and fast but you don’t always want it going fast all the time. experiment with it and bring it down in speed. lesten closely to other players for this because it’s not always an easy thing to explain but you may get better at it by copying others who do it better than you are doin it now.
Good Job Randy! Did well figuring out how to get the recording done with backing track and get it uploaded to the site, and played it well. Johnny mentioned all the key things to focus on, I would offer one observation that stood out as I listened- It sounded like a percentage of the notes as they transition from one to the next kinda “blurr” from one to the other, meaning that the change from note to note is not as clean and distinct as we hear from the professionals that we try to learn from and sound like. Sometimes the distinction is a tongue stopping the reed for a milli-second, other times it the key work by the fingers that need to quickly and cleanly close and open the keys as a continuous air flow connects the notes. So hope this observation was helpful. Great first performance for sure!
Here I’m back again with another upload
Sea cruise
It’s only a quick shot and not really satisfied with my quality of playing
Hey Klaus—really good to see you here on the blog 🙂 You picked a super-cool song of Johnny’s too; makes me feel like going on a vacation LOL. You’re playing with a little “groove”; this song looks to be great fun to play. What is your Saxophone/MP set up? Keep up the great work Klaus, look forward to seeing more uploads from you.
Nice video Klaus. you are getting better control of that sax. Your growls are developing nicely.
From what I can see in the video it appears that the mouthpiece isn’t squarely in your mouth. It looks as though you are looking to the side to read the music and I’m wonder if your embrochure is suffering because of this as the mouthpiece is kinda off to the side a little bit?? It would seem to me if you had a better squared up grip that would give you better control and would help with some of those squeaks as well.
That my take, by no means am I the expert, maybe Johnny will weigh in on this as well??
Yes I remember that! Lots of good stuff goin on there Klaus, Love the growl, hate the sqweeks! But I’m sure you do too. As for the mp position in your mouth… Kenny G does the same thing and it didn’t hurt him but you should see if it makes a difference. Practice playing in front of the mirror for a while to see if keeping it straight will make a difference.
Jake, you are absolutly right concerning the mouthpiece. It’s an old habbit I still try to avoid. Johnny mentioned this already in an older video which I posted. I’m working on it !
Your absolutely right about those habits. Kevin noticed I scoop a lot of my notes and he is right. I do this without even realizing I am doing it. I have to make a conscious effort to control it and do the scoop when I want to do it, not when the habit does. LOL. Easier said than done!!
Started Johnny’s “Daily Sax Routine 1” today 14/08/27.
So put the following up
(3 songs petite fleur/feeling/those were the days).
the 1st one petite fleur can compare to a recording done in may
Hope to re-record in 3 months time & see the difference this daily
practice makes!
Hoping to get a better quality tone overall!
The last song was too fast for me – so hope i can improve that one.
There are lots of faults in all 3 songs – anyone feel free to comment!
One think i would like to say Johnny,
I tried to play the mouthpiece and could only get the high note
in your video!
I found out that in my playing i wasn’t relaxing
the lower lip at all! Was amazed at that! couldn’t believe i
could only play one note!
So after 10 minutes, and relaxing the bottom lip, i managed to
do the scale, arpeggio & happy birthday! Really pleased with myself!
A remake of Us and Them. I switched to Hemke 2.5 reeds on this Jody Jazz DVChi. I have a new webcam too. Thanks for everyone’s comments above.
Sounds cool Randy!
Are you recording the sound through
the web cam? or are you using a
separate microphone to record the
sound?
I have a separate perception 170 mic fed into an scarlet 2n2 usb audio interface to my laptop.. I started recording the video and then combined the audio with it in windows movie maker.
I have a separate perception 170 mic fed into an scarlet 2n2 usb audio interface.
I really dig the sound you’re getting on your Tenor Randy–you picked a fabulous song of Johnny’s too 🙂 We all love to hear those high-screaming Rock and Blues songs….but there’s something about these more subtle, slow songs that are just absolutely beautiful to hear on the Saxophone; so hats off to you. I couldn’t help but notice your Mouthpiece collection in the background, as well as your Alto Sax; that’s really cool you play both of them. What model of Sax is your Tenor and Alto? What about your MP collection? Looks like some of them are hard-rubber and a Metal MP? Thanks for sharing your videos Randy! It’s cool to see other members share videos because it’s a great encouragement and we learn so much; so I was really happy that Johnny added this aspect to his site…..he better not ever take it off of his site though LOL 🙂
I have a Keilwerth SX90R Tenor and a new P Mauriat 67R Alto. I have a Cannonball Alto for sale. I love Jody Jazz Mouthpieces. Johnny’s MB2 sounds incredible. I have a JJ Classic 6 alto, a JJ Classic Tenor 7, a JJ ESP 6, a JJ Jet 7 alto. My main pieces are the Jody Jazz DV Chi 7 and my new alto is wearing a JJ Dv NY 7. I made a removable wedge for that one.I was really fortunate to buy the last two this Summer. I was surprised at the hemke reed I tried today. wow. Johnny is a great teacher. Today I tried to correct a couple of flaws he showed me. ok time to shut up.
I went back and listened to your previous uploads Mike. You are moving along nicely. For the first 6 months I played my mom and dad thought they bought me a moose call. The dog just quit howling all of the sudden.
You and sxpoet are all over this blog. It is great to listen for the improvements being made with long tones and practice. Keep going guys.
Thanks Randy, I’ve onlly been playing 9 months (wet round the ears) so any tips will be grateful for!
The reason i was asking about your
microphone, is that i’m looking at
how to setup better recordings.
I don’t want a computer setup.
Looking at a tascam03/mike for bell/2speakers for backing tracks – don’t know how videoing fits in with that?
It looks like the tascam03 is good for recording audio. Not so good for video. I am doing video 2nd on the computer and using windows movie maker to import both audio and video.
Then I have to move the audio around to sync it up on the timeline. That is probably the hard way to do it but I have only been trying this Summer. Even an old dog (55) needs to learn new tricks.
Thanks for the encouragement Randy–that’s the great thing about the Blog is that we can go back and check out our progress. Let’s be honest with ourselves here…….many times we’ll start to play/work on something and it’s just not happening, so as we’re learning we have the tendency to only see what we lack/have yet to learn v.s. what we have learned. We look back at old videos and the proof is there that we’ve made big improvements….and Johnny’s insights play a HUGE part in that. In terms of me being all over this blog, I only upload once a month LOL but I do like to comment and at least TRY to encourage other members. Everyone is very, very positive here and I’ve made great friends 🙂
thanks Randy,
so i need to record with the web cam, while at the same time recording with the tascam.
Then join the 2 files together on a pc using some movie software!
I can see now why some people could claim its not you playing in the video!
If you look at my early Summer recordings on my YouTube page I am wearing headphones. I recorded the audio and video at the same time using the hp software that came with my laptop. I still imported both files into windows movie maker and had to sync them up. Windows movie maker makes it easy to upload to youtube.
I guess I wanted to ditch the head phones in the video.
I am always going to be the player though. Just trying to figure this thing out without a big high priced recording studio.
If you search YouTube for Randy K. Hunter, you can see my head phones and my shiny bald head. I guess I still want to look better in my standard “Larry the Cable Guy” ball cap. LOL
Life is to short to worry about Monday morning quarterbacks and back seat drivers. I just want to improve my sax playing and record for my grand children. Look, there’s “Grandpa”. I am always open to other smart people’s ideas on how to do this thing. That’s why Johnny’s input is so valuable. He has been doing this thing for a long time.
With you on that one Randy!
Checked out your you tube videos – you recorded some good songs there mate!
Hey guys: Just letting you all know that Jake and I will be posting our duet I’m thinking within the week/by the weekend. Sorry it took a little longer than we thought but both Jake and I are Registered Nurses and it keeps you busy–better to be busy than not to be busy LOL.
This part 6 of Member’s videos is filling up FAST! That’s so cool, nice to videos from different members; the more the better 🙂 RANDY: Nice to see your videos, very encouraging to see everyone progressing. Like Johnny has said, we don’t do it to try and “impress” anyone but rather we use it as a learning tool to receive valuable insights from him/other members. We can then take those insights and work hard to apply them and have fun doing it.
Jake and I will be making our “duet debut” here shortly……… 🙂
couldn’t agree with you more Michael, as a learner i’m not capable of impressing anyone yet!
Hey – like the new mouthpiece!
Keeping me in suspense with your next upload! Hate to say it, but i’m sure i’ll be impressed!