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  • July 8, 2015 at 1:04 pm #22546
    Anonymous

      Started working on Amazing Grace (want to build up a list of songs that i can fall back on to entertain family members using backing tracks – so i shall be investing in a portable PA system, that the guys in streets play their sax’s to)

      It’s a simple piece to play (not trying to brag) and not too difficult to keep in time to with a metronome or Johnny’s backing track, so i have no issues there.

      The only problem i’ve got now, is the expression of the song. i am familiar with amazing grace, having sung it in church with a lot of soul singers, heard it sung solo at funerals, heard it sung solo by world class singers in concerts.

      After a couple of run throughs with the backing track, what i hear while i’m playing doesn’t come up to what my mind expects to hear.

      So it looks like its back to the drawing board, i’m going to have to take the sheet find some youtube singer i like and start putting in the dynamics to my expectations – when i play it i want to get the i can hear a pin drop effect – perhaps i’m setting myself an impossible task?

      July 8, 2015 at 3:16 pm #22550
      paddy jordan
      Participant

        Hi James
        do you know what you just pointed out there is the single most important thing in playing sax, playing with expression playing what your hearing in your mind give the piece real soul. We can all learn tunes to play thats easy well if we practice them but no one wants to listen to a mechanical tunes, its got to have thing that vital ingredient That you mention there James, and know you have not set yourself a impossible task.

        July 9, 2015 at 1:17 am #22564
        Anonymous

          Thanks Paddy, i was looking through other song sheets for amazing grace, the piano parts tend to be solemn with a constant dynamic throughout, its the singers dynamics that change a lot, depending on the singers style, as the sax is taking on the dual role of playing the melody & the singers voice (if i’ve got it right) – thats what i’m trying to achieve.

          For a singer to pull it off, this calls for a lot of control of the dynamics to get from those smooth lows to those highs, i don’t want bring any improvisations into it, to me a lot of the sax improvisations on youtube that i have listened to have ruined the piece (world class sax players included – imho), some singers/players overdo it with vibrato etc.. i guess its down to their style etc..

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