Finale Print Music Software

[Anonymous]

hi Jak – hears an interesting thing i’ve come across.

The first thing i do is just practice with a reed on the Alto mouthpiece,
no neck attached to the mouthpiece, just the mouthpiece.

i switch on a tuner, and play a complete scale,
A B C# D E F# G# A B
with each pitch in tune with the tuner transposed to Alto.

It takes a lot of control to start, hold and stop each pitch evenly,
and play a good pitch.

i then play two tunes one of them fur elise.

What i’ve noticed with my mouthpiece, is if the reed isn’t aligned properly with the mouthpiece rails, or if it’s too far over the tip, or if it’s too low under the tip, or if the ligature isn’t sited properly on the reed, then
i have problems when i try to play some of the notes, some notes play ok,
i then fiddle about with the reed and ligature, and then all notes play
perfect.

Embouchure wise, my lip tension stays the same, the only thing that changes is opening the back of the throat to change the pitches. No lip tension is used to change pitches. So in various openings up of the throat, the pitch falls out on certain pitches if my reed and lig isn’t aligned properly.

Now imagine what happens when i attach it to the sax! if i have problems on the mouthpiece, then the problems follow through to the sax.

[jak Swift]

Morning Sxpoet. Man that’s some excellent study. To be able to play an octave alone on a mpc is very challenging. I can’t do it on a tenorsax mpc…( well not near pitch perfect ).
I heard once , Morgan Fry ( the mpc guy !!☺ )… Sorry to good a rhyme to resist…
Yeah , he reckoned an interval of a 10th was as far as you can go ??
So that’s two tones or a Major third above an octave.
I’m going to try this out later. The throat opening makes perfect sense…..
Thanks man…
Have a great day and say hi to Miss Sxpoet, music tech….☺☺

[jak Swift]

Just having a coffee and back to the 10M and the upper registers.
Sxpoet…. Thanks man !!
That’s given me the best idea. I leave a mpc on the bedside table. Usually a wide tip , just to keep my chops in as I’m listening to tunes…
I’m going to load up both the Lawton and the link with softer cane reeds, and concentrate on that exercise.
The importance of what is happening in relation to your oral cavity ( mouth )…. is second to none.
As I’m playing, I’m fully aware my throat is open by the expansion of my throat neck area.
Playing that octave and intervals can only be a big help !!
Thanks Sxpoet, I really needed that input today.
A difficult but great exercise…..
I’ll keep y, all posted on how this upper register \ altissimo works out. I’m ready to go….
Open throat…
Vowel shapes…
Toungue position….
The last one is huge ( not my tongue , the concept☺ )….whole essays have been written on finding the ” sweet spot “…
Thanks again Sxpoet , and again , REALLY !!….Well done. That is one high level technique…☺☺
Speak later…

[jak Swift]

OK….reeds soaked; jak soaked also…..a nice bath to start a busy day.
My Brother in Laws Birthday; should be a houseful later☺☺
My tech seems to be on holiday. There is a brass store opposite my old music school. I’m going to get a lift over in a couple of hours. Just let Richard ( store owner ) take a look at this.
There is a leak at the bis, though I wouldn’t have thought that was the issue..
No harm in letting him take a look; I may just be missing something obvious.
Regardless, its going to be a good day. I’m confident I’ll come home with the horn and stick to p!an A….( above !! )
A few folks have mentioned avoiding altissimo altogether….Noooo way Jose !!
Right, let’s get to it….
Later folks….

[jak Swift]

Well Richard has kept the Conn for a few days. He seems sure the leak on the bis is causing the octave jumps. I’d prefer my tech Al look at this but he seems to be on holiday.
Its so frustrating, I can’t move on until this is rectified. Back to the clunky horn….
If I can play that full octave ( altissimo ) on this horn, which is quite resistant, the Conn and its smooth intonation…??
Should be plain sailing…..
Coupla days, I’ll have it back….
Fingers crossed…..😕😕

[jak Swift]

Dear diary…☺☺☺LOL !!
My ” time off “…..MAN !!
Who’s idea was this altissimo nonsense anyhow !!😉
Seriously , a whole mixture of finding this chromatic altissimo octave challenging to say the least. At the same time, on the old horn I can get the full range. One of those days when at face value, you think you’ve had a bad day. On reflection, I’ve proved I can get up there… ( down is yet to come )…..
The Conn really did have to go in to get checked over. I tried and trued to convince myself it was me, not the horn. By playing all day, I’m really happy that I’ve got it down. In an ideal world , I’ll have the 10M back by the weeks end. I’m just sitting thinking how great if it plays up high without a hitch !!
Sxpoet, I’ve got my Lawton here. I’m going to get into those exercises you mentioned. My chops are not making the transition from normal registers to altissimo too comfortably; these are really going to help in a holistic sense…thanks man !!
So….” The song remains the same “….by the years end I’ll have thus down 100%…
I’m really not in any frame of mind to put it aside..play alt at the weekend. Nope….I’ve got it , I’m keeping it, and its only getting better☺☺.
Later….jak..😊😊

[Anonymous]

Hi Jak – great to hear the altissimo dedication progress!

The only time my teacher told me to avoid playing altissimo, was when he
shoved my mouthpiece in by 1/4 inch, all the notes went up in pitch,
and then he made me bend all the notes back down into pitch. During that period of two weeks, i wasn’t allowed to play altissimo until i could play all the keys in tune,as playing altissimo would have messed up the note bending. Now i still play with the mouthpiece in that position, and the altissimo wasn’t affected one bit.

On about leaky pads, i had one on the neck that i wasn’t aware of until the sax tech pointed out he had changed it as it was leaking, and after it was fixed, it remember now, that it did make some altissimo notes less problematic.

Interesting thing i noticed today about playing the octave on a mouthpiece, if i use my diaphragm properly, its very easy playing the octave with the diaphragm. Whereas if i don’t use my diaphram then its very very hard to hit the higher end of the octave. In altissimo i find it helps to fill up with a lot more air, and likewise it also works better under diaphragm control.

Im sure your altissimo problem is sax related – i’m just a novice working under the master. lol

Is it just me? when i work on tuning pitch exercises, going up the sax in 5ths or 6ths i find it very tiring on the embochure muscles and have to
stop every now and then and let my face muscles recover?

[jak Swift]

Morning Sxpoet. Man you have come a long way in such a time. Thanks for your confidence in my problems being sax related….I wish I shared your confidence. Not looking forward to playing the old horn but yeah , that altissimo is working.
So that’s me until the years end….
I’m going to get stuck in, look after Mum…..
Life’s not too bad….
No essays today….lol !!☺☺

[jak Swift]

Your EMB muscles tire IF you are working hard, doing the right things….
Sxpoet… Your doing great man !!☺☺

[jak Swift]

Sxpoet, please message me anytime my friend…
Mum watches television in the evening, I listen to music and stress ( lol !! ) over my Conn.
AND…ramble on and on !!
Its been really cathartic however and I’m most grateful; sincerely grateful for the best wishes.
I’m not logging out….
I really think I have covered things as I say until the years end. I’ll be looking in each day, and will continue when I get the 10M back….
I really don’t want to bore you all …☺☺
Famous last words…😉
Sxpoet, you are doing great man. Its a pleasure talking with you…
Speak soon….jak☺☺

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