Hello everyone

[Roadrider]

Hello, name is Frank…and I am a saxaholic. I am addicted to a saxophone.

I bought my first sax this past Christmas, a Jean-Paul AS-400 Alto.
I have been learning on my own for the past 5 months. The more I practice the more addicted I become…It’s vicious circle!
My goal is to be able to join the mens ensemble at church and of course for recreation.
I have been following Johnny on YouTube for months and jumped at the chance to take lessons from him.

Thanks for reading my intro
Frank

[john]

Good for you Frank!
If you want to play with others quickly I recommend working on playing in tune as much as possible.
Playing in tune will help you blend into the group and not stick out.

[Mike Potter]

Hi Frank, welcome to the forum!

[Roadrider]

Thanks, the major issue right now with joining in at church is I don’t know anything about band arrangements or orchestration. Its nothing like the sheet music O print out from the net. The book from church is for an alto sax, it doesn’t sound anything like the solo songs I’ve been practicing with. Since the guys at church have been playing for decades, they don’t need or have practice sessions. They invited me to sit in, but at this stage I don’t think Im ready to attempt this in front of the entire congregation.
Frank

[Anonymous]

Not a problem Roadrider, if you are playing in a group of Sax players, all the pressure is off, what i used to do, and a lot of other sax players did, was just play the parts of the sheet they could manage, as there are enough sax players arounds that will carry the whole song through without even needing your slightest input.

My Teacher would say, if a bar or measure is too difficult, just only play the first note in that bar, or don’t play various bars. Once you’ve partaken, you’ll realise what fun it is, and it gives you more inspiration to practice.

[john]

I would record their performances with a phone or something and take it home to make sure your sheet music is matching their key.
also you can practice to the recording so you can be more confident for when you finally join them.

[Anonymous]

i’ve had music sheets to play in a band that are several grades above my level of playing, and are just too complicated to master and play in a short period of time – but i still went along and just played bits of it that i could play, which is far better than not partaking.

[Roadrider]

Thanks everyone, sorry these questions are so…less then beginner? I’ve seen children that know more about music then I do.

The situation at church is we have an organist (Bill) who cannot read music, he taught himself how to play by ear, the man is really good! Ron has been playing the trombone for over 70 years, he is coming up on his 84th birthday, I stand in awe when starts to play. Marrisimo (May not be spelled right) plays trumpet…amazing. Then there is Pastor Leigh he is just at another level, Pastor Leigh has been playing trumpet for 68 years, his dad started teaching him at 3 years old, his father was the music coordinator for Billy Graham (the evangelist). Sometimes Pastor Leigh sits out or plays very soft not to become the center of attraction. Pat, our piano player, I don’t know how long she has been playing but it appears she is the anchor. The first time I heard them all together was this past Christmas Eve. It inspired me to finally give it a shot.
Pastor ordered a book for me that matches so everyone is (literally) on the same page. Not everyone plays every week. At this stage this entire endeavor is above my level unless they all start playing kazoo’s.
…how do you start if you’ve never heard the song before and don’t know the melody or what its supposed to sound like?
Maybe I’m in over my head here.
Frank

[john]

we all gotta start somewhere Frank. Don’t know if you have my eBook course but even ig you don’t just start with the free beginning lessons showing the first few scales. Just studying those you’ll also learn how to read the notes. Once you know them it’s amazing how quickly you may learn how to read and play the easier beginning songs like Greensleeves and Amazing grace.

[Roadrider]

Hi Johnny
I did learn to read basic music and started playing easy songs. I’ll try posting a link to my YouTube channel. I put up a video about getting the sax, there are a couple of clips on it. The last one although it’s not too good, it is the best one on the video.

Frank

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