One of David Fosters hits

[Anonymous]

Kevin – at the end of the day, you’ve got a sax that sounds very good (my internediate student sax doesn’t sound anywhere as good as yours, and regardless of what people say pro-sax’s are in a completely different league when it comes to sound, even if there are a few bad pro-sax’s knocking around).

Your tone is also very very good, and so is your vibrato! So in terms of playing like JF says the most inportant thing is sounding great on the sax, if you don’t sound great no one wants you in the band.

Common errors like timing, not playing a note correctly etc.. again any pro would back me up in saying – is mainly down to the practiced piece not being ready!

In my case i’ve spent the last 7 months still working on 3 pieces for an exam – and i’m still making mistakes – but i only spend 5 to 10 mins each day on them – due to other commitments. Be different if i was playing for a living!

[Michael]

There’s no question that a pro-model Sax is a different league over student model Saxophones…but we have to remember that it’s the player behind the instrument that makes it really sound alive. I know of some locals who have pro-model Conns and Yamaha Saxophones and, the truth is, Kevin sounds better than they do, and he sounds better than me for sure–I have no problems admitting when someone can do something better than me and I’m going to learn what it is that they’re doing that I’m not doing, so that I can learn from them and try to incorporate their own strengths into my own playing…I’ll try anyway LOL. Kevin’s tone is much more open and warm than locals I know who have a pro model Set-up. My Trevor James Alto is a pro model set up (my Tenor is considered Intermediate), and I think Kevin still sounds better on his Alto. His Vibrato is WAY better than mine for sure. We all have our own “voice” on the Saxophone, and our own strong points..and it’s great we’re all different because we can look at each other’s strengths, learn from each other, and we end up making everyone better players and help each other Improve. I think here on Johnny’s site that warm, open, “vibrato” type of playing is Kevin’s “voice” and it’s really nice! If someone gave me an mp3 file of his playing, didn’t tell me who it was and asked me if I could “identify” whose playing it was, I could recognize it as Kevin because of that big, open, warm, vibrato-like tone 🙂 On the opposite end of the Spectrum, if someone heard an mp3 file with something that has high-screaming Altissimo and was “bluesy”, you would probably know it was me LOL That’s funny to think about, but we all make each other better. That’s one of the many great things about Johnny’s site, the support system.

On a side note/question for Kevin: For “Use Me”..are you going to do that on Alto or Tenor? That’s one of my very, very favorite tunes of Johnny’s…very funky! Every time I play it, I don’t wanna stop and people LOVE hearing that song 🙂 I did it about a year or so ago and posted it here on Johnny’s site, but I took down all of my old videos because I’m re-doing them (on top of new ones coming that are just about done)….I’m going back to “polish” them up, and that includes Take Five, with a much more improved, Improvise solo 🙂 Another example is Mack the Knife, I’m going back and adding the higher Octave Range like how Johnny plays it…I’m almost done with it. Before it was all just in the normal range of the Saxophone..not anymore! 🙂

[Dazza]

I went into the sax shop recently to buy some reeds and got talking to the guy about MP’s. He demonstrated how important it is to find your match by putting his on the cheapest and poorest $300 Chinese model that he said fills up his wall and he would never sell! He played it and made it sing like nothing else. I stood in awe and listened hoping to sound like that one day. Of course a pro sax will have better design, ergonomics and durability and a much better all round sound but it showed me how much is still down to the player. Johnny demonstrated that on White Christmas too as I believe he said the alto he played was a similar Chinese model.

[Anonymous]

Michael – no feed back from my upload? but feed back from my comments?

i agree with what you are saying – if you sound crap then changing to another instrument is pointless.

Just going on what the pro i’m working under claims – a pro sax will make a huge difference in my case, might not to someone else, hoping he’s right otherwise it’s my money down the drain.

i think i need to withdraw from this site.

[Michael]

Hi JB, sorry if I missed your upload, where is it? Would love to check it out….that was by no means intentional! I love watching everyone videos, as much as I can. I’ve just been really busy getting settled into our new home..we’re making great progress. From the last one I remember seeing of your’s, it looked like you we’re making great progress, very nice. In terms of what Dazza was saying, yes–that’s exactly what Johnny says too. Don’t get me wrong, a pro-model Saxophone like my Alto is a wonderful thing to say the least..but there’s more important things to bear in mind, like our own playing abilities and I love Kevin’s tone, big, open and very warm; much more than mine for sure; and I’m striving to develop that type of tone more..easier said than done! In any case, it’s the player behind the horn that counts…I think I’ve shared this video before, but this guy makes some great points along the lines of what Dazza was talking about. Not everyone will agree with the points he makes, but I guarantee you if you take someone to an audition and he really knows how to play, it really doesn’t matter what horn he plays on…if he knows how to play the Saxophone then he’s GOING to get picked. Johnny also talks about some of the points Dazza makes, 90% of our sound comes from our MP/Reed selection–Johnny has a video about it somewhere. Before getting my Trevor James Saxophones, I had seriously considered just getting a new Vito Alto and Tenor…there’s some fabulous ones on Amazon for great prices. Vito is basically a Yamaha Saxophone only at a much lower price. I started with Johnny on a Vito, so I know firsthand how good they are. With the right MP/Reed combination like Dazza says, I would have been more than content to use a Vito for years to come….Vito has been around a long time. My wife is the one who gave me the help I needed to get the Trevor James Saxophones and she insisted that I get them, I had my mind set on going the route with a new Vito Alto and Tenor Sax.I would have no reservations about going for the Vitos..Doesn’t matter what Sax I’m using, I’m going to hit that high-screaming Altissimo..period 🙂 Because with a high quality MP/Reed like Dazza says, and put it with a player who can really play and he’s going to turn some heads, regardless of what Saxophone he’s on.

[Author]

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