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A collection of the" best of the best" contributions by members. Playing, improvising care & repair tips and hints. Contact us if you want to publish an article.
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Martin Indiana Saxophones Part 1 - The Indiana Band Instrument Company
I have been trying to learn more about Martin Indiana saxophones recently. The Indiana was the brand name for Martin’s second-line instruments.
I thought I would write down what I have found out. None of this information is new or original - I’m just trying to put it all in one place. And of course there may be mistakes in what I am writing.
My main sources have been “The Martin Story”, SaxPics, saxophone.org and SOTW.
The Martin Story website is an excellent resource for people who want to learn about Martin saxophones:
The Martin Story - All there is to know about Martin saxophones
The Indiana Band Instrument Company
The Indiana Band Instrument Company was...
I did this case renovation a while back. A few pictures posted here and there but nothing of the complete build.
Sometimes there are no options for a aftermarket replacement case. So this is what happens when you try to restore what you have. It’s very time consuming but in this case (pun intended )worth it.
This is a case to a 1933-ish H. Bettoney metal clarinet. Initial inspection it looked like it just needed a few spots of glue.
I’ve never done a complete overhaul of a case before. Previously I’ve had some success relining the interior of a flute case.
I’ve had extensive formal training in cabinet furniture/Millworks. Originally the trade I planned my future for. Things change. This project is well within my comfort zone. I...
Getting it wrong then getting it right:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XlGuT3iWY
Why combine tone & fingering exercises?
I have found this to be very useful, but it may not work for everyone. So the best thing to do may be to try and and see if it does help you.
Some people find that pure tone exercises can quickly become boring, and as soon as this happens your mind wanders, and so whatever gain you would get from focussed practice is diminished. OTOH, some people (who are good at focussing or concentrating on something like tone or long note exercises) may find introducing this other element becomes distracting in itself. In other words you start focussing on the fingering and forget about the tone.
So what you need to...
Problems with leaky low notes? The issue is very often your G#
The G# on modern saxophones has quite a complex mechanism. All saxophone players need to know about adjusting the tabbed/articulated G# as it is one of the most common, and yet easily fixable, causes of leaks.
The first thing we need to know is what is a tabbed/articulated G#, and why you would use it.
Articulated G#
This mechanism allows you to keep the G# key open when playing any note F# or below down to D. In the old days you would have had to let go of the G# to play F# down to D.
Example A: play an A major scale from A (in the lower register) down to low D with your G# held down for all notes. It is quite handy to keep your finger on the key - the F#, E and D all...
When you buy, borrow or hire your first saxophone without any experience to speak of it typically throws up a few challenges over the coming months.
High ranking on the list are squeaks or the inability to produce certain notes. It's probably much less common to be lucky enough to have avoided these genuine issues than needing to overcome them.
This in turn throws open many questions about why its happening and then discussions on the variety of ways people are struggling.
At this stage the forum gets lots of posts about these problems and old ground is covered on many occasions.
The enthusiastic but frustrated learner typically questions some of the following:-
The sax,
The mouthpiece,
The embouchure,
The reed strength.
Some times...
The modern digital era has made necessary for anyone on the Internet to acquire at least a minimum of photographic skills in order to be able to use pictures for a number of purposes on the web.
Of course we all know the old proverb: “ A picture is worth a thousand words “ so, in many ways taking pictures helps anyone to better describe anything also when attempting to ask for information on something that we are trying to identify or perhaps sell.
While in order to pursue this goal it is not necessary, for most of us, to become an accomplished photographer and acquire backgrounds, studio lights or an expensive camera to make what we want to show particularly “ beautiful”, it is at lest desirable that we can, at the very least...
Hi,
I know there are the odd articles regards sending Saxophones, but none show you what I feel is the safest way to post one to avoid any damage in transit. Please remember poor packaging is the foremost cause of damage to instruments in their cases whilst in transit.
Especially when they are old because the cases can be worn, the majority are ill fitting and allow too much movement inside.
We have been selling musical instruments for a while and sold a lot of Saxes, We always pack them in this manner and have never had one instrument damaged in transit- even by the worst known couriers.
So here is our personal step by step guide with photos.
We hope it is useful to you
Before packing a Saxophone always make sure you plug the...
Obviously we often use the words tone & sound interchangeably, but when you are learning an instrument like the saxophone, it’s very useful to consider them separately.
Tone: you can think of this as the “raw” unprocessed sound of your saxophone.
Sound: this is the end result after you have used your technique as a musician to manipulate the tone into something that can be more personal or expressive via techniques such as vibrato and dynamics.
We tend to associate tone with expression, and sometimes confuse the two. Even the word “tone” is confusing. It can be used to mean the sound you get when you merely blow down the saxophone without adding anything extra, or it can mean the sound you get after you have applied various...
Now this is something I know a lot about as I work for a parcel-carrying company both as a driver and a trailer loader. In the past I have worked for other parcel carriers as a trunker driver and general dogsbody.
My advice? Unless you feel lucky, take it yourself! :devil::devil::devil:
More seriously. Parcel companies are much the same, only the price differs. No one is deliberately going to destroy your parcel (I suppose there are exceptions, but rarely). Most damage is caused accidentally at the depot or hub by occasional dodgy handling or by something heavier falling on a parcel (more likely).
Companies like ParceltoGo, 3B, Interparcel etc. have no transport of their own and use their bulk-buying power to get a decent rate from...