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CafeSaxophone Forum
Well guys we have had our sax group first meeting which went very well. Among us were:
Simon
Helen
Bill
Jane
Col
Ann
Sharon
We all got on great and have arranged our first practice date for next week 22nd November at The Ennerdale Dale Centre, Ennerdale Road, Corby Nn17 2EA - 1pm-3pm.
If anyone else would like to come along you will be more than welcome, the more the merrier.
Hope to see you all there.
Simon
Helen
Bill
Jane
Col
Ann
Sharon
We all got on great and have arranged our first practice date for next week 22nd November at The Ennerdale Dale Centre, Ennerdale Road, Corby Nn17 2EA - 1pm-3pm.
If anyone else would like to come along you will be more than welcome, the more the merrier.
Hope to see you all there.
10 Replies
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169 views
Got a killer lineup of players for this one. From Maceo Parker to Bobby Caldwell to Richard Elliot to Grover and all kinds of stuff in between.
Cannot wait!
Cannot wait!
10 Replies
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196 views
Theory & Impro learning theory and improv
hello
I have been playing saxophone for roughly 13 years but only maybe half that time seriously
i play jazz
somewhere along the way on my practice i started skipping theory and fundimentals like learning all the keys, arpeggios, scales chords, and chord structures and how chord structures over songs work and how to propelry do voice leading, and i just started playing by ear and transcribing stuff without understanding how it works harmonically.
I found i have hit a wall where my playing doesnt make sense a lot of the time and i just play lines that i think sound good without understanding why. i think it is wrong
how can i re-learn the fundimentals and un-do these years of bad habits built up without having to completely re-learn everything i know about playing. i feel like my playing is still at a beginner level because i have not mastered the fundimentals when in reality i should be at a much higher level by now with my playing
I have been playing saxophone for roughly 13 years but only maybe half that time seriously
i play jazz
somewhere along the way on my practice i started skipping theory and fundimentals like learning all the keys, arpeggios, scales chords, and chord structures and how chord structures over songs work and how to propelry do voice leading, and i just started playing by ear and transcribing stuff without understanding how it works harmonically.
I found i have hit a wall where my playing doesnt make sense a lot of the time and i just play lines that i think sound good without understanding why. i think it is wrong
how can i re-learn the fundimentals and un-do these years of bad habits built up without having to completely re-learn everything i know about playing. i feel like my playing is still at a beginner level because i have not mastered the fundimentals when in reality i should be at a much higher level by now with my playing
10 Replies
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170 views
Saxophones Pork Tales: Saxophone Repair DIY Adventures.
Tales from a pig that likes to stick his nose into everything.
Paint that S. How difficult could it be ?
1) Search the net.
2) Find the color.
3) Order color.
4) Study task on University of YouTube, aka; For destruction by DYI presented by pro tech.
Do the cleaning & prep.
Paint and cleanup / detail the edges with hard cotton swabs. Sounds easy……
Yeah tha guy Matt makes it look easy.
Anyone remember your first experience cooking bacon crispy while still in the frying pan !
Paint that S. How difficult could it be ?
1) Search the net.
2) Find the color.
3) Order color.
4) Study task on University of YouTube, aka; For destruction by DYI presented by pro tech.
Do the cleaning & prep.
Paint and cleanup / detail the edges with hard cotton swabs. Sounds easy……
Yeah tha guy Matt makes it look easy.
Anyone remember your first experience cooking bacon crispy while still in the frying pan !
1191 Replies
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67282 views
Saxophones Selmer no longer supreme!
Okay so I was saddened when I saw this video today and a little shocked but not all that surprised.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PYOU5SgysM
One of my favourite players Eric Alexander has moved to a Chinese brand saxophone. Can I blame him? No as I have done the same and most of my playing buddies have cashed out of the high end French and Japanese horns. They cannot justify the investment on return and these are gigging musicians who say it just doesn't matter!
I just booked a friend and a killer alto player for a gig this past weekend. He now sells insurance, he gave up gigging a few years ago but jumped at the offer of $400.00 for an hour wedding gig. Insurance sales are not paying the bills. He has sold off all his expensive Yamahas and now has Eastern music horns.
How many young players are on Chinese or Taiwan horns these days?
The times they are a changing - sell your VI's because the up and comers won' be lusting after them. 😎
Introducing our newest BetterSax artist, Eric Alexander!
One of my favourite players Eric Alexander has moved to a Chinese brand saxophone. Can I blame him? No as I have done the same and most of my playing buddies have cashed out of the high end French and Japanese horns. They cannot justify the investment on return and these are gigging musicians who say it just doesn't matter!
I just booked a friend and a killer alto player for a gig this past weekend. He now sells insurance, he gave up gigging a few years ago but jumped at the offer of $400.00 for an hour wedding gig. Insurance sales are not paying the bills. He has sold off all his expensive Yamahas and now has Eastern music horns.
How many young players are on Chinese or Taiwan horns these days?
The times they are a changing - sell your VI's because the up and comers won' be lusting after them. 😎
94 Replies
·
2839 views
Saxophones Conn 10m.... Could this be the one?
So guys😊☺️. I ve recently discussed with some of you, possible upgrades to move on from my Arbiter Pro jazz tenor. I almost went to try out a selmer SA80I but decided against it in the end.
Now, whilst I am not in any rush to move on just yet, I think it is definitely on the cards to happen at some point over the coming months. 😉
I was very drawn to a Selmer initially, but have stumbled across some YouTube videos on the Conn 10m.
Having watched a few comparison videos on Selmer mark VI Vs Conn 10m, (not that I was looking at the Mark VI 😳) I immediately noticed how different the tone was between them. The selmer sound much cleaner, crisper, whereas the Conn was a little warmer, fluffier 😳 (is that sacrilege to use fluffy and Conn in the same sentence?.... 🤔😳🤷)
I thought it would be just that one video so I watched a few others and yeah, it was still "fluffy" ☺️ I really liked the "fluffy" sound.
Someone said it was because they were made during the Swing era and so were more "harmonic" and "softer" built for a more acoustic environment and they blended well in a section with the likes of Buescher's. In context, this made so much sense to me.
Someone commented in my last post that perhaps I didn't really know at this stage what direction I wanted to go in looking for a new/old tenor, they were correct, I didn't know. But now I think I do 💡😳🤔
So... If this is a light bulb moment could y'all please enlighten me as to your opinions and experience with the Conn 10m tenor sax.
Is there a particular year or time period that was better than others to look for?
Any faults to look out for?
Are they harder to blow because they are so old?
What's an average price these sell for?
And really any other areas I've not thought about 🤔☺️
Now, whilst I am not in any rush to move on just yet, I think it is definitely on the cards to happen at some point over the coming months. 😉
I was very drawn to a Selmer initially, but have stumbled across some YouTube videos on the Conn 10m.
Having watched a few comparison videos on Selmer mark VI Vs Conn 10m, (not that I was looking at the Mark VI 😳) I immediately noticed how different the tone was between them. The selmer sound much cleaner, crisper, whereas the Conn was a little warmer, fluffier 😳 (is that sacrilege to use fluffy and Conn in the same sentence?.... 🤔😳🤷)
I thought it would be just that one video so I watched a few others and yeah, it was still "fluffy" ☺️ I really liked the "fluffy" sound.
Someone said it was because they were made during the Swing era and so were more "harmonic" and "softer" built for a more acoustic environment and they blended well in a section with the likes of Buescher's. In context, this made so much sense to me.
Someone commented in my last post that perhaps I didn't really know at this stage what direction I wanted to go in looking for a new/old tenor, they were correct, I didn't know. But now I think I do 💡😳🤔
So... If this is a light bulb moment could y'all please enlighten me as to your opinions and experience with the Conn 10m tenor sax.
Is there a particular year or time period that was better than others to look for?
Any faults to look out for?
Are they harder to blow because they are so old?
What's an average price these sell for?
And really any other areas I've not thought about 🤔☺️
67 Replies
·
1035 views
Cafe Moderator
Café Supporter
Miscellaneous Daily Check In
Good morning,
We thought it might be good to have a thread where you can just come and say hi, tell us what you are doing today, have a moan, share an idea that you wouldn't necessarily start a thread for ( we can always create a new thread from posts here if it became a substantial discussion).
It doesn't have to be sax related🙂
Basically an easy way to connect on a daily basis.
So to kick us off, I am writing this whilst prepping a casserole for the slo cooker as I am playing sax today with café sax and need a quick easy tea when I get home.
I am still suffering with a cough which will impact my playing today and I am worried as we are playing our first care home gig next Sunday!!
Have a lovely Sunday
Jx
We thought it might be good to have a thread where you can just come and say hi, tell us what you are doing today, have a moan, share an idea that you wouldn't necessarily start a thread for ( we can always create a new thread from posts here if it became a substantial discussion).
It doesn't have to be sax related🙂
Basically an easy way to connect on a daily basis.
So to kick us off, I am writing this whilst prepping a casserole for the slo cooker as I am playing sax today with café sax and need a quick easy tea when I get home.
I am still suffering with a cough which will impact my playing today and I am worried as we are playing our first care home gig next Sunday!!
Have a lovely Sunday
Jx
2926 Replies
·
91567 views
Blog Mike's musings
Inspired by @Tenor Viols musings, I decided to create my own thread. Focused on my new 'journey' from Big Band music into the world of rock/pop music.. Not only the very different style of music but (for me) also the very different world of amplification, different mpc's, etc,
I
For the 1st 3 weeks, things started off really well! I was enthusiastic and so were the band. I was less enthusiastic on the 4th week when the nominal 'band leader' returned from a vacation, brought a ton of equipment along with him and basically drowned other members out.
During the 4th rehearsal (always on a Saturday), I noticed that my right hand felt a bit 'odd' but OK. That night, the pain in my right hand kept me awake. The day after (following internet advice) , I applied a bandage and ice. My guess is that I injured my hand during a "Fitness Session' the previous Friday. Since then , I haven't been able to play sax🙁. But I have been able to listen to some tracks that I've been asked to play🙂. Not exactly (no-one in the band does) but 'sufficiently recognisable'.
I
For the 1st 3 weeks, things started off really well! I was enthusiastic and so were the band. I was less enthusiastic on the 4th week when the nominal 'band leader' returned from a vacation, brought a ton of equipment along with him and basically drowned other members out.
During the 4th rehearsal (always on a Saturday), I noticed that my right hand felt a bit 'odd' but OK. That night, the pain in my right hand kept me awake. The day after (following internet advice) , I applied a bandage and ice. My guess is that I injured my hand during a "Fitness Session' the previous Friday. Since then , I haven't been able to play sax🙁. But I have been able to listen to some tracks that I've been asked to play🙂. Not exactly (no-one in the band does) but 'sufficiently recognisable'.
294 Replies
·
20859 views
Blog Tenor Viol's musings
OK. I've thought about doing this for a while - setting up a general thread for me to post in, rather than necessarily creating a separate new thread every time for relatively minor matters, or discussion of how things are going etc.
So, the first item is my FB page got me with an Amazon advert and I seem to have ordered a jazz theory book... It will get delivered to the Amazon lockers at work on Monday
Tomorrow is a Café Trio/Quartet...Septet day where @trimmy is going to demonstrate ascending chromatic scales in augmented fourths, and descending in diminished fifths... 😀
Yesterday was a wind band concert in Maghull. There were about 85 of us playing. We had a contrabassoon in the band...
So, the first item is my FB page got me with an Amazon advert and I seem to have ordered a jazz theory book... It will get delivered to the Amazon lockers at work on Monday
Tomorrow is a Café Trio/Quartet...Septet day where @trimmy is going to demonstrate ascending chromatic scales in augmented fourths, and descending in diminished fifths... 😀
Yesterday was a wind band concert in Maghull. There were about 85 of us playing. We had a contrabassoon in the band...
1942 Replies
·
117395 views
Cafe Moderator
Commercial
Cafe Announcements 📣 Sensitive content filter
We have had this filter for quite a while now. Part of the reason is compliance with various regulations around the world regarding online safety.
Some of you may have noticed that it isn't perfect, there are inevitably false positives, ie they are mistakenly picked up by the filter. The latest update allows more control over what is and isn't acceptable to view. It includes nudity obviously, but also violence, firearms etc. Currently I only have it set for nudity (and beyond).
It will often pick up images that many find not offensive or even sensitive, for this reason we are introducing an option for members to unblur images. Currently this is in trial and only for supporters.
However as soon as we find images that are false positives, they will be unblurred by moderators. If you upload a picture of a saxophone part and find it is flagged, please feel free to report so we can fix it and tweak the settings.
Thanks
Some of you may have noticed that it isn't perfect, there are inevitably false positives, ie they are mistakenly picked up by the filter. The latest update allows more control over what is and isn't acceptable to view. It includes nudity obviously, but also violence, firearms etc. Currently I only have it set for nudity (and beyond).
It will often pick up images that many find not offensive or even sensitive, for this reason we are introducing an option for members to unblur images. Currently this is in trial and only for supporters.
However as soon as we find images that are false positives, they will be unblurred by moderators. If you upload a picture of a saxophone part and find it is flagged, please feel free to report so we can fix it and tweak the settings.
Thanks
18 Replies
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353 views
Mouthpieces Absolute Mouthpieces News
Edit:
This thread is an offspring of this:
Absolute
Please do not forget to subscribe to receive notifications.
..........................................................................................................
It is a good example of cryptic writing, in the glorious Italian burocratic tradition, but it means that you can return it if you don't like it, unless you are VAT registered. Mostly because according to that lovely legislation, If a supplier emits a VAT receipt, he (or she) has to pay VAT, even if the goods have not been paid for.
I am happy to let forum members try them, but I do not sell or represent Absolute. I sell some mouthpieces from another maker (not metal, and some are currently in the yardsale) but I am delighted to help someone like Absolute that offers such products for such low prices. Their choice of keeping prices down, probably implies that a distribution is not feasible.
This thread is an offspring of this:
Absolute
Please do not forget to subscribe to receive notifications.
..........................................................................................................
It is a good example of cryptic writing, in the glorious Italian burocratic tradition, but it means that you can return it if you don't like it, unless you are VAT registered. Mostly because according to that lovely legislation, If a supplier emits a VAT receipt, he (or she) has to pay VAT, even if the goods have not been paid for.
I am happy to let forum members try them, but I do not sell or represent Absolute. I sell some mouthpieces from another maker (not metal, and some are currently in the yardsale) but I am delighted to help someone like Absolute that offers such products for such low prices. Their choice of keeping prices down, probably implies that a distribution is not feasible.
205 Replies
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43126 views
Tech/maintenance Vise Advice
Picture of vise with V notch.
1. Why do some vises have that?
2. Not great for using parallels.
Thoughts for making something to allow use of parallels for milling.
Will be making small mounts for optics and other precision items, like metal bridges for string instruments, motor bike parts/mods, etc etc.
Might drill thru the rear block, from the back, make a metal plate, with counterbores, that is wider than the V notch and bolt it on when necessary.
Thicker parallels are an option, but they are not often used, like a parachute. 🙄
Thx
PP
1. Why do some vises have that?
2. Not great for using parallels.
Thoughts for making something to allow use of parallels for milling.
Will be making small mounts for optics and other precision items, like metal bridges for string instruments, motor bike parts/mods, etc etc.
Might drill thru the rear block, from the back, make a metal plate, with counterbores, that is wider than the V notch and bolt it on when necessary.
Thicker parallels are an option, but they are not often used, like a parachute. 🙄
Thx
PP
7 Replies
·
167 views
Tech/maintenance Making parts you can’t find.
Missing parts are often a pain to find. Making a new part can be done. Cost, more than a thick combo pizza & pitcher of beer.
It’s all starts with the phone call… “ I didn’t notice that missing on the Goodwill auction pictures “ .
With no carcass horn to pick at…. its time to just make one.
A section of chopstick for size and bit of cork to check fit.
It’s all starts with the phone call… “ I didn’t notice that missing on the Goodwill auction pictures “ .
With no carcass horn to pick at…. its time to just make one.
A section of chopstick for size and bit of cork to check fit.
115 Replies
·
8268 views
Cafe Moderator
Commercial
Playing the saxophone What does professional musician mean?
I think this is the basis for an interesting discussion/debate.
My take is that a professional is someone who makes a living from playing. No other work. So in that case a couple of bucks or free meal is not it.
And of course there is semi-pro
107 Replies
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4941 views
Cafe Moderator
Commercial
Games Advanced Song Title Game
This is the same as the basic Song title game but with one important difference. It combines Word Association
e.g. Somewhere over the rainbow > Red Roses for a Blue lady > La Vie En Rose > The Real Life
BUT NOT:
- Someone posts a song title
- Next person posts a title whose first word starts with the same letter as the last word of that previous one. Please quote the previous title in your post.
- The articles the and a do not count
- There must be an association between the meaning of the two titles.
- Being by the same singer or artist does not count (or other trivia such as era or chart statistics)
- An association deeper within the lyric does not count
- You can challenge if you think there is no reasonable association.
e.g. Somewhere over the rainbow > Red Roses for a Blue lady > La Vie En Rose > The Real Life
BUT NOT:
- Here Comes the Sun > Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Beatles songs)
- The End of the World > Walk Like a Man (Billboard top 100 hot singles 1963)
- Blowing in the Wind > Wings of a Dove (association with dove in lyrics of BITW)
836 Replies
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41323 views
Tech/maintenance 1946 The Martin Tenor - an overhaul thread
I'm a bit crazy. I already have a lovely 1924 Martin Handcraft tenor that was overhauled and plays wonderfully.
But here we are, I couldn't help but get a Committee III tenor to match my alto! Serial # 155,xxx.
My wife found this one too, a little bit of a drive away, but worth the trip a couple of weeks ago.
Its quite dirty and nasty looking, but in overall good shape minus a dent in the bow a couple of small dents. The finish looks bad right now, but I couldn't care less about what it looks like. It has the original pads and I doubt its ever been apart before.
Day of purchase:
But here we are, I couldn't help but get a Committee III tenor to match my alto! Serial # 155,xxx.
My wife found this one too, a little bit of a drive away, but worth the trip a couple of weeks ago.
Its quite dirty and nasty looking, but in overall good shape minus a dent in the bow a couple of small dents. The finish looks bad right now, but I couldn't care less about what it looks like. It has the original pads and I doubt its ever been apart before.
Day of purchase:
91 Replies
·
9125 views
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