Introduction Absolute beginner

[frankb]

Greetings one and all from the sunny Northwest of England (don't blink or you'll miss it!).

My name's Frank and I'm a 39 year old IT Test Manager who's always wanted to play the sax and has just ordered one! My apologies in advance to my neighbours and any dogs in a 3 mile radius...

The instrument of torture in question is a (hopefully) shiny new YTS275 from NetMusicalInstruments and will (also hopefully) be arriving on Tuesday 1 May. Then all I need to do is work out how to hold it and into which end I should blow! :S

Well, perhaps things aren't quite that bad. I've found myself a local sax teacher whose going to give it a once-over for me, make sure it isn't a pup and sort out lessons for me and I've also been noodling around with a http://www.xaphoon.com for about six weeks (the mouthpiece is a completely different shape but the principle is similar).

Anyway, great to be here and I'll try not to pester you (too much!) with dumb questions!

All the best,

Frank

 

[frank_johnson]

Hi Frank,
At last a namesake! Welcome to the forum and many happy years on the sax from sunny (but cold) Wolverhampton.
Frank

 

[Saxlicker]

Welcome Frank!
Plenty of useful and helpful things for all on this site.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Hi Frank and welcome to the Breakfast Room from sunny Southampton

 

[old_git]

Welcome from the sun-drenched Wandle Surf Beach just below the Crystal Palace Massif. Palm trees waving, bikinied birds everywhere. Super sax Ipenema weather.
If you get it in time, meet 6 a.m. Croydon Town Centre, by the Whitgift Almshouses for a May Day Morris dance out. If you ask nicely, they might let you play.
You'll love it most of the time, hate it occasionally but if it was all easy, it wouldn't be worth doing.

 

[therudest]

Hello there, and welcome) From snowy Russia))))))

 

[Rogerb]

Welcome Frank, from (usually but not this month!) sunny Spain!

 

[Bobby G]

Hello Frank and welcome from lovely Welwyn. Have fun on your shiny new Yamaha tenor! Ask dumb questions, they're only really dumb if you don't ask 'em. There's all levels of ability in here, and just recently a lot of new starters....

Cheers, Bob

 

[Tenor Sax]

Welcome Frank From Dull and Cold Lichfield.

Chris

 

[richard_mac]

Hi Frank, I've only just joined myself.

Richard.

 

[frankb]

The Eagle (okay, the Yamaha!) has landed!

It turned up a little after 2pm and sounds great (when my teacher plays it! When I play it, it sounds ****** awful! ).

Hopefully I'll get a decent tone out of it before I draw my pension! :S

 

[richard_mac]

FrankB wrote:
The Eagle (okay, the Yamaha!) has landed!

It turned up a little after 2pm and sounds great (when my teacher plays it! When I play it, it sounds ****** awful! ).

Hopefully I'll get a decent tone out of it before I draw my pension! :S

Go for it Frank, you will sound great after a few weeks. Persevere with it.

 

[Bobby G]

You may not immediately get a wonderful tone, but just getting a note or two is a major achievement on your first blow. That's it, you're probably hopelessly addicted by now. Have fun with it.

Cheers, Bob

 

[frankb]

Bobby G wrote:
That's it, you're probably hopelessly addicted by now. Have fun with it.

You're not wrong! 8)

I've managed a shaky 1 octave major scale and hacked out a (Godawful!) version of Summertime. The rest of the time I spent on long tones (like the teacher told me to! :whistle: ).

He's off to Italy for a couple of weeks which should give me some time to improve my chops before we get down to some proper practising. He's also mentioned that it would be an idea if I could learn to read music, the prospect of which doesn't fill me with delight but I can see his point.

Now it's just a matter of time and perseverence!

 

[sharon]

Hi Frank - I've only just started playing - about 3 months that's all. You can come along really quickly but I found that playing little and often to start was better. I got to know when it was time to put the sax down when I started whistling. At first that would be ooh about 15 mins but that gets better quickly.

I've also learned to read music at the same time. I've got the Boosey and Hawkes (I think that's what it's called) book which teaches you the fingering and the written notes at the same time and then you practice with excercises - I found it really effective for sight reading. It's also really satisfying to be able to read the music I think.

You're really going to have fun.

Sharon

 

[therudest]

Lol Summertime was my 1rst one too =DD

Gz on that 1)

 

[Bobby G]

I was just thinking that myself, TheRudest. How many others were knocking out shaky versions of Summertime within their first week of picking up a sax? It was my second tune, shortly after Madness' "One Step Beyond" and shortly before what is probably one of the greatest tunes in all of music, "Theme From EastEnders".

Cheers, Bob

 

[therudest]

Hhahah that comes in kinda funny way, cos "One step beyond" was my 2nd tune =DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD... hmmmmmmm

 

[saxismyaxe]

Hi Frank,

Here is my belated welcome to the forum boards.

Cheers.

 

[frankb]

Bobby G wrote:
I was just thinking that myself, TheRudest. How many others were knocking out shaky versions of Summertime within their first week of picking up a sax? It was my second tune, shortly after Madness' "One Step Beyond" and shortly before what is probably one of the greatest tunes in all of music, "Theme From EastEnders".

LOL! I haven't gone for the Eastenders theme, but I did manage an exceptionally shaky version of the St James Infirmary Blues!

At the moment I'm splitting most of my time between long tones and the instrument's main scale, with a bit more time spent working from a chart to locate the basic fingerings for all the sharps and flats. (Surely they could have put a *few* more keys on this thing, *somewhere*! 8| )

Sharon - My teacher's recommended a book called "Team Woodwind". As it's one he's used to I'm going to comply and not be an individual (a.k.a. awkward bugger)! I tried to pick up a copy of it in Manchester last week but it had the Alto CD in it (cunningly disguised by a Bb CD sleeve!). They're ordering one for me so I'll report back when I start using it!