Advice Please

[crazydaisydoo]

Hi,

Newbie here, just 3 months in to playing, but from a sound base in playing jazz guitar (quite badly) for 25 years

All comments genuinely welcome:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=646818

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At7elszWYNQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybeEfO3Ii0

I am more concerned with tone than technique, I am sure that will come.

All this is improvised by the way, i dont read very fast.

 

[Linky Lee]

For tone improvement do vocal training exercises.

Lower the larynx and raise the top of the mouth at it's furthest point backwards.

Support the air flow by pushing with your diaphragm and breathing deeply.

Use vocalists exercises to improve diaphragm control and breath support.

One exercise for learning how to breath more deeply and easier, as this feels very uncomfortable at first is to lie down on the floor on your back with your palms under your back where the back of your kidneys would be.

Then put the yellow pages on your stomach.

Exhale all your air so that it basically hurts and slowly breath in through your mouth making sure to fill up your lungs from the bottom, you will feel your lungs expand outwards after they are full on your palms and your high chest will begin to rise. The aim is to make the yellow pages as high as you can. Then hold and count to 3 or 5 depending on how uncomfortable you are, then SLOWLY! release the air and breath normally again for a few seconds and repeat.

This in time will help you take bigger breaths in less time, and should maximise your lung capacity.

Unfortunately to get good tone, you need to have good technique. This isn't with the fingers it's with your throat, lungs and diaphragm.
I feel similar exercises should be included into everyones practise regime.

I think my teacher is also a big pusher of 'vocal training' to improve tone for wind instruments. obviously it would be silly to think you can improve the pianos tone by breathing deeper 😛

 

[mr__myles]

For the time you have been playing, you sure have a good tone. I like the ideas in your solos, I can totally see the resemblance between your guitar playing and alto playing, having that sorta of background sure helps out a lot eh? Keep on playing man, you sound great.

 

[Dylan]

Fantastic ! 🙂

I dont feel qualified to offer you any advice. But from a listening point of view, I'd say just keep going. It really does sound good.

What made you take up the sax?

D

 

[crazydaisydoo]

Thanks for the kind words so far,

I took up the sax because I was frustrated with the guitar. The guitar is a very complex instrument to play, and the sax is much more immediate and direct, like singing in fact.

Ironically most sax players are better "musicians" than most guitarists, but a lot of that comes from the school clarinet background of saxophonists. But I stand by my statement, jazz guitar is confusing, and very difficult to play at a high level. You can't just learn the head, some scales and blast away. There are chords. many many chords. There are passing chords and inversons, and then soloing......

I really do feel like I am "singing" when I play the alto. Its a lovely feeling, and not at all like the guitar 🙂

Thanks so much for the comments, very encouraging..

 

[Saxlicker]

Just caught up with some youtube stuff C.D. Doo has been putting out and I don't know how I missed this thread before.

I don't know...is it just me? but......

Well Mr Stone! You are indeed a player that is light years ahead of your experience, for all your confessions of playing other instruments on and off, it still phonominal.
Fantastic!
Still less than a year on sax?
To all the beginners that have been posting about squeaking and stuff recently...let me tell you now, whether this style is up your alley or not, you'll be doing just great if you can get within a third of where this guy is at when you've played for a similar amount of time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1d3y8hfMX8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHTgaVyvnQ

And there more.

 

[Bobby G]

Sounds good to me, c.d.doo 🙂 I've been playing 3 years having come from a guitar/bass-playing background of about 35 years, mostly rock/folk/blues based, so trying to get a bit jazzy on a sax is a whole new thing, but yeah, something comes out from quite a long way down, doesn't it? As you say, it's like singing, except in my case the sax sounds a whole lot better than my singing >.<

It's odd, isn't it, how once you get used to a strange-shaped arcane mechanism called a sax, it's such a natural way of making music?

Keep it up, you're doing fine!

Cheers, Bob

 

[ochaye_mckay]

Wow!!! CrazyDaisyDoo - you got to that standard in 3 Months?!! And quite an extensive repertoire at that standard too!! What an inspiration!! I've only been playing for 3 weeks (1.5 hours a day minimum) and sound like - well,,, someone that's only been playing 3 weeks.

I imagine it will take me a year or two to get to where you are - but I won't get dissheartened... not at all. In fact you give us beginners a kick in the backside. I'm off to practise some more!

Good on you mate - keep it going!!!

Dave.

 

[magmavander]

Wow! This is impressive.
I have no knoweldge in saxophone but I would pay 1.00.000.000 euros to play like that after 3 months!! 😉
I enjoyed, thanks! You've made a great work.
Thanks to share.

bye

mag

 

[crazydaisydoo]

Thanks you guys, very kind words again.

This is my first visit here in a while, I spend a bit of time on that other SOTW forum.....sorry, though things seem to busier here now so I will check back much more often

I am now 9 months or so in, and having a blast. I am still practising an hour a day, and I can rattle of a few standards, there is now a lot more stuff on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=crazydaisydoo

I have been having some lessons with a classical teacher, mostly theory and reading, because that is my big weakness. I soon ran out things to play without being able to read, and winging it is not always the best policy.

In my situation, with a young family and busy weekends, playing out is not an option yet. The great thing about youtube is you can interact with other musicians all over the world, and it's free!

Equipment wise I have "upgraded" to a Yamah YAS-62 and also treated myself to an old Martin. I have spent way too much on mouthpieces as well, currently using a jody jazz HR 5M. It beats golf though, as a way of spending money that is 🙂

I am still on 2.5 rico royal reeds, despite heavy pressure from others to move up. I am really happy with my sound, and I am following Mr Thomas's advice.

Nuff said!

You all keep blowing, and all comments on my latest videos more than welcome, good or bad!