Misc recording Annual Appraisal - Honesty required please

[Colin the Bear]

Have a look in at Spalding Jazz Club. Peterborough

 

[MLoosemore]

Have a look in at Spalding Jazz Club. Peterborough

I've heard of them and as I live in Spalding that would be ideal.... but I don't know when they last held an event 🙁 nothing on the web

 

[fibracell]

If it's a song it can help to sing the lyrics to help your phrasing. Even speaking them along to the backing track will help. Singers like Sinatra and Billie Holiday play with the phrasing and can give some insight.

Man I agree with this a million percent!!. I made the mistake of trying to learn tunes from piano players and sax players, when really you should listen to Ella Fitzgerald!. In fact if you want to learn the old jazz standard tunes just buy her CD's and play them in your car. over and over. You'll get to know the lyrics and, well, Ella is just amazing. Also, Nat King Cole, and Sinatra. That way, you have the tune and lyrics floating around when you play the melodies.

I also love to watch the really old original movies which featured the standards. The playing and arrangements in those films are simply amazing!!

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Agree with Colin regarding the controlling the reed, just seems like your reed is to stiff and your fighting it, not so sure about his other comment regarding the standard of your playing over the short period of time you have actually been playing, at the end of the day everyone's different and there's so many variables. Hearing your clip it seems to me you may not be a very strong reader and struggle with counting and as a result your timing completely goes out the window, I would suggest getting a metronome and setting it to the time signature and beats per minute on the music and without your instrument just go through it a few times and you should start to see it, another option would be to again with your metronome and music get the song up on youtube and watch and listen how it goes and hopefully it will click.

Another good thing for you to look at would be to get involved with Staxofsax which is run by Dave Plumber, a member on here, kind of a crash course in reading and playing (and hearing) others.

 

[gladsaxisme]

Well I honestly think you are doing fine as far as progress goes for 12 months we have all heard you improve so much, the longer I listened to it the more I enjoyed it, when you have started from nothing there is just so much going on to learn all at once,just learning to read music for starters then trying to get your fingers to do what they should be doing then trying to achieve some sort of tone then getting the timing and intonation COME ON NOW in my opinion your doing great and shown great improvement at a steady rate what more can you expect of yourself, just keep at it and try to enjoy doing all the scales and excersices and long tones, it's really a must to get really good at playing and the better you get at that the easier the playing tunes will be, probably something I have neglected the longer your at it the easier it becomes so expect leaps and bounds this next year ......John

 

[TimboSax]

Hi Mark. Firstly, congratulations on your first year! I'm a beginner like you and so hopefully my mantra might help:

"better than I was, not as good as I will be"

🙂

You mention breath control issues and some problems with tonguing, but to be honest that's not what I hear when I listen. To me, the two biggest things that stand out are the things that stand out when I listen to myself play: tone and feel.

Regarding tone, can I ask if the sound of your recording matches what you hear when you play? I've been playing with mic placement recently and some of the recordings I got sounded similar in tone to yours, so I wonder if that is worth playing with the mechanics of the recording. Moving the mic slightly can make a large difference to the recorded tone.

Something I try to do to improve tone is linked to the feel, and is also linked to the fact that I don't read music or understand dots/theory etc. I pick out a line, work out how to play it, and then just play it over and over again, trying different rhythms, trying different ways of blowing, mouthpiece position, etc. It can be as little as three notes, but the key thing is that it's something to just mess around with, I'm not concentrating on trying to read anything, or keep in time to anything, it's all playing to something in my head and it's the repetition that works for me. (I'm aware that I'm not explaining this too well, I could send you an example of what I mean if you'd like). Last summer I got hooked on playing the sax intro to a Floyd track (I wanted to try and get the breathy subtones), and so I drove the family mad with a few weeks of me just playing this 30 second piece over and over and over...

I agree with some of the other comments above that using a tutor will help, if only to get immediate feedback from someone knowledgeable who's in the room with you. If getting to a tutor is tricky, then you shouldn't have to sign up for life, just the odd lesson when you need it. I'm planning a trip to see the guy a went to a couple of times last year, as I have some issues that I'd like to go through with him. I know there are resources to help find a tutor, but here's a link to the site I used:

http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/search?mode=submit&type=1&keywords=&instrument=saxophone&region=27

Hope this helps, and keep blowing!

Tim

 

[MLoosemore]

I struggle with this.
My wife tells me to feel the rhythm. So I started listening to the backing tracks, just counting the beat until I could arrive at the end of the backing track on the correct bar and time.... /quote]

Good plan Kev. It becomes a bit difficult when Chris kindly provides a backing track which is double or treble the duration of the dots. That's when I find it tricky getting into the repeated bits. Try to refer to others versions but they are all so ****** clever that after the first verse/chorus it all gets very improv 🙁 and I lose track

 

[Nick Wyver]

Didn't sound bad for only a year's playing. You've got the wobble (unless it's deliberate vibrato) that a lot a lot of adult beginners seem to be afflicted with. You need to work out what's producing that and correct it. Could be lips, jaw, throat, diaphragm - anything involved in producing a note. Practise long notes - trying to concentrate on producing an even tone. If it's deliberate then you need to work on making it more even and make sure you can play without it. You can worry about musicality when you've got a bit more command of the beast.

 

[Chris]

Good plan Kev. It becomes a bit difficult when Chris kindly provides a backing track which is double or treble the duration of the dots. That's when I find it tricky getting into the repeated bits. Try to refer to others versions but they are all so ****** clever that after the first verse/chorus it all gets very improv 🙁 and I lose track

Hi Mark, that was why I started a resource about single chorus backing tracks, with key melody notes left in place. Price is £2.00 per track with 50% going to the Cafe.

Chris..

 

[Colin the Bear]

Try some karaoke tracks too. Forget the dots and follow the words.

 

[MLoosemore]

Try some karaoke tracks too. Forget the dots and follow the words.

I started doing that but invariably the karaoke track was not in the same key as the dots... I know transpose the dots.... One day I will add learning to transpose to my collection of things to do. 🙂

Your suggestion of just following the words is actually a good one which I will look into. Take it phrase by phrase and try and hit the notes. This will be good ear training as well as timing and pitching.

Thanks again Colin, always good ideas.

 

[MLoosemore]

Didn't sound bad for only a year's playing. You've got the wobble (unless it's deliberate vibrato) .

Thanks Nick, let's call it deliberate vibrato then 😉

Actually that is what I identified as breath control issues, basically running out of it and trying to hang on with what little is left. I agree I need to work on that. Long notes and more long notes...

 

[Ivan]

Keep at it MLoosemore

You're clearly someone who can learn from constructive criticism which bodes very well

 

[jafo50]

Thanks Nick, let's call it deliberate vibrato then 😉

Actually that is what I identified as breath control issues, basically running out of it and trying to hang on with what little is left. I agree I need to work on that. Long notes and more long notes...

What strength reed are you using? I didn't see that mentioned anywhere in this post.

 

[MLoosemore]

What strength reed are you using? I didn't see that mentioned anywhere in this post.

Rico Royal or Marc Jazz 2s

 

[Colin the Bear]

What strength reed are you using? I didn't see that mentioned anywhere in this post.

Apart from every post in his signature. lol

 

[jafo50]

Apart from every post in his signature. lol

Saw that after I hit "post reply" but figured that he might have changed something and didn't update his profile.

 

[Melissa]

I've heard of them and as I live in Spalding that would be ideal.... but I don't know when they last held an event 🙁 nothing on the web

I could not either, only I don't know if this may help if you have not already been there, there are contact numbers too.
http://www.jazz-clubs-worldwide.com/docs/midlands.htm

 

[Jeanette]

Thanks for that critique Colin. As you suspect I do not have access to a teacher and any progress is as a result of probably about an hour a day practising 5 days a week. Have looked into local adult education but there seems to be nothing suitable out here in the 'sticks' As far as musical background is concerned, some 50 plus years ago I played side drum in the school CCF and that's it. Not a great background for woodwind 🙁

Re teacher, Alison Diamond offers Skype lessons Saxophone Lessons and tuition in Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire and UK - Alison Diamondhaven't used her services myself but a sax player that used to be in the orchestra I joined had lessons with her till she moved to Tenerife and now has Skype lessons with her. Might be worth a call. 🙂

Jx

 

[Melissa]

Hi Mark,

You know I listened to was it Timbo's? "Embraceable you", I then printed off the sheet music and it was not wonderful, well not playing to the dots anyhow, what I usually do and i think it has been suggested, listed to how the original song sounded like by different artists, so I have done this and listened to Ella's version and play along those lines. this way you get a feel of the melody line.

Then once this has been mastered, listen to various different renditions of the solo part, this way it can give lots of ideas where to go, i hope this may help. I also have problems with breathing and re-circulating, have been playing for a while now but certainly do not have your courage- or the actual equipment to do so.

Stay with it, I am only the other side of Peterborough so you are welcome to pop in and we could have a go at some tunes together if it helps.