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Message: <blockquote data-quote="frankb" data-source="post: 616724" data-attributes="member: 10139">Hi Chris,If you're feeling flat, down or thinking that you're not making terribly good progress, try going back to some of the tunes that you *used* to have trouble with. I'm prepared to bet that you'll now find them easy as pie! <img src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2064%2064%22%3E%3Ctext%20x%3D%2250%25%22%20y%3D%2250%25%22%20text-anchor%3D%22middle%22%20dominant-baseline%3D%22central%22%20font-size%3D%2254%22%3E%F0%9F%98%89%3C%2Ftext%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="22" height="22" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> On the mpc issue, well I'm not really qualified to offer advice. I have had a similar issue with my 4C though. I tried different reeds, tried repositioning the reed, tightening the lig, loosening the lig, drinking something cold immediately before playing(!) and still this harsh quality persisted.In the end I discovered that a long session of long tones, concentrating on creating the warmest, most mellow sound I could manage helped to ease the problem away for that particular practice session. In time I found I could smooth it out more and more quickly. It still comes back from time to time, but less so and I can quite often shake it while playing normally.(YMMV, but I hope the above helps!)Like you, I want to play well and sound great (I don't!), but I have no idea what my long-term goal is, or even if I have one! My short term goal is to keep having my fix of the hour a day when I don't (can't!) think about work, dodgy central heating, recurrent car problems, money worries, what I'm having for dinner for the rest of the week, whose birthday is coming up and what I'm getting them, that thing I laughingly call a career, the swine who cut me up on the way home......because I'm too busy thinking of embouchure, keeping my throat open, tone production, air support, fingering, what note comes next, and the one after that, oh heck it's that fiddly bit again...! The frustration and the fun. It feels good.I was at a photo gathering this weekend and had my tenor along for a trip to sax.co.uk  Another of the attendees is an alto player who's been going for about 2.5 years. Under cover of darkness we sneaked out in to the beer garden and, though he was 'way better then me, we managed a pretty fair impromptu version of Summertime between us with me laying down a fairly plain melody and him soloing over the top! With assorted other noodling we had a good bit of fun (and nobody threw anything at us so I'm calling it a win!).Keep on keeping on!Frank</blockquote>