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Beginners path to enlightenment!

breathless

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Dunmow, Essex
Been learning for around 5 months now and have been tutored from the get-go.
I was advised to put away the Yanagisawa N06 that came with the T901 which I did and have been learning using a Yamaha 4c.
Just a few weeks ago I started to feel like my air flow was being restricted and mentioned This to my tutor who suggested it may be that my umberchure and air support have strengthened enough to try the Yanagisawa N06.

I'm on leave from work at the moment and have been practicing daily still on the Yamaha m/piece but this evening after several hours of practice I decided to arm the T901 with the original mouthpiece.

Well I was pleasantly surprised, And I would go as far to say I do believe I've graduated somewhat.

It's only a small step I know but it's a very pleasing one and I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.

Rgds Lee.
 
:welldoneNice one Lee, it's great when you feel like you are making progress.

Jx
 
Been learning for around 5 months now and have been tutored from the get-go.
I was advised to put away the Yanagisawa N06 that came with the T901 which I did and have been learning using a Yamaha 4c.
Just a few weeks ago I started to feel like my air flow was being restricted and mentioned This to my tutor who suggested it may be that my umberchure and air support have strengthened enough to try the Yanagisawa N06.

I'm on leave from work at the moment and have been practicing daily still on the Yamaha m/piece but this evening after several hours of practice I decided to arm the T901 with the original mouthpiece.

Well I was pleasantly surprised, And I would go as far to say I do believe I've graduated somewhat.

It's only a small step I know but it's a very pleasing one and I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.

Rgds Lee.

Nice one Lee,
you will soon be sounding like Jr Walker, btw how'd you go on with the synthetic's ? Rob.
 
I decided to arm the T901 with the original mouthpiece. Well I was pleasantly surprised, And I would go as far to say I do believe I've graduated somewhat. It's only a small step I know but it's a very pleasing one and I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.

Rgds Lee.

Congrats Lee.

I've been at it just a couple of months longer than you. So I'm still very much a novice, but you may be interested to know that my experience mirrors yours. Like you I also started on a Yamaha 4C 'cos in my case it came with the sax. I found as the months went by that the 4C felt rather restricting. I didn't want to splash out a lot on a super mouthpiece at my level of incompetence, so I bought a Yamaha 6C to try. Boy what an eye opener it turned out to be. To be fair I'm using slightly harder reeds than when I first started, but the combination of a wider opening and No3 reeds rather than No2 has transformed my sound. My teacher used to complain about my weak tone above the break. Not any more. I still sound pants of course, but way less pants than when I started.

Lovely sax by the way. You're a fortunate fellow.
 
Thanks everyone, I'm loving this journey, why I why did I take so long to get round to it?

Rob, re- synthetic reeds! Funnily enough where I work there's a security guard that has just been to Hong Kong (his homeland), After a short conversation with him he asked if I wanted anything????? Well he phoned me about a week ago and said he picked up a box of the reeds I wanted (a lot cheaper) and did I want the 2nd thing I'd written on the piece of paper? Namely a Legere signature reed!
I didn't get a confirmation from him that he'd got it but I'm sure he would have if he could!
So when I go back to work after my leave in 2 weeks time I may well a nice new Legere reed to try, but to be honest with the latest development in change of mouthpiece I'm inclined to leave well alone!

Paulm, interesting story! seems to be the way! Although I did fill like I was on a fine line of being about to loose certain notes on the Yanag- mouthpiece, did you experience anything similar?

The choice of sax was based on the endorsement by my wife as I was giving up motorbikes and selling my pride and joy for the last 12 years, so it was a transfer of funds and a transfer of interest!
Had I not been selling the bike I wouldn't have finally got round to fulfilling a lifelong ambition.

Rgds Lee.
 
Paulm, interesting story! seems to be the way! Although I did fill like I was on a fine line of being about to loose certain notes on the Yanag- mouthpiece, did you experience anything similar?

To be honest I didn't Lee. Every now and then I pop the 4C back on the neck to see if it was my technique that was causing the tone issues and every time my tone gets worse as a result, especially up in the top end . When I was on the 4C my teacher told me to increase the air support above the break and sure enough the tone improved, but on the 6C I can play with across the span of the sax with minimal change in embouchure or effort. Perhaps I'm just blowing harder all the time? Anyway, I call that a result.

The one thing that did push me off course for a while was going on holiday for a few weeks (Just south of kevgermany. Can't recommend the Bavarian alps highly enough. Lovely area and we'll definitely be going back). After the holiday I played as if I'd never blown a sax before. It took a while for my mouth muscles to get back to their previous strength and that surprised me after a relatively brief break. The lungs were fine, but then my wife and I had spent a couple of weeks cycling up alpine roads.

I've stayed with the 6C and I doubt I'll every go back to the more closed mouthpiece. It was nice to start on, but the top end sound is significantly improved on the wider piece and I'm also getting the top F# far more consistently too. Personally I'd stick with the Yani mouthpiece, but I'm far from being an expert. The nice thing is it'll cost you nowt to swap between them.

Regards, Paul
 
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The one thing that did push me off course for a while was going on holiday for a few weeks (Just south of kevgermany. Can't recommend the Bavarian alps highly enough. Lovely area and we'll definitely be going back).

You should have looked me up. I bet you flew over my house on the way in.
 
You should have looked me up. I bet you flew over my house on the way in.

We'd be dead if we had - we drove down. I guess you've been there for a while, so tell me, do you get used to those enormous glutinous dumplings in your main course?
 
We'd be dead if we had - we drove down. I guess you've been there for a while, so tell me, do you get used to those enormous glutinous dumplings in your main course?

lol

No, I haven't. We rarely eat German or Bavarian stuff. Haven't got used to the bread either. But.... The beer is heavenly, and the odd one I drink reminds me of what beer should be.... Camra or no Camra, Brit beer isn't a patch on what's sold here.
 
Paulm, 2nd practice from cold today with the Yanagisawa- mouthpiece and I'm extremely pleased, but the most significant change is the quality of tone and controllability, just feels like I can almost pronounce the individual notes better! (there's probably a enter way to explain that) but I'm at a loss as to how much better everything sounds.

Although there was the tiniest hint of a squeak hear and there but nothing to loose sleep over! And dare I say it ive heard pros- squeak occasionally!

P'S, can't comment on the beer as the only time I went to Europe was visiting my brothe when he was posted overseas and I visited him in Germany several times but unfortunately I was under the legal age to consume so missed out on the quality beers on offer.

Rgds Lee.
 
Sounds like solid progress to get the Yani HR 6 up to speed - I found it a good mouthpiece when I had my Yani T901, if a little too mellow after a while. It sounds good that you can identify progress - your embouchure is developing, if not your spelling!

Kind regards
Tom
 
Little steps. Keep making them. The trick with jazz and rock is to squeak in tune then do it again in the same place second chorus next time round. You won't get away with it playing classical lol.
 
Thanks all, Tom- ive put some hours in and Im now starting to notice improvement myself so im very pleased right now!
" if not your spelling!" cheek of it! I dont like making excuses however on this occasion I feel its warranted! I typically post on the forum using my Blackberry Playbook tablet however it has a spell check like no other and I get a great sense of well being fighting with it but alas it sneaks the odd strange spelling past me!
thats my excuse and im sticking to it.

Colin, ive got no intentions of learning anything classical so I might be ok.

Lee.
 

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