Buying a Sax (sorry, another thread on this topic!)

[emmalto]

Just checked the delivery tracker, and it's due to be delivered tomorrow

I've also ordered the Jazz Method for Saxophone book.

Excited and nervous at the moment, I've no idea how to pick up the thing yet!

 

[spike]

Hi Tenoremma, just have a glass of sherry, take the tablets and get a good nights sleep, as of tomorrow your world will be turned upside down, it'll be triplets for breakfast, bebop for lunch and a few after dinner augmenteds, - a good reed will have nothing to do with enid blyton, and you'll be replacing the bathroom scale with the blues scale. Have fun Emma, I do envy you! - gruss - spike

 

[frankb]

EmmaTenor wrote:
Excited and nervous at the moment, I've no idea how to pick up the thing yet!

Hi Emma,

A couple of little tips (from a fellow newbie!) -

1) My method for picking it up is to put the strap round my neck, clip the strap to the horn and then pick it up. The strap takes some of the weight and unless the horn comes off the hook (unlikely, mine's a clip-hook) then you're not going to drop it.

2) The tenor is a large, fairly heavy metal object which (if you give it half a chance) swings in a unusual and unpredictable manner. The strap is designed to place the mouthpiece at your mouth, ready to play. It's also capable of delivering the mouthpiece (which is hard and pointy) into your mouth (or anywhere else on your face!) with some force...! This hurts quite a bit (understatement!), so please be careful and keep at least one hand steadying it all the time!

3) Enjoy yourself! It's incredible fun!

Do let us know how you get on.

All the best,

Frank

 

[emmalto]

Thanks for the tips Frank. Just got a call telling me that it's arrived at home! Work is going to go so slowly today 🙁

 

[old_git]

Emma,
Look into my eyes, right into my eyes, (not my face, it is so ugly you'll be sick), second thoughts, that's not a bad idea.
Look into my eyes and concentrate. You are feeling sleepy, and fading away............
Wasn't breakfast horrible this morning. You can feel it churning, undigested in your stomach. When I click my fingers, you will wake up and be sick over the boss. You will apologise and be sent home for a few days to recover. Guarantee it is not morning sickness but as soon as you are home, you will recover.
Click. 😉

 

[tengu01]

(cue Louis Armstrong)......we have all the time in the world.....

🙂

 

[old_git]

Come on Emma, we are avidly waiting for a description of your First Encounter of a Saxophone Kind.

 

[emmalto]

Here it is...

Got home from work, having had to spend the whole day knowing that it had arrived. Open it's case, what an amazing looking object. I mean, even if I have no hope of learning to play it, at least I have the most beautiful orament! The intial problem was that the sax had arrived before my book, so I was scared to touch anything in case I bent something. In the end I thought sod it, can't sit here staring at it and picked it up by the bell and just held it on my lap for a while admiring the mechanics (and stared at it some more).

A quick browse on the 'net found a site describing to beginners what to do. I am unsure of how far to put the mouthpiece on the cork as there seemed like it it was only so far it would go. The other thing I noticed was that it is recommended that the ligature is put on the mouthpiece and the reed is fed between that and the mouthpiece, I found this nearly impossible (but my hands were shaking slightly!) so I put the reed in place and carefully put the ligature on afterwards.

I remember everything I had read about embouchure and blew. Actually I managed to get a note and no squeak, but was stuck by how loud the thing is! Continued to read through my print-off and stood in front of a mirror and worked out where all my fingers are supposed to go. Again blew through a few notes although I have no idea whether they sounded like they were supposed to 😉 After about 20 minutes of messing around my neck started to get tired. The sax came with a pants neck strap (no padding), and I later found out that the tenor weighs something like 3.3kg hehe!

Anyway, that's it so far, I will have another go tonight, but until I get my book I won't really know what I'm doing...

 

[Bobby G]

You are doing everything right Emma. Posing in front of a mirror is A Good Thing. It's of paramount importance that you look cool even if you sound rubbish 🙂

You know you're gonna love it though, have fun!

 

[emmalto]

LOL! Thanks Bobby - has my street cred gone up a couple of notches just by holding it?

 

[Bobby G]

More than a couple, I'd say 🙂

 

[Linky Lee]

All you need to do now is go to a gig holding it in it's case. sit in a corner digging the music and then leave early.

You'll be 'queen of the scene' before too long.

 

[emmalto]

LOL nice one guys!

 

[frankb]

Many congrats, Emma! Welcome to the asylum... er, I mean, "club"!

Yes, they are loud, aren't they! Don't worry about trying to keep the noise down for the time being - let 'er rip! (Playing more softly is possible, but it takes a while to get there.)

Fret not about the lig / reed order at first - the worst you'll do is damage a reed (worse things happen at sea!). It took me a little while to get the knack of slipping the reed under the lig (try moving the lig a bit towards the tip of the mouthpiece to give you more room, slip the reed under, then move the lig back and screw it tight)

As for the cork, it varies. My Yamaha pieces (tenor and alto) both need to be pushed about an inch onto the cork to play in tune. My Jody Jazz HR* (tenor) just goes on enough to stop it from falling off and is then fine. See if you can find something to tune up with (tuner, piano, other instrument...) and work it out from there.

Sounds like you're off to a belting start! I'd advise getting yourself a teacher pronto to stop you acquiring any bad habits.

All the best,

Frank

 

[Bobby G]

A tenor is indeed loud, but I suspect an alto is more penetrating

 

[emmalto]

Thanks for the advice Frank, I was making sure I was aware of where the mouthpiece was in relation to my face and fortunately there were no nasty accidents (still, plenty of time for that!)

Regarding the sound / neighbours problem, I live in a semi-detacted house, which is why I'm trying to be so careful about making too much noise. Fortunatley we have an extension at the back of the house, which has no contact with next door's house. We have the width of both gardens seperating us so the sound shouldn't be a problem 🙂

I'm going to look into getting a teacher, even if I don't make it a regualar once-a-week thing at least I can book up the odd lesson to help me out and make sure I'm not doing anything I shouldn't be.

I also forgot to mention how suprised I was at how easy it was to get a sound out of it, it doesn't take a lot of puff does it?!

 

[Linky Lee]

I used to live in a detached house. Apparently the people two houses away could hear me in their living room faintly when they had their windows open...

Don't worry about the noise, you'll have the neighbours dancing to your swing soon enough.

 

[nick_cook]

[color:green]Our neighbours have 'mentioned' my playing, but not complained. I get most grief from my wife in the front room, when I'm playing in the conservatory!!![/color]

 

[old_git]

Know what you mean Emma. Remember sitting there looking at it, thinking it looks complicated mechanically and beautiful. Don't worry, they don't bend that easily and even if they do, we've always got Griff.
Enjoy.

 

[Pauline]

Fantastic Emma! Sounds like you are doing great!

I suggest you get a stand for it so you can admire it even when you're not playing and if you find it a bit heavy - consider a harness?
I had to buy one because of the weight on my neck - not as cool as a sling 🙁 but much more comfy!