Saxophone beginners Come on now, join the band....(Beginners blog)

[Dr G]

My imposter syndrome has been replaced by blagger syndrome - if in doubt leave it out, wiggle the fingers and pretend to blow

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if everyone did that at once?!

 

[cappers]

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if everyone did that at once?!

4’33”

 

[ghostler]

and you suddenly find yourself sight reading a new piece that happens to have a massive Bari intro/solo Can't pretend to blow then

I learned early on, very few decisions in life are fatal. 😉

 

[Dr G]

I learned early on, very few decisions in life are fatal. 😉

It only takes one.

 

[cappers]

Had a 40 minute gig at a local fete today and it went well.
It was bit windy, quite sunny and warm and despite the grey clouds it didn't rain.
Lots of families milling around and probably about 50+ sitting on the grass listening with a few young kids bopping away which was sweet. Got applause after each tune and a big round at the end, the fete's MC roused them on.

I'm slightly embarrassed but here's a short clip; I'm the tenor at the back.
I must stop bobbing about though!

View: https://youtu.be/VpPvuLn46QE

 

[Tenor Viol]

If anyone here wants to offer advice I'm all ears.

I have asked my teacher and band mates and I know what they mean per se e.g.
DC (da capo) - from the head, repeat back from start. Al fine - after repeat start there.
DS (da segno) - repeat back to special sign ($) al coda - after repeating back, play to the coda mark, then jump to the coda (tail). etc
But in the heat of the moment I get muddled. I need to study it a bit more.

Off to bed, half midnight here.
Good night and thank you.

DS or DC al Fine means from the sign or head and play until the where it says 'fine' or to the end.

DS/DC al Coda means back to the head/sign, play until you hit the 'coda' sign, which looks a bit like a target, then skip to the coda.

 

[Tenor Viol]

Yes! I was lucky as there were only 5 new (to me) pieces to get under my fingers in a fortnight with one rehearsal.

My imposter syndrome has been replaced by blagger syndrome - if in doubt leave it out, wiggle the fingers and pretend to blow

There's nothing wrong with that. Being in the right place is much more important than what notes you're playing. The wrong note at the right time is much less of an issue than the right note at the wrong time...

We all have limits to our playing. I play cello in an orchestra and I'm about grade 7/8 standard. We play mainstream orchestra repertoire - Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Rachmaninov. There are passages that are way beyond my pay grade, so air cello playing happens especially fast passages high up in the treble clef.

I played tenor sax for several years in a symphonic wind band, and they had a lot of gigs too. it's a good way of getting to grips with playing as it forces you to play stuff you'd otherwise avoid. Sadly, there's nothing of that nature around here. There is a band but it's rather more 'serious'.

 

[thomsax]

I must stop bobbing about though!

I had to g''''e "bobbing"! Nothing wrong with bobbing, floating .... Joe Liggings (early R&B) had a bass player in his band that was hard to hear. The bari player in the band reinforced the bass lines with his (riffing?) baritone saxophone. The bass player was important to the band. He shaked hands, talked with people around, keeping the band together ..... great musicians. So bobbing about is important.

Joe Liggings "The Honeydripper" part 1 & 2

View: https://youtu.be/MbkjzmXKevc?feature=shared

 

[cappers]

DS or DC al Fine means from the sign or head and play until the where it says 'fine' or to the end.

DS/DC al Coda means back to the head/sign, play until you hit the 'coda' sign, which looks a bit like a target, then skip to the coda.

Thank you @Tenor Viol
I'e been studying the notation signs and highlighted the lead sheets accordingly.
I can now follow commands such as 1st/2nd repeat, DC/DS al coda/al fine, to coda/coda, fine, etc.
Got 'lost' once yesterday, so waited a couple of bars, recognised the phrase and picked it up again.

.... The wrong note at the right time is much less of an issue than the right note at the wrong time...

I heard on the recording one phrase where I played the wrong eight note a fraction late (D1 rather than Eb1) but it sounded ok, like an echo nobody seemed to notice

 

[cappers]

So bobbing about is important.

I can't help it. As soon as I hear a rhythm or beat I tend to move with it, feel it in my body
But I think I need to to do it less, as it can be distracting for other players and probably not best for a virtual beginner. Too easy to finger wrong or lose breath control or embouchure when I swaying like bamboo in the wind!

 

[Colin the Bear]

There are no wrong notes, just interesting harmonies. This doesn't excuse playing off key or out of tune. 😊

 

[Nick Wyver]

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if everyone did that at once?!

A few decades ago I played in a band that played for folk music dances. Due to the nature of the things the tunes would be repeated many times. To stave off fatigue/boredom you might drop out for a repetition or two. Very occasionally we’d all pick the same time to do this.

 

[cappers]

There are no wrong notes, just interesting harmonies. This doesn't excuse playing off key or out of tune. 😊

I do try and play the 'right' notes, fortunately in this case my mistake passed unnoticed, almost an embellishment
I don't think i was out of tune...... 😳

 

[LostCircuits]

There are no wrong notes, just interesting harmonies. This doesn't excuse playing off key or out of tune. 😊

Haha, I had an interesting experience yesterday. There's a local "bard" with too much money (hanging out his instruments like it was his ass) and after years he's kinda ok listening to his three chord songs but ... it doesn't matter because everything sounds the same except when he tries to be funny and butchers the lyrics. His music is like "painting by numbers", he has absolutely no ear. All of that paired with the worst case of arrogance...
Yesterday he was playing at our Sunday brunch jam and started playing Spooky using bar chords but he was off by one fret on one of the chords and his vocals couldn't decide which one of the chords to use as reference. It sounded like jazz.. or something I find another word for that's not banned here.

😀😀​

 

[Tenor Viol]

Thank you @Tenor Viol
I'e been studying the notation signs and highlighted the lead sheets accordingly.
I can now follow commands such as 1st/2nd repeat, DC/DS al coda/al fine, to coda/coda, fine, etc.
Got 'lost' once yesterday, so waited a couple of bars, recognised the phrase and picked it up again.


I heard on the recording one phrase where I played the wrong eight note a fraction late (D1 rather than Eb1) but it sounded ok, like an echo nobody seemed to notice

Wait until you encounter Strauss waltzes... they tend to have complex navigation.

They're constructed of series of (probably) 16 bar phrases. Some are simply repeated, some have 1st/2nd time bars. Some have no repeats. Then you'll suddenly have a DS al coda, which will go back to an earlier section (not necessarily the first). You then play until you hit the go to coda symbol.

The first few attempts in a rehearsal are usually car crashes as people mix up the repeats, DS to the wrong place, miss the DS, miss the coda...

 

[PiccoloPirate]

I missed da coda one time, and wound up in Saskatchewan. 🎶🏴‍☠️🎶

 

[GCinCT]

I've blown through my share of codas. If they were stop signs and red lights, I would have lost my license.

 

[ghostler]

I missed da coda one time, and wound up in Saskatchewan. 🎶🏴‍☠️🎶

I've blown through my share of codas. If they were stop signs and red lights, I would have lost my license.

Missing a coda, continuing soloing until rest of the combo realises the mistake and continues unabated - is called, "artistic licencing". 😉

 

[LostCircuits]

Missing a coda, continuing soloing until rest of the combo realises the mistake and continues unabated - is called, "artistic licencing". 😉

If the band is good, they make amends, if not, fire them!

 

[cappers]

Went to my first solo improvisation workshop with the band this evening.

We did the solo section of Oye Como Va using notes from the A Maj and B Blues scales (for tenor) over the Bm7 & E7 chords and then again adding some approach notes for Bm7 & E7. Next we practiced playing over a minor7b5 - Maj7 progression using the A Harmonic minor scale.

We were advised to pick and play 4 or 5 notes from a scale, repeating and juggling them around aiming for rhythm. Leaving space and not trying to play every note or too much scale running as it's 'boring'.

OCV has a catchy rhythm and I didn't find it too difficult to make a simple melody and was told it was very good for a first attempt. No idea what I played or even how...my fingers just pressed the 'right' keys (mostly!) without consciously thinking what note to play, but I think I heard it in my head a fraction before my fingers moved and I articulated the note.

I'm finding it totally fascinating and fun 😀