Saxophones Getting your own sound (as opposed to tone)

[Pete Effamy]

Yes! I was thrown off track by your comment associating "close to body stance" with a tighter, classical sound.

We may be on the same page after all. And then there is Pete T...

Argh, all this Stuff about clarinet embouchure is soooooo distracting. Free the reed.

And now we attempt once again to return to tone vs sound. Anyone got anything or are we Done?

Yes, I realise that I only gave examples of an open sound - as opposed to the classical player, who, whilst having a pretty open sound as far as classical players go, it still sounds a bit reined-in to me.

 

[Pete Thomas]

And then there is Pete T...

Who is very nice and agrees with everyone.

 

[lydian]

So back on topic, I saw a Patrick Bartley video where he talks about this subject. His take, which I agree with, is everybody has their own sound the moment they blow into the horn. It's impossible to have any sound other than your own. You can try to sound like somebody else, but you never will match their sound exactly. So embrace your individuality and lean into your own sound. Take advantage of your strengths and try to fix your weaknesses.

Personally, of course I have my heros and sounds I like and try to emulate. Doing so helped me develop the skills and flexibility to shape my sound into the ideal I have in my mind. Every note I play, I'm trying to make the most beautiful and satisfying sound I can possibly make. So it's essential to have a goal in mind more specific than just a better sound.

For beginners, it takes a few years at least to establish that ideal in your mind and develop the skills to shape and control your sound into something good. Adult beginners may take even longer to get there than a young student who learns more quickly. Even so, most of us never actually think we arrived at the perfect sound, hence the constant search for the perfect gear.

 

[Pete Effamy]

So back on topic, I saw a Patrick Bartley video where he talks about this subject. His take, which I agree with, is everybody has their own sound the moment they blow into the horn.

Which we probably all agree with, sort of. We don’t sound the same as the first day, week or even year 5 or so though. Our sounds changed. Developed of course, but they did change, so there is scope to play within a framework of sound. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[turf3]

It's suffering from pull up.



Nor me, but I would jump to the conclusion it's due to the neck angle.

I think you meant to type "would NOT jump to the conclusion"; nor would I, but I WOULD consider strongly that his tonal concept was strongly based on playing with a very clarinetty approach including embouchure.

The thing is, something like 99.9999% of professional tenor saxophonists play with a pretty much standard embouchure and "approach angle". The fact that one guy used a radically different approach doesn't mean that this is something that's equally suitable to the standard approach.

Jackson Pollock used the approach of dripping paint streams onto a canvas laid on the floor; but that doesn't mean that his methods are equally valid in the first-year "figure drawing in pencil" class to the standard ones.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I think you meant to type "would NOT jump to the conclusion";

Correct (now edited the typo)

Jackson Pollock used the approach of dripping paint streams onto a canvas laid on the floor; but that doesn't mean that his methods are equally valid in the first-year "figure drawing in pencil" class to the standard ones.

I agree but I’m not sure about equating the two. Jackson Pollock seems to me quite radical and “out there” but Jimmy Giuffre for me is rather tame. Perhaps I need to listen to more though.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Just a quick heads up, I think the hair topic is a good one but I'll probably extract from this thread and move to a new one all about hair as it's a good topic....

Now moved here:

Miscellaneous - Hair: head, ears, nasal, face etc...

This could be a good topic for the Breakfastroom (better than being in the sound/tone thread)

cafesaxophone.com

 

[mizmar]

Ignored

Edit:
This post may be against the rules

The following may be removed or edited by admin:

• one-word or short meaningless posts, redundant posts such as “PM sent”

 

[Pete Effamy]

Just a quick heads up, I think the hair topic is a good one but I'll probably extract from this thread and move to a new one all about hair as it's a good topic....

Now moved here:

Miscellaneous - Hair: head, ears, nasal, face etc...

This could be a good topic for the Breakfastroom (better than being in the sound/tone thread)

cafesaxophone.com

I think that the amount and density of hair has an effect on sound and tone.

 

[cappers]

I think that the amount and density of hair has an effect on sound and tone.

 

[Pete Thomas]

View attachment 32344

You do realise that's a wig?

(At least it's not a combover)

 

[cappers]

You do realise that's a wig?

(At least it's not a combover)

A thought it looked a bit syrupy !
Must have a set.

 

[lydian]

You do realise that's a wig?

(At least it's not a combover)

Nope. It's the real deal.

View: https://youtu.be/ydwYK-iVI7E

 

[Pete Thomas]

Nope. It's the real deal.

View: https://youtu.be/ydwYK-iVI7E

I know, I was just testing.

 

[cappers]

If it were a wig I'd expect a better fit 😳

 

[Stephen Howard]

Correct (now edited the typo)

I agree but I’m not sure about equating the two. Jackson Pollock seems to me quite radical and “out there” but Jimmy Giuffre for me is rather tame. Perhaps I need to listen to more though.

No, no, he's quite tame. Nice though - but tame. "The Good Life" rather than (ahem) "Bottom".