have fun and relax - it's why we all start to play music

[Kath]

I want to start a thread that focusses on just having fun - playing something and enjoying it. Just for that single 5 minutes - whether or not you will ever be able to reproduce it or not - just enjoy the music you've just made and remember how crap you sounded even 1 month ago!. As a learner with only 2 or 3 months playing I really KNOW I am such a novice and have so much more to learn - but it has to be fun and life enriching. I wanted to play the sax cos I love the sound and I love music - sometimes it's good to just play around and realise how much you do know - rather than always focussing on what you have to learn. There'll always be more to learn - but where you're at now is really good too. This is so not aatll meant to be a pop at the need to learn more - really it isn't, I'm doing my scales religiously! and - I'm as greedy as the next man (or woman) to improve - but you can go slowly but very surely mad unless you stop sometimes to smell the coffee.

 

[Jamesmac]

Yes i agree, but its also a balance, the better you are technically, the better the coffee smells.

 

[Kath]

absolutely - mine's still instant nescafe! Better than aldi but not yet slow roasted, served in a beautiful sunset with the wind in my hair ahhhhh - one day! Only 1 month ago it was a sachet from a service station though!

 

[Captain Clive]

absolutely - mine's still instant nescafe! Better than aldi but not yet slow roasted, served in a beautiful sunset with the wind in my hair ahhhhh - one day! Only 1 month ago it was a sachet from a service station though!

But the aroma from a freshly open jar of Necafe is not too bad and better than stale slow roasted beans regardless of the setting.

 

[Jeanette]

I want to start a thread that focusses on just having fun - playing something and enjoying it. Just for that single 5 minutes - whether or not you will ever be able to reproduce it or not - just enjoy the music you've just made and remember how crap you sounded even 1 month ago!. As a learner with only 2 or 3 months playing I really KNOW I am such a novice and have so much more to learn - but it has to be fun and life enriching. I wanted to play the sax cos I love the sound and I love music - sometimes it's good to just play around and realise how much you do know - rather than always focussing on what you have to learn. There'll always be more to learn - but where you're at now is really good too. This is so not aatll meant to be a pop at the need to learn more - really it isn't, I'm doing my scales religiously! and - I'm as greedy as the next man (or woman) to improve - but you can go slowly but very surely mad unless you stop sometimes to smell the coffee.

I had a similar conversation with my tutor recently, I love my learning but it always feels like hard work because there is always something new to learn and never the time to consolidate what I have learnt so far. I have limited time to play as I work full time so we have now agreed to move my lessons to every other week to give me more time. Sometimes it is hard to appreciate how far you have come.

Jx

 

[MLoosemore]

One of the problems as I see it is that learning one thing is never the end of it....

Learning sax has become not only which keys to press and how to blow but also..... Reading music, understanding key signatures, transposition, music theory in general, getting to grips with Audacity, Virtual Piano, Wikifonia, Soundcloud and nprobably even more software programmes which will appear to make life 'easier'

Perhaps the first thing that gets lost in the welter of distractions is just enjoying where you are in the moment. Thanks for the reminder Kath.

On a similar but unrelated note, my wife has just bought an iPad and a small video camera for our holiday to India next year so the sax now has to share time with me also getting to grips with two new gadgets and all the software involved in using, recording, editing, watching, sharing.....and instructing cos I am the hunter/gatherer who has to hunt down solutions etc etc etc... :shrug:

 

[Taz]

Brilliant post Kath. I think it's all too easy to get bogged down with learning, practicing and playing set pieces (to be totally honest, I've never done any of this. I'm the most undisciplined person I know) that you forget why you picked up a musical instrument in the first place. I think that this is probably why I love, and get the biggest kick from jam sessions. Just getting a group of musicians together to create a piece of music that has never been played before, never been written or recorded by anyone and yet there was a moment, when you all just clicked like a well rehearsed band. Fantastic. I can remain on a high for several days after a good jam session. One day, and it may not be so far away, so will you!

 

[Kath]

Thanks Taz - I'm so looking forward to that

 

[MandyH]

This is a good post Kath.
I thoroughly enjoy my saxes. I really enjoy the bands that I play in and the appreciation from the audience when we play in concerts, the praise from my teacher, the helpful, constructive criticism from other band members and leaders, and above all my own sense of worth and achievement.

I picked up a sax for the first time just over 4 years ago, and I think sometimes you forget just how far you've come over time.

I have just (as in the past 5 days) started trying to tech myself some piano playing, with the help of a good book and some good YouTube tutorials (good in that I am learning from absolute basics of piano playing, not necessarily music reading - I can do that bit) and although each lesson is teaching me something, I feel like a rank amateur.....but hang on, that's precisely what I am ))

Still the saxophone coffee is heading towards a good slow roast, served with cream, the piano coffee is back a supermarket own brand value coffee with UHT skimmed milk! I have started climbing the hill again

 

[old git]

Kath,
The implication of your post is that saxophone teachers are not interested in their pupils enjoying themselves.

Sadly, some are and they might be critical of those who can pick up an instrument and knock a tune out of it, just like that.
Wish I had their skills and sometimes wonder what is the purpose of music theory if not to show the less abled what seems perfectly natural to those lucky few, whose sole form of judgment is, does it sound right?

Hope this does not stir up too much trouble.

 

[altissimo]

'relax and have fun' is good advice - if you're too tense you won't play well and having fun is not only good fun, it's a good way of learning... I've learned a lot through 'aimless doodling' - I've found new phrases that I wouldn't otherwise have thought of and generally improved my abilities. If nothing else, an hour spent 'messing around' helps keep my embouchure in shape and makes me feel better.

If it wasn't fun, how many of us would bother doing it? It's called 'playing' for a reason...

 

[Kath]

Oh no - I am so sorry - I absolutely do not mean that about teachers atall. At least in my experience my teacher is fabulous. Please, anyone who thought that was what I meant, I really didn't atall.

 

[old git]

Kathy,
Don't worry, there are a couple of us on here who were trainer/coaches and felt that a heartfelt "Now I understand." and the ability to explain the point to us, was a greater reward than the fee.

If discovering your chosen instrument is not a pleasant experience, why do it?

 

[Ivan]

If discovering your chosen instrument is not a pleasant experience, why do it?

Pleasure pain principle

 

[old git]

Pleasure pain principle

Okay Ivan, I'll take the pleasure, you can have the Fifty Shades of Grey part.

 

[Reed Warbler]

You have the right idea Kath, if it's not fun, why bother? There are times when seemingly endless repeats are needed to nail a phrase but that shouldn't make it a bore or a chore. Enjoy every minute of it, spread the word.
I bought Kenny Werner's book Effortless Mastery and he signed it for me, preceded by the word Enjoy!

 

[Jamesmac]

Enjoy every minute of it, spread the word.
I bought Kenny Werner's book Effortless Mastery and he signed it for me, preceded by the word Enjoy!

I agree with reed warbler
This post reminds me of a joke I once heard.This young boy walking the streets of New York (carrying a violin) asks a passerby. : Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall. The stranger replies... PRACTICE.
An athlete will train for hours each day, building stamina, technique. For the next meet or Boxing event. IMO if you want the high, that playing music can give, you need to enjoy the day to day routine and all that involves. That is what being a musician is. It is not a quick fix. The greatest musicians all consider themselves to be continually learning and evolving.
Jamesmac

 

[marc1024]

I fully agree with this.
I started playing again after a number of years and am trying to get back up to speed, playing long tones and all kinds of technical drills.
Sometimes it goes well on other days I just cannot seem to play anything decent, until I pop out some tunes I really like, that clicks me back on track