Introduction How Do you Do, Everyone?

[maggiesimpson]

Hello. I'm a (very old) newbie, whose partner bought her a second-hand tenor sax to help aid recovery from serious illness.

I have just started having Saturday morning lessons (reminds me of ballet and tap lessons all those Saturdays ago) and am using the Abracadabra book.

I'm on Page three - hurrah!!!

I'll be driving you all mad shortly, with stupid questions, like how do you tune a sax?

So try to be patient!

Thanks

 

[justin_chune]

Hi and welcome. You tune the sax by moving the mouthpiece. On to go sharp and back to go down. When you find the right spot with a tuner, you can mark the cork with a pencil line.

 

[funkymonk]

Hiya. The people on this forum are really nice, with loadsa patience so you've come to the right place.... and the only stupid question is the one you never ask -or something like that 🙂 Once again welcome 🙂

 

[old_git]

Well I've got this ache in, no you were just being polite.
How are you?
There's a lot of good advice here, just don't try mine
Welcome aboard.

 

[Pete Thomas]

maggiesimpson wrote:
I'm on Page three - hurrah!!!

The Sun?

(sorry I couldn't resist that one)

Hi Maggie and welcome to the Breakfast Room. I think you'll find plenty of useful answers from the people here and good luck with the lessons and best wishes with your recovery.

 

[phil_edwards]

Hi, welcome to the breakfast room. You'll find all the help you need here - enjoy the journey!

regards, Phil

 

[Rogerb]

Welcome Maggie, from one who's also started late and is making slow, but (just) discernible progress 🙂

 

[maggiesimpson]

Justin Chune wrote:
Hi and welcome. You tune the sax by moving the mouthpiece. On to go sharp and back to go down. When you find the right spot with a tuner, you can mark the cork with a pencil line.

Hi Justin
Thanks for your reply. Sorry to ask an even dafter question (well, two, really), but when you say 'on to go sharp', etc, do you mean (say with my sax hitched to the strap, and I'm looking down at it) to the left, clockwise, to go sharp, and to the right, counter-clockwise, to go the opposite of sharp - whatever that is !?
Secondly, what is 'sharp' and the opposite?
I'm afraid I've only just learned the keys G, F, A, C, E, and B, so I'm not quite au fait with music theory...
I know I will eventually find out, but as I only have a half hour lesson on a Saturday morning - and the rest of the time I spend trying to remember what I was told on Saturday - it's going to be some time, methinks!
Your help is much appreciated

🙂

 

[maggiesimpson]

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for posting a question in the 'doorbell' category instead of going through the relevant forum - I thought by pressing the reply button, my response went straight to the poster and not back to the discussion page.

Apologies - I'm new to this technology malarkey as well as the tenor sax...

 

[Pete Thomas]

That's OK. You can send private messages by clicking on the name of the person to the left of the message, but much better IMO to keep the discussion public, everyone lerans or joins in with different opinions that way.

The mouthpiece isn't turned clockwise or anticlockwise (unless you have a vintage Conn with microtuner). Pushing it on means away from your mouth and further onto the cork. Pulling it off or back is further off the cork towards your mouth. Sharp is a slightly higher pitched note, flat is lower.

Have fun.

 

[colin_]

Welcome Maggie,

It might be useful for you to know that what you are doing by moving the mouthpiece further on or off the cork, is effectively making the tube you are blowing through slightly longer or shorter.

Quick physics lesson: A longer tube will play lower notes and a shorter tube will play higher. That's why a tenor sax (longer body) is pitched lower than an Alto.

Hope that doesn't just confuse you further. 🙂

Good luck with the lessons.

Colin

 

[visionari1]

Welcome Maggi,

All great questions, what dya know ask qusetion, get answers, how neat is that!

Cheers from NZ

 

[maggiesimpson]

visionari1 wrote:
Welcome Maggi,

All great questions, what dya know ask qusetion, get answers, how neat is that!

Cheers from NZ

Yes, well you've hit the nail on the head, there! It's just that I'm not used to such civility!

I've joined other discussion forums and a lot of the members just want to show everyone else how smart and erudite they are.

They've got their own little 'in' jokes and sometimes it's almost like a sixth form common room at an English public school...

How refreshing to be able to ask what might be considered daft questions and have the answers pop - just like that!

As my nephew would say: "That's damned wicked!"

:laugh:

 

[TonyMoroney]

maggiesimpson wrote:

Yes, well you've hit the nail on the head, there! It's just that I'm not used to such civility!

I've joined other discussion forums and a lot of the members just want to show everyone else how smart and erudite they are.

They've got their own little 'in' jokes and sometimes it's almost like a sixth form common room at an English public school...

How refreshing to be able to ask what might be considered daft questions and have the answers pop - just like that!

As my nephew would say: "That's damned wicked!"

:laugh:

Hey, I won't be showing how smart I am, I had to go lookup erudite in the dictionary just to be sure before I replied :laugh:

I've said it before and I'll say it again; this is the least "Internet-like" forum I've ever used, by the fact of everyone being really helpful and mature here, the only other forum I've ever been to that comes close to this is the unofficial Martin Guitar Forum, you'll find nothing but helpful people here willing to share useful advice.

Welcome, and in the words of Madness, "Step back, take yourself a seat, this may not be uptown Jamaica, but we promise you a treat" Enjoy!!

T.