How hard to work for low notes

[jeremyjuicewah]

Done with gardening for today (5 new roses planted, and still 4 to go) but not done with tenor as there is still a lot to do before I am 'fluent' in low notes...

Hoed 7m x 5m, planted two rows of onions, half row of spuds, 12 lettuce and three courgette. One rose bush. I am reeling. Must water them all in then at it myself till Ipanema incorporates low B as a whisper. Gardening is the second best thing to have happened to me since my 60th birthday. Sax is first.

 

[Rikki]

I wouldn't call 2.5 a soft reed.

Nor me,

Assuming you have no leaks and you have been practicing for over six months then I would first try a softer reed. You should really be able to get bottom C fairly easily with reasonable bit of practice

 

[saxyjt]

Hoed 7m x 5m, planted two rows of onions, half row of spuds, 12 lettuce and three courgette. One rose bush. I am reeling. Must water them all in then at it myself till Ipanema incorporates low B as a whisper. Gardening is the second best thing to have happened to me since my 60th birthday. Sax is first.

Can't do that! My back would be killing me. Probably not softly! But the "2017 Roses battle" is done done.

Tim Price's "Tim's low Register Workouts" helped me

I'll give that a try if my back's allowing me! Now that I've sat down, I may not be able to stand up again...

 

[saxyjt]

Still struggling with low notes:

https://soundcloud.com/user-674160203%2Ftenor-low-madness

I guess it's me. I tried different setups and that's almost the best I can do.

I just wanted to try to play Wayne Shorter's Africaine. I love that tune by the Jazz Messengers but I'm nowhere near being able to play it as long as these low notes can't come out clean.

 

[jeremyjuicewah]

I guess it's me. I tried different setups and that's almost the best I can do.

I used to change set up all the time. I would have a normal mpc and then a close one with a weak reed on it if I knew I was going to have to find a low note. I dont think it did me any harm at all. In fact it was when I started to be able to play a half decent low note on a set up put together for just that one number that made me begin to see that I could do it. I tried everything, every blinking thing I could, and it still took me ages. But sounding the note and having some success is v important. I now dont need to swap and change the set up, but its been a long time coming.

Good luck.

 

[rhysonsax]

I used to think that. I don't now.

@Nick Wyver - Would that have anything to do with you playing Keilwerth ?

I think the Selmer MkVI tenor has a particularly demanding lower end. Yamaha, Keilwerth, Conn, Buffet, Martin and newer Selmer models all speak more easily for me down at the bottom.

You can hear pro players on MkVI tenor either subtoning all the time on low notes, or making a feature of the "honkier" sound at the bottom end. I guess that other makes based around the MkVI design would have the same characteristics.

Rhys

 

[garrobito]

I have similar problem with my Chateau, Selmer stencyl. Because that problem start a couple weeks ago, I discard embouchure. I think a small air leaking or an sticky pad. I sound very similar with a lot of overtones. Gonna post a record today at evening.

 

[Nick Wyver]

@Nick Wyver - Would that have anything to do with you playing Keilwerth ?

I think the Selmer MkVI tenor has a particularly demanding lower end. Yamaha, Keilwerth, Conn, Buffet, Martin and newer Selmer models all speak more easily for me down at the bottom.

You can hear pro players on MkVI tenor either subtoning all the time on low notes, or making a feature of the "honkier" sound at the bottom end. I guess that other makes based around the MkVI design would have the same characteristics.

Rhys

Dunno. It's a while since I had a decent blow on a Selmer tenor. I'd have thought the prevalence of subtoning or honking was more to do with wide tips and hard reeds.