Saxophone beginners Inspired by the thread 'Is it a solo or just a racket?'

[Colin the Bear]

As with any instrument, played badly it's painful. Played with skill and artistry a recorder can make a beautiful sound.

View: https://youtu.be/rIFHVuMb4bE?si=gwfb5MU0rLH4TJSa

 

[Vlad]

The 'painful' recorder business is generally the 'orrible little Descant size thing that all schoolkids used to make a tinny racket with, the next size up Treble would be the one for an adult to mess with. in fact in the circa earlier 1700s when a composer called for a Flute they generally meant the treble recorder. Obviously there's much serious baroque repertoire for the Treble.
I've got an old wooden one knocking about somewhere that I tootle with occasionally.

 

[GCinCT]

My son-in-law loves the tenor recorder. I bought him one for Christmas a few years ago, and he likes to play it in his office during downtime.

 

[PiccoloPirate]

This works.
How important is the music from 1600-1750, for developing improv skills?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVM12mpsSk8&pp=0gcJCc4JAYcqIYzv

 

[Vlad]

My son-in-law loves the tenor recorder. I bought him one for Christmas a few years ago, and he likes to play it in his office during downtime.

I tried a Tenor recorder once, but most of the holes were too far apart for me, having short stubby fingers.

 

[farina_man]

I'm old and keen but I'm not getting into the wardrobe to play

Just open the wardrobe door and move the bell in close to the clothes. This will absorb at least half of the sound without upsetting the lady wife, and hopefully, the neighbors!

 

[MikeMorrell]

Hi @cappers, thanks for sharing this thread. I'm really glad that you managed to work out an amicable 'solution' with your neighbour. Your story (and the comments) resonated with me.

For the past 7 years or so, I've lived in 'shared accommodation': 3 years in 'anti-squat' accommodation and the past 4 years in a small block of '55+' apartments. Now 70, I'm still one of the 'youngest' residents in this 55+ 'social housing' (and for me affordable) apartment blocks.

When I'd moved in, I spoke to some of my neighbours about 'practicing sax'. They weren't at all happy about it. Turned out that the man got up at 05.00 to deliver newspapers, got home between 7 and 8 and then went back to bed until 12.00 His wife usually 'took a nap' between 14.00 and 16.00- 17.00. So there didn't seem an easy way for me to squeeze in sax practices (avoiding mealtimes/evenings).

Within a month or two, I also learned that some residents often preferred to formally complain about the so-called 'anti-social behaviour' of other residents to the 'Housing Association', rather than just informally discussing their 'grievances' with the residents concerned. Getting put on a 'black-list' of potentially anti-social residents (due to practicing sax) was the last thing I wanted!

So I've limited my home 'sax practice' severely. Probably unnecessarily (the circumstances of my neighbours have changed). Up until now, if I practice, I practice in the communal 'bicycle shed'.

 

[cappers]

Just open the wardrobe door and move the bell in close to the clothes. This will absorb at least half of the sound without upsetting the lady wife, and hopefully, the neighbors!

Thank you @farina_man
As in my post above situation is resolved as I now play into the shower cubicle which is facing nonparty walls, padded out with duvets and towels. Day 2 practicing this way and the neighbour says its fine, she can only hear me from her garden and then quietly.
It is an incentive to play p/pp so good training for my breath control.

PS my ‘lady wife’ loves me playing, I’m lucky there!
.

 

[cappers]

Hi @cappers, thanks for sharing this thread. I'm really glad that you managed to work out an amicable 'solution' with your neighbour. Your story (and the comments) resonated with me.
...........

So I've limited my home 'sax practice' severely. Probably unnecessarily (the circumstances of my neighbours have changed). Up until now, if I practice, I practice in the communal 'bicycle shed'.

That is a shame and a pity the neighbours didn't have the wherewithal to talk to you about it rather than running off and complaining to 'higher up'.

I hope you can find a way of practicing without issues; neither the bike shed or my bathroom sound ideal

Re neighbour problems

We used to live in a renovated Victorian mansion flat in north London. It had large rooms, high ceilings and a 20 foot long corridor down one side. When the flats were 'refurbished' by the Housing Association before we moved in, they removed the thick decorative plaster ceilings, oak floor boards and horsehair stuffed lathe and plaster walls and replaced everything with stud and plasterboard. You could hear everything, toilet use, conversations, movement. There were constant arguments between the neighbours and in one case a threat with a knife (not to me!). We had two small kids at the time and had to prevent them from running down the corridor, jumping around and making too much noise; quite stressful. Fortunately a few years later we were given money to move out through the then government's 'Right-to Buy' scheme. As a HA flat we couldn't buy it but were given a substantial portion of the market value which was the deposit for our house here on the south coast. So it all worked out in the end.

 

[MikeMorrell]

As with any instrument, played badly it's painful. Played with skill and artistry a recorder can make a beautiful sound.

View: https://youtu.be/rIFHVuMb4bE?si=gwfb5MU0rLH4TJSa

Surprisingly (for such a small country) The Netherlands has a 'claim to fame' regarding 'recorder soloists' in the person of 25 year -old Lucie Horst. I watched and listened to her at a concert last year (not knowing who she was) and I was just blown away by her talent at such a young age.

This is just one sample video:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ5G66XfIPw