Two Voices
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I love Jazz and it is that love that got me interested in playing the saxophone in the first place. That said I think I’ll always be a keys player first and foremost but sometimes I find it a little boring sound wise. I suppose that’s why I love my synths and workstations as they add some spice to the mix. I also love playing the organ which is also great for jazz and it certainly spices things up from a standard acoustic piano.
Personally speaking when playing or listening to jazz I am biased to instrumentals. Essentials instruments (in my opinion of course) is drums, bass (double bass is my favourite) and a piano / organ. A guitar however is optional and doesn’t always work. As there aren’t any vocals I think a Brass or woodwind instrument is needed and truly believe the saxophone is the ultimate beast. That said that I find a trumpet, trombone and clarinet are also worthy lead instruments.
To the crux, as you know due to hearing related issues last year I had to stop playing my beloved saxophone and that really bummed me out. I started again properly after Christmas this year and I’m getting back on form, albeit slowly. I had all the typical issues that I’ve overcome one by one. The only thing left to overcome now is the palm keys. Not attempting the altissimo yet and may put that off for a while longer.
However despite being able to play again I’m still finding that the tenor uncomfortably loud at times and still causes tinnitus. Nothing like it was but enough to make me struggle to hear the notes and if I can’t hear, can’t play!
So to get around this problem I’ve opted to take up the clarinet. Naturally in Bb as I can play the same pieces. Without a doubt it’s a quieter beast to the Tenor Saxophone. I call it a beast as it’s in my opinion harder to tame than a tenor saxophone or might be because I’m so used to the relaxed embouchure of the tenor. It’s certainly easy to record with compared to the sax.
I’m settling down nicely with the clarinet though and I’m intonation is improving. Getting used to the keywork was weird to begin with despite the sam fingerings. It seems like a good alternative to the saxophone for me. It doesn’t take long to adjust to the tenor even if I’ve not picked it up for a week so I pleased about that.
I just wondered how many of you play the clarinet in a Jazz environment as well as which tunes and clarinetists you prefer. Sidney Bechet playing “Blue Horizon” is one that springs to mind for me. If any of you know of the clarinat being used in a Jazz-Fusion / Jazz-Rock please let me know!
Personally speaking when playing or listening to jazz I am biased to instrumentals. Essentials instruments (in my opinion of course) is drums, bass (double bass is my favourite) and a piano / organ. A guitar however is optional and doesn’t always work. As there aren’t any vocals I think a Brass or woodwind instrument is needed and truly believe the saxophone is the ultimate beast. That said that I find a trumpet, trombone and clarinet are also worthy lead instruments.
To the crux, as you know due to hearing related issues last year I had to stop playing my beloved saxophone and that really bummed me out. I started again properly after Christmas this year and I’m getting back on form, albeit slowly. I had all the typical issues that I’ve overcome one by one. The only thing left to overcome now is the palm keys. Not attempting the altissimo yet and may put that off for a while longer.
However despite being able to play again I’m still finding that the tenor uncomfortably loud at times and still causes tinnitus. Nothing like it was but enough to make me struggle to hear the notes and if I can’t hear, can’t play!
So to get around this problem I’ve opted to take up the clarinet. Naturally in Bb as I can play the same pieces. Without a doubt it’s a quieter beast to the Tenor Saxophone. I call it a beast as it’s in my opinion harder to tame than a tenor saxophone or might be because I’m so used to the relaxed embouchure of the tenor. It’s certainly easy to record with compared to the sax.
I’m settling down nicely with the clarinet though and I’m intonation is improving. Getting used to the keywork was weird to begin with despite the sam fingerings. It seems like a good alternative to the saxophone for me. It doesn’t take long to adjust to the tenor even if I’ve not picked it up for a week so I pleased about that.
I just wondered how many of you play the clarinet in a Jazz environment as well as which tunes and clarinetists you prefer. Sidney Bechet playing “Blue Horizon” is one that springs to mind for me. If any of you know of the clarinat being used in a Jazz-Fusion / Jazz-Rock please let me know!
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I'll check those out this afternoon!
