Backing Tracks Karaoke (moved)

[thomsax]

Rock & Roll Saxophone and how to "learn" to play Rocksax is a "small niche". So no more talk about "Rock & Roll Saxphone" and "Rock & Roll Saxophone" backing tracks from me. I'm going to be more mainstream here on the cafe. Free tuners on the net ...... . 😉

 

[eb424]

Rock & Roll Saxophone and how to "learn" to play Rocksax is a "small niche". So no more talk about "Rock & Roll Saxphone" and "Rock & Roll Saxophone" backing tracks from me. I'm going to be more mainstream here on the cafe. Free tuners on the net ...... . 😉

Does it matter what style of sax or backing tracks anyone plays..The common denomenator should be the fun we all have playing the sax..Backing tracks are just another way of getting rhtrhm and tempo if you don't / can't read music..even if you can they enhance a performance no end..

 

[Pete Thomas]

Rock & Roll Saxophone and how to "learn" to play Rocksax is a "small niche". So no more talk about "Rock & Roll Saxphone" and "Rock & Roll Saxophone" backing tracks from me.

It may be small (I’m not so sure) but very important. For me probably the most important so I hope there will be plenty more talk about rock and roll or rock saxophone.

 

[thomsax]

Does it matter what style of sax or backing tracks anyone plays..The common denomenator should be the fun we all have playing the sax..Backing tracks are just another way of getting rhtrhm and tempo if you don't / can't read music..even if you can they enhance a performance no end..

You are completly right. When I says a small niche I mean that just a few players that are into Rock Roll Saxophone and are playing with and learning from backing tracks. It's just 10 persons (Sweden/Demark) on the e-mail list. We use e-mail to communicate our ideas, thoughts, questions, mp3/mp4 recordings ...... so it's very small. Sometimes we had a meetings and played as well. But it's five years ago. My dea is to have a person with us on-line but I don't know if's possible. I have no internet in the woodshed. As I wrote earlier i don't know if mobile internet (5G) is enough. Just one way to find out. Try it.

My doubts about talking Rock & Roll Saxophone and learn to play with backing tracks has nothing nothing to do what been said and done. I'm just afraid to be too repetitive. The neccessary repetition is important when playing Blues and Rock.

 

[Pete Thomas]

When I says a small niche I mean that just a few players that are into Rock Roll Saxophone and are playing with and learning from backing tracks

I think one reason there may be proportionately less backing track material compared to with jazz because most jazz lends itself more to being instrumental. Looking at it another way a higher percentage of rock, R&B and R&R is vocal so makes less sense as a backing track.

How many well known rock, R&B and R&R instrumentals are there?

I learned from playing along with records not from backing tracks.

 

[thomsax]

I think one reason there may be proportionately less backing track material compared to with jazz because most jazz lends itself more to being instrumental. Looking at it another way a higher percentage of rock, R&B and R&R is vocal so makes less sense as a backing track.

True. You can keep the vocals delete some guitars tracks ... then play fillings and solos with sax instead of guitars. I try to sing, play riffing baritone and tenor solo on John Lennon's song "Starting Over". Backing tracks are good if you want to have saxes on songs without saxophones.

 

[thomsax]

How many well known rock, R&B and R&R instrumentals are there?

Red Prysock, Jr Walker, King Curtis, The Ventures, The Shadows, Bill Black Combo, Johnny & The Hurricanes, Booker T & MGs ...... .

I started to play along from Rock, Blues and Rock & Roll Records as well. I started to play in keys of F#, C#, E, D --- because many songs are recored in the guitar keys concert A, E and D, C ...... Get used to and learn to love the Rock & Roll keys.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Red Prysock, Jr Walker, King Curtis, The Ventures, The Shadows, Bill Black Combo, Johnny & The Hurricanes, Booker T & MGs ...... .

Yes of course there are very many but still a minority. In my post I meant to say saxophone instrumentals (have now edited)

But when I say "well known" I mean known by people these days not just rock & roll aficionados. Walk down the street and ask people what rock instrumentals they have heard of, let alone saxophone rock instrumentals.

 

[thomsax]

Yes of course there are very many but still a minority.

Jazz saxophone players are a minorty in my workd. I never listen (active) to jazz saxophonists. I listen to jazz but it's more in background.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Jazz saxophone players are a minorty in my workd. I never listen (active) to jazz saxophonists. I listen to jazz but it's more in background.

Yes that's true of the world in general. But among saxophone players I've found that a lot more have heard of the great jazz players, jazz tunes and standards than they have of rock instrumentals and the great rock and roll players. Of course both are minorities in the grand scheme of things.

I used to have students and they'd all heard of Coltrane, Parker, Adderley, Desmond, Rollins the list goes on, but none had heard of Lee Allen, Rudy Pompilli or Plas Johnson. 🙁

 

[thomsax]

My woodshed is open for all RockSax players. If you want to play I have a PA and backing tracks. If you want to read I have books. If you want to listen to records . If you just want to ramble about RockSax over a coffee, we do so ...... . Karaoke, backing tracks, jam backing tracks ... "Rock On"!

 

[thomsax]

I'm writing about John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and writing down my memories from the early 70's. Why? Because I want do it before memories are gone. I play saxes on three songs and I use costum backing tracks. The three songs so far:

• "Long As I Can See the Light" in concert B. Tenor in C#, baritone in G#. Duration 3:37.
• "Travelin' Band" in concert E. Tenor in F#, baritone C#. Duration 2:05.
• "It Came Out of the Sky" in concert D. Tenor in E, baritone in B. Duration 3:12

I keep the vocal on all songs, even if its' far away from what Mr Fogerty did/do. This music is built around the vocal/lyrics. That goes for most Rock songs. Saxes (overdubb tenor) on "Long As I Can See the Light" and "Travelin' Band" so it's to play from memory beacause I learned them by ear back in the 70's. I first try to play and record the mixed versions with the baritone so I do a new backing track that I play tenor on. I play the saxes close to CCR recordings, backgound and solos. Just tenor solos on "Long As I Can See the Light". No horns on "It Came Out of the Sky" so I have to find out some fillings for baritone and tenor instead of the gutar fillngs. Also place for two tenor solos. Maybe I do "Proud Mary" as well. For six years ago I did something in the same style but with my fiend on tenor and/or baritone. We just played songs we liked.

I have plans to do a Rolling Stones theme as well later this summer. More songs and less talk. It fun to play again even it's hard with recordings and sound. I don't know so much about this.

 

[eb424]

Proud mary ccr

 

[thomsax]

The "Write-Talk-Play" project is still cooking. I play the sax(es) with backing tracks. Right now I try to play some John Fogerty (CCR) songs as good as I can. And I write down the memories, facts, John Forgerty's thoughts about his songs and recordings ...... . I know it's nerdy ... .
I just save recordings and what I write on a stick. To play and re-learn songs that I "learned" for 55 years ago and pick up memories from that time as well, is good for an old man. We , me and my wife, talked the other day about how weak our voices have become. And my singing is not even close to what it was for 6-8 years ago.

Blow sax(es), talk and sing loud and articulate well, write down memories and facts by hand, read what you have write down and play your sax and record it. Save it all on a stick and keep it. I will probably forget where I put it .... .

I do some singing when I'm walking the dog early in the morning. Loud enough to the get wild boars on the run. MTB and kettle bell .... is also important to play the sax.

The other week I went down to Ystad (closest town) to listen to Peter Stormare & Whisping Pines. The guys could play and talk. Stormare & Whisping Pines played songs talked from Arbrå to Hollywood . No doubt, Mr Fogerty is still popular here in Sweden. And, of course, so are Peter Stormare & Co as well.

View: https://youtu.be/lpAn-vM6KtE?si=1Qu6SDRs1MLNAXsJ