Saxophone beginners Recording yourself

[Colin the Bear]

The very fact that you're dissatisfied bodes well for your actual development. However, don't get disillusioned by your aspirations exceeding your perceived progress. The day you are satisfied with your playing is the day you'll stop improving. Remain dissatisfied but determined and enjoy the journey.

 

[Jeanette]

Got to agree with Col. I recently recorded a short tune, I was totally dissatisfied with it but am working on it and I will I am sure improve, might just take a while but that doesn't matter as long as it is fun 🙂

Jx

 

[Jay]

Got to agree with Col. I recently recorded a short tune, I was totally dissatisfied with it but am working on it and I will I am sure improve, might just take a while but that doesn't matter as long as it is fun 🙂

Jx

I've lost the fun temporarily. I'm sure I'll get it back.

 

[Jeanette]

I've lost the fun temporarily. I'm sure I'll get it back.

Seriously, don't let it get you down, I have never played another instrument except recorder in primary school and the sax is the most frustrating thing to learn, @Colin the Bear described it brilliantly somewhere, I will look later on the PC

Jx

 

[Colin the Bear]

Any list of antonyms apply to the saxophone.

Uplifting and demoralising, Rewarding but disappointing, versatile but restrictive, complicated yet simple.

 

[DavidG]

I find that Yoga is excellent for developing deep breathing and general breath control. Aerobic exercise, such as cycling or swimming should also be beneficial. Cheers, David

 

[kevgermany]

Easy to play - badly

 

[trimmy]

Easy to play - badly

I know that one 😉

 

[BigMartin]

I've lost the fun temporarily. I'm sure I'll get it back.

I think we all go through this periodically. It's hard to see identifying a problem as a step forward, but it really is.

I've been a bit disheartened lately by working on the IOTM and realising how poorly I know ii-V-I a progression, even in C major. And I'm not talkng about playing fancy licks here, just arpeggiating various inversions of the chords. I'm still having to think about the notes, which you just don't have time for. "You'd think after all this time..." etc etc. But it means I know what I need to work on, even if I'll just have to bluff my way through and be dissatisfied with the results for this month. But in a few weeks, however long it takes, I'll be better at this.

Same thing with tone. Plenty of long notes and record the tune again in a week or so. You might be surprised at the difference. Or not, in which case you (and your tutor) need to work on it some more. It takes time. Lots of it.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The best exercise for getting a scale and its harmonies under your fingers and in your head, was suggested to me many years ago by a pro.

For C it's cgeb dfac egbd face gbdf aceg bdfa.

Cmaj7 Dm7 Em7 Fmaj7 G7 Am7 Bm7b5

If you look at it on a keyboard it's the four alternate white notes ascending one white note at a time.

If you get it off pat in C, it will train your fingers to your ear and get you used to how the chords progress.

Once you have the sound shape in your ear it transfers quite easily to other keys.

 

[Rob Pealing]

After reading this thread , I followed Jay's example and recorded myself playing You'll Never Know the Trouble I've Seen. I have been learning this from the ABRSM Alto Sax Jazz Grade 1 book and disc. My wife has been telling me that it is sounding reasonable for my stage of learning but of course she is biased. Anyway I found it both instructive and encouraging. Firstly it enabled me to hear more easily some of the places where I had not got things correct and encouraging in the fact it was recognisable and that the tone was better than I thought. I am not sure I am ready to publish it, but maybe one day in a beginners version of Ballard of the Month. ( I have not yet learnt how to record it in Audacity while the backing is playing, all this music making is new to me) After this experience I would encourage all students to try it.

Jay, Thanks for starting the thread, and thanks for the encouragement you gave me a week or so ago, remember what you said to me.

 

[Jeanette]

@Rob Pealing there is a beginner's section that can only be accessed by members feel free to post whatever you wish in there whether it be a full tune or a few bars.

If you look in resources there is a useful post by taz about audacity and some others if you search the forum.

Jx

 

[Jay]

It's getting better

Of course, absolutely everything else is now going to pot since my brain can only manage to think about one thing at once.

The sound difference when I get lazy for a few notes is really noticeable.

Hopefully proper breathing will become automatic eventually, like driving a car. At least I can now feel what to do to support my breath and improve the sound, and can do it for a few notes at a time, concentrating very hard.

Onwards and upwards 🙂

 

[Tenor Viol]

Jay - we all go through this, no matter what our experience level.

I played sax at the intermediate orchestra this morning and I was dire - I've not been able to play for 5 weeks because of various bugs. Poor embouchure, fingering was all over the place...

Being self-aware and self-critical is GOOD as it means we want to learn and to improve. However, especially if you're English (!) it's easy to be very hard on yourself and be over critical, we're all our own worst critics.

It can be snakes and ladders at times, three steps forward and two back, but you have to be realistic about what is achievable in a given time-frame.

One of the biggest helps is playing with others. My singing (no, I don't do solo) didn't really improve until I started singing in two choirs every week and then doing the odd weekend workshop.

 

[Jay]

Thank you 🙂 Hope all the bugs are now gone for the rest of the winter.

I really do want to play in a band of some sort - I wish Jeanette's group was closer, apart from anything else it would be great to meet you all.

There don't seem to be any 'turn up and join in' wind/swing bands near here, there's very little anyway and what there are is all 'we might need a baritone if you're lucky and you'd better have grade 7 and come to an audition'

 

[Juju]

Just stay patient and enjoy the journey. If you keep recording yourself and eventually compare earlier and later recordings you'll be pleasantly surprised! Don't worry too much about the breathing. I had a similar problem when I started playing the flute, I almost collapsed after about 5 min of playing and I thought it would never work. I never did any particular breathing exercises but somehow my breath support just got more stable and now I don't think about it too much...
Juju

 

[Jeanette]

Thank you 🙂 Hope all the bugs are now gone for the rest of the winter.

I really do want to play in a band of some sort - I wish Jeanette's group was closer, apart from anything else it would be great to meet you all.

There don't seem to be any 'turn up and join in' wind/swing bands near here, there's very little anyway and what there are is all 'we might need a baritone if you're lucky and you'd better have grade 7 and come to an audition'

Have you asked your tutor if they know of any groups? Or if they would be willing to start one?

Jx

 

[ellinas]

Im recording myself as long as i remember myself playing music.

My suggestions are :

Just play and let the recording device do its work. Dont play to record. This is the best recording habit you ll have. The best studio sessions i ve ever had was when i just played for the fun of it regardless if there s a missing not or a.small squeak. Music is a human art and must contain human errors.
Notice how unpleasant computer perfect timed music is. Even in dance/electro music producers try to make things just a little bit off to give a human touch to the computer generated songs.

Now about recording as a tool. This is invaluable. It doesnt matter how bad you are or how many things you ve done wrong. the essential skill is to hear how wrong you are. The next steps is to start fixing things.

And the next step is the cafesaxophone hall of fame 🙂

 

[Jay]

Have you asked your tutor if they know of any groups? Or if they would be willing to start one?

Jx

I will ask him, but he has his own band, gigs regularly and teaches kids during the day and adults in the evening, so I don't think he has much spare time!

Graham at Hansons gave me the name of a chap in Skipton who runs an 'allcomers' jazz band. That's too far for a work evening (and on Monday again) but I've emailed him to see if he knows of anything a bit nearer me (or if he wants to start another, more westerly, band....)

 

[Jay]

Just stay patient and enjoy the journey. If you keep recording yourself and eventually compare earlier and later recordings you'll be pleasantly surprised! Don't worry too much about the breathing. I had a similar problem when I started playing the flute, I almost collapsed after about 5 min of playing and I thought it would never work. I never did any particular breathing exercises but somehow my breath support just got more stable and now I don't think about it too much...
Juju

That's reassuring, thank you