Sax very frustrating

[BUMNOTE]

Hi all having very frustrating time at moment with sax,notes sometimes sound either to sharp then flat,then sometimes hard to get out.Must admit due to trying too block a kick with my jaw and sustaining a injury,i have not been able to practisce as much as i would like to lately,but in saying that,the sax problem has been going on for about a month or so,it has had recent service,it is a yani 901...maybe i need a sevice Bumnote.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Hi all having very frustrating time at moment with sax,notes sometimes sound either to sharp then flat,then sometimes hard to get out.Must admit due to trying too block a kick with my jaw and sustaining a injury,i have not been able to practisce as much as i would like to lately,but in saying that,the sax problem has been going on for about a month or so,it has had recent service,it is a yani 901...maybe i need a sevice Bumnote.

Yes your now in the never ending loop of the frustrated sax world.Its always someting but when it goes right its a joy.

 

[jbtsax]

I can be very frustrating going through the time that you are not sure if it is you or the sax when things don't sound right. We all have gone through that phase at one time or another. You might try just blowing on the mouthpiece and neck and holding a long tone. On the alto tune the pitch to Ab concert. On the tenor tune to E concert. If you can sustain a steady long tone that is in tune, your embouchure and set-up are working just fine. Another thing you can try is to have a more experienced player play your sax to see if there is a mechanical reason for the notes not speaking.

A common adjustment problem that creates havoc with the sound is the neck octave mechanism out of adjustment. To check, finger low G and hit the thumb octave key several times watching the neck octave pad. It should not open or move at all. If it does, take the neck off, place your thumb between the neck octave ring and the neck and carefully press down on the octave key. This will bend the ring slightly away from the post and keep the octave key from opening when fingering G and the octave key. If you go too far and the neck octave key doesn't open when you play high A, put a flat popsicle stick under the octave key pad and carefully push the ring back toward the body of the neck.

 

[Amanda tootin' Taylor]

Hi all having very frustrating time at moment with sax,notes sometimes sound either to sharp then flat,then sometimes hard to get out.Must admit due to trying too block a kick with my jaw and sustaining a injury,i have not been able to practisce as much as i would like to lately,but in saying that,the sax problem has been going on for about a month or so,it has had recent service,it is a yani 901...maybe i need a sevice Bumnote.

I'm sure you've already thought of this, so apologies in advance if I'm teaching you to suck eggs Have you tried changing your reed? I was having a frustrating couple of weeks with my sax playing - notes were squeaking, I was rapidly running out of puff and getting v frustrated, which just made things worse. The reed I was using looked undamaged so I assumed I was the problem. Eventually I changed the reed and everything was fine again - or as fine as my playing will ever be;}

 

[BUMNOTE]

Hi Amanda,yes tried swapping reeds,still no good,sounds so very ouy of tune.,thanks for reply.Bumnote.

 

[Colin the Bear]

It's lack of practice is all. If you've sustained an injury to the mouth then it will be like starting over I suspect. Muscles need to heal and rebuild. Keep blowing. It'll come. Scales and arpeggios to get back on form. At least you aren't one of those that play out of tune and don't know.

 

[Chris98]

I've not played my sax in over five weeks due to going to Spain for a fortnight, the requirements for that trip ended up taking over my life and the sax was one of those things that got shelved. I've been back nearly two weeks and not felt the desire to pick it up, until about an hour ago.

The lack of practice sure is noticeable, but rather than jump in where I left off, I picked up an old favorite music book 'Movie Songs by Special Arrangement' and bashed through those, not caring too much about any mistakes. It's a bit of a confidence booster and a lot of fun. I know when I'm struggling I get physically tense, my fingers get stiff, my intonation goes all over the place, I make stupid mistakes... the list is endless. I think it can be good in those situations to give yourself a break, back off and just play stuff you know you can play - often the problems disappear.

This may or may not be relevant to your experience Bumnote, and with the injury you've had I'd guess that hampering you too.

I hope it all sorts itself out soon, best wishes,

Chris

 

[BUMNOTE]

Hi Colin and Chris,thanks for replies yes guess my mouth injury doesnt help,but it getting better bit by bit,thanks.Bumnote