Slow progress

[sax_starved]

Now that I've discovered the E# (thanks to earlier posts) I have been dilligently practising the scales; C, Eb, A and F#. The problem is, I have cracked them all by the end of my session but the next time I pick up the sax I have forgotten them all and have to start from the beginning. I guess this is the way of things for the musically challenged and I just have to keep banging away until it sinks in.
My son has lost his initial enthusiasm (there's a surprise) and I have to nag him to practice. Annoyingly, as my wife continually points out, although he puts in less that a third of the time that I do he produces a better sound. I have taken to muttering something about him having a better mouthpiece.
I have attempted 'Your Latest Trick' by Dire Straits and got surprisingly close to the tune and even managed a bit of impro. But that darned low B; how can anybody get their fingers in that postion?
Any tips will be gratefully accepted. I'm off to buy a Van Morrison hat and sunglasses.

 

[mark_whiteley]

Hi

Re the low B etc. As you would expect it will all come in time and with practise. The things that seem impossible now will be 'do able' in time. My problem is now the other end of the instrumement. I'm OK up to high D#, and E is coming slowley but high F and F# just seem impossiblewith any mouthpiece or reed. I know it's just my mouth position and breath control and it will come with practise though.

It really does seem with the SAX that little and often is the key. Try just 30 minutes or even less a day every day, rather than longer sessions less often, and good luck ! Don't worry about age differentials, you will discover that there are adults of all ages on this site, some of them have bus passes too, but with determination they (WE) will all get there !

 

[sax_starved]

Thanks Mark,

How do you find the TJ Tenor? My aim is to get a tenor once I am reasonably proficient at the alto. I have the Revolution Horn alto, which seems pretty good as a starter sax but once I 'move on up' I would like something that is closer to a pro sax.

 

[Pjonah]

TJJ Revolutions are all pretty good saxes, I wouldn't concern yourself with equipment issues for a while, concentrate on all the "dull" stuff but not too long as mentioned above, most of all enjoy playing it safe in the knowledge the instrument is not holding you back.

Great to hear you almost nailed "Your Latest Trick", its a great intro, it was played on a tenor originally so to play along to the record you'd have to be playing lower hence the low B I guess.

As Mark says these notes are always a bug bare for beginners and its a case of practicing them. I had some ancient old exercises for just that and that did/does wonders for me.

Simon

 

[griff136]

little and often is the answer.

if you do your scales every time you practice you will soon have them under your fingers, playing smoothly and quickly.

I do scales every time I pick my instrument up it now literally takes minutes.

i never used to and would sometimes struggle.

practice as often as you can far better to do a half hour a day than to do 2 x 2 hour sessions once a week.

 

[ch_boogie]

You might sound better once you have your new hat and sunglasses on, it's usually the way!! other than that I agree with Griff little and often works wonders!!

 

[sharon]

Totally agree with the others. I have difficulty with low b on tenor but it is coming along. Scales is the other thing. If you do learn your scales your playing will become more fluid - it does work.

Try and get into a routine that involves long notes and scales and excercises that incorporate your weaker points like the low b. Say you can spare an hour a day, spend the first 15 or 20 minutes doing the scales and excercises. It sounds like hard work but it really does pay off. Even if you can spend only 30 mins every day spend 10 of them on "work" and the rest of the time playing tunes.

Also playing lots of different tunes will improve your sight reading and your playing. And pick things with "tricky" notes just to make things harder for yourself 😛

Sharon

 

[young_col]

Yeah, I agree too. As one who's a late returner I was determined to master scales. They soon come with regular short practice and you start to hear them rather than think about the fingering.

I'm interested in your selection of scales though. For example F# is one of the toughest Majors and doesn't get examined until Grade 6, like Db. I'm still nowhere fluent in either after 8 months. The way I did it was to start at C then gradually build to scales with more sharps and flats alternately - C,G,F,D, Bb,A,.... That way you also start to appreciate the fifths relationships.

I got the ABRSC scales and arps book, as have others on forum, and found it a good guide and useful progress check against the exam levels, even though I don't intend to take the grades.

But do get the hat and sunglasses - or practice in a darkened room!

YC

 

[sax_starved]

Young Col wrote:

I'm interested in your selection of scales though. For example F# is one of the toughest Majors and doesn't get examined until Grade 6, like Db. I'm still nowhere fluent in either after 8 months. The way I did it was to start at C then gradually build to scales with more sharps and flats alternately - C,G,F,D, Bb,A,.... That way you also start to appreciate the fifths relationships.

Thank you for all your comments; I really do appreciate them and it's comforting to know that I am only going through what other beginners have.
In answer to your query about the choice of scales, I am using the PDF file from Pete that can be downloaded from this site. On it, he suggests a mixture of scales from easy, intermediate and difficult and these are the four he says could be practiced in the first week. I have pretty much mastered these, although I find I have to keep referring to the notation to remind myself.
I start and finish each session with these scales and try and cover more than one octave on some of the easier ones.

Can anyone suggest a tuition book that could follow on from Saxophone Basics? I have 'Great Sax Solos', but I 'm not good enough yet for most of these.

 

[young_col]

Whoops, then I bow to Pete's much greater expertise! I started my way before I came across his site.

I'm going to put my name down for his book of exercises.

YC

 

[DaveW]

Can anyone suggest a tuition book [\quote]

A few on here have mentioned "The Complete Saxophone Player" omnibus edition by Raphael Ravenscroft.

Good progress and it uses popular tunes as excercises so it doesn't get boring 😉

I got mine on line but can't remember where from.

Having mentioned that book, I have started having lessons and we are using the ubiquitous 'Tune a Day' book. I remember the book from when I was learning the alto 30 years ago :whistle:

 

[justin_chune]

Like Young Col, I learned my scales in scale order adding one new sharp or flat key to the ones already learned. This was the way they were laid out in the book. Making slow and steady progress is the way to go. For a tutor you could check out "Learn As You Play Saxophone" by Peter Wastell.

 

[mark_whiteley]

Well I find that the TJJ Revolution 2 is very easy to use, I bought one that was about a year old, from Curly Music in Liverpool, for just over ?600. I think it's a good quality instrument but professional players wouldn't use one.

I don't know all that much about the different makes, I know that with guitars there are certainly Monday morning & Friday afternoon ones ! My Crafter Semi Acoustic by chance is miles better on sound than many of the same crafters that my friends own.

The mouthpiecc is obviously critical. I don't think we need to spend silly money on a Tenor mouthpiece but a second hand one in the ?50 - ?60 bracket is probebly worth buying.

Hope this helps, and I hope the low B's coming along now.

Mark.

 

[sax_starved]

Thanks for all your comments; I shall certainly look into these books. The scales are starting to make some sense now. I have gone over to the more traditional method of learning, as some of you have suggested and I find that easier (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db) as I only need to add another flat to the previous scale.
While we are on the subject, can anybody shed some light on the different types of scale, ie, natural monor (aelian mode), harmonic minor, melodic and pentatonic minor/major etc? I know there are slight variations in them but do these scales reflect a different style of playing? I haven't tried them yet as I am still getting to grips with the major scales and I'm still a bit of a musical lemon.

And another thing! There is an old sax for sale on ebay called a Guban, Romania. Does anybody know anything about these? I wasn't really planning to get a tenor just yet but if it's cheap enough I might just take a punt.

Lloyd