Some times I play some times I don't....how about you?

[Saxlicker]

I fell in love with the sax in the early 80's just through it's presence at the time. I never consciously thought about what I was hearing and never connected it the what I'm sure we all beleive is a beautiful object.
Then out of the blue the 2 things came together and I toddled into town with a £425 dent in my finances as I put down a deposit and took finance. I chose a corton Alto simply based on the cost and the fact that the instrument felt bigger than I imagined so you can imagine the Tenor was huge!!! at that time I understood this make to be of reasonable quality to give a decent start while even the student yamahas were too pricey for me.
Anyway, I never looked back from that day and 6 months saw me joining a slightly more advanced horn section. We grew together there after and as the years passed I added to my armoury. Switched mainly to Tenor but at times I absolutely loved playing the baritone. We were a popular local band and our pulling power made us ideal support for bigger names, such as The Selecter, The Lambrettas, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Desmond Dekker, Bad Manners, Toyah, Laurel Aitkin, Edwin Star, and some more.
We gigged so often I was really match fit without ever really progressing very quickly. My enthusiasm was sky high but everything I did was either for satisfying GAS or improving what I could do in the band situation (but not beyond).
Wind the clock on to about 2008 and the way I make my living changed for the better financially but sacrifices along the way as shift work left me to tired and unable to commit to being available for gigs.
This has had mixed blessings........
I got a lot of time to myself and experimented a lot especially with a little disposable cash to play with for the first time in my life that never left me worrying about my indulgence.
So my playing amount would go in peaks and troughs and along with this so would the styles changes and my experimenting with mouthpieces.
More recently back on permanent days, I guess I now fit into a category that is common, meaning it's a solo hobby mainly done at home when I manage to kick everyone else out the front door for a couple of hours. Couple this with work pressure, other hobbies, chores and yeah.....sometimes my love for it dwindles more that it ever did. Sometimes I have the opportunity but not the same drive. Just too tired or no inspiration etc. Once or twice I have wondered about my own interest of late. I got back from holiday at the beginning of september and only last week did I pick up the tenor for the first time since.
However, its not all doom and gloom that I'm building up to. My tinitus subsides for one thing. When I pick it up less frequently my idea of volume and tone are re-calibrated and just so long as the inspiration is there I probably get more out of it. As for match fit??? no where near anymore. Tired embouchure within an hour.
I don't actually fancy gigging anymore or perhaps more to the point putting up with all the stuff that goes with it.
I look forward to what my gear is giving me in return more than anything and get a hit from you tube videos of all ilks.
What's it like for you?
What keeps you going?

 

[Clivey]

Interesting post . I'm on bus home so can't give long answer. I do however suspect that many of us here define ourselves. ie. our lives by our involvement with our music ,our instruments and gear. I think my life would be a doughnut without that aspect though I do also wonder about all the other routes I might have went.

 

[6441]

Some people enjoy collecting things. Others like to bet on horses or play poker. Still others collect: lawn dwarfs, Coca Cola cigarette lighters from the 1950's. Some fly drones, other get a license and fly real planes. Many of the denizens of the Café here enjoy the saxophone on a level of something they enjoy doing. Others play and are paid for this, or are good enough to play publicly, but play in non-paying bands that perform at events. I can't think of a healthier way to spend time (and yes, money). Self-expression is one of the keys to happiness, and I always hope that parents encourage it as much as they can. We're lucky as adults to have figured this out intuitively, or to have had parents who did. I am always pleased when new people come here asking for help to get their kids started.

 

[Saxlicker]

I was pretty tired when I wrote that first post and the chance to edit the grammar has long since disappeared. So thanks for sticking with it. I know what I meant of course and I still found it a bit hard to string together reading back with cold eyes.
Anyway, I had a good day with it yesterday enjoying huge feedback from a Florida Otto Link 7* and a 3 soft reed.
I played along to some backing tracks, watched a few youtubes and revelled in the resonance, resistance, and tonal nuances tickling my senses. Then I ran out of material and put it down.
Today the tinnitus is ringing loud and clear, something I have lived with for years. The more occupied my mind is the less I'll hear it but thats completely different than the bliss of having it fade away because I haven't shaken my skull through playing for a period of time.
I don't try to play loud...but I used to and it takes very little to trigger it nowadays.
I wonder how much recovery there would be if I stopped completely (thats not going to happen by the way).

 

[thomsax]

Just do it!!! Play and have fun. I try to play/blow the saxophone 1-2 hours/day. At the age 0f 63 I still think I can get better. For some weeks ago I found a player that can help me. I wouldn't say a mentor/teacher. Just a person that listen to me. Today I don't play so much with others. We are a group of sax players that share recordings. I started to play on my own in 1968 and today it's almost the same. A "Make It", "Do It" or "Fix It" list is good way to have saxophone things done. I have a very short memory.

 

[Ivan]

Today the tinnitus is ringing loud and clear, something I have lived with for years. The more occupied my mind is the less I'll hear it but thats completely different than the bliss of having it fade away because I haven't shaken my skull through playing for a period of time.
I don't try to play loud...but I used to and it takes very little to trigger it nowadays.
I wonder how much recovery there would be if I stopped completely (thats not going to happen by the way).

Same boat

Never leaves me, but aggravated by loud noise. I gave up for a decade or more and there was no recovery

Playing less loudly keeps my tinnitus at bay and using earplugs when playing with bands also minimises the peaks

 

[Wade Cornell]

As with many of us "older" types tinnitus can wreck havoc. I still play quite a lot, but seldom in loud situations. At home I do a lot of recording and am always wearing headphones. The track I'm recording with goes into a mixer as does my microphone on the sax. I use fairly good quality noise cancelling headphones and can adjust my level in the mix with the template track. This means that the level is always in my control and never loud enough to enrage my nasty ear screamers. I can (and do) also run the microphone through "boxes" and can use effects, make loops, etc. Works well if you are intending to record, but can also save your hearing.

 

[Saxlicker]

Just a note for the kids.....Titinus for me is not all about the saxophone.
When I was a kid I loved everything loud. Motorhead, ACDC, Ted Nugent, etc were an absolute blast week after week at Southampton Gaumont theatre (AKA Mayflower theatre to anyone under 6000 years old).
Fireworks, guns, open top motoring and fast motorbikes without hearing protection.
So just putting things in perspective, however gigging for 20 years with constant requests for more monitor to cut above the drums and bass was certainly a factor.

 

[jazzdoh]

I am the same, i have suffered from Tinnitus for 15 years or so, with mine it was medication that caused the problem and due to health problems I have had to cut my playing down considerably, 10 to 15 years ago I was giggling loads with different bands and now its down to one which was my choice, I am happy doing probably around 20 to 25 gigs a year, this year has been very difficult from a health point of view but I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I have no plans to increase my playing and I practise when I want, if I don't play for a week or so it doesn't matter.