strange change

[1954pip]

hi all
went to the mother in laws for a few days when we got back having not played for a few days,
when i started playing again it was strange firstly it sounded differently and also when i play i was getting something like a gag reflex so i washed the mouth piece and reed but i still got it not bad but distracting ,
i think the noise turned out to be a leak, i checked my sax to see if there was any thing looked a miss and relised one pad was not closing lucky for me it is one that can be adjusted, bingo noise gone.
pip

 

[kevgermany]

If this happened suddenly, chances are you bent something, possibly cleaning or putting the sax away. Good to know it's sorted...

 

[gladsaxisme]

Hi Pip

Just a thought but from my own experiences, after a break I generally find that I play better as if my embouchure has improved due to the rest, and maybe strengthened even.You might be closing up the read now stopping the air passing into the sax and it feels very similar to gagging as the air tends to try to go back down your throat. Maybe it's a sign your ready for a stronger reed YIPEE!!!

Hope this helps you ....john

 

[1954pip]

cheers for replys i've been playing for 3months and using rico2 with yamaha 4c does that sound ok?

 

[gladsaxisme]

that sounds great to me it took me for ever to move up from 1.5 TO 2,are you alto or tenor,I think it's easier to play the harder reeds on tenor but I might be wrong.....john

 

[1954pip]

boosey & hawkes alto

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Pip

Just a thought but from my own experiences, after a break I generally find that I play better as if my embouchure has improved due to the rest, and maybe strengthened even.You might be closing up the read now stopping the air passing into the sax and it feels very similar to gagging as the air tends to try to go back down your throat. Maybe it's a sign your ready for a stronger reed YIPEE!!!

Hope this helps you ....john

Several of my teachers have recommended having a day a week free of playing and it seriously works - I have always noticed that I play in a less stressed way, and progress is quite noticeable.

Mouthpiece wise it is often useful to have an alternative mouthpiece and reed so that you can make comparisons - a form of binocular vision. A newbie friend of mine recently visited with his alto sax, Yamaha 7C mouthpiece and Vandoren 2 Traditional reeds. He had maintained that he was happy with his sound. trial of 6 mouthpieces later & different reed (2 1/2 reed, but softer reed) he had to admit that he preferred the alternative - in his case the mouthpiece was just slightly larger than his Yami, and the sound was so much more satisfying - clearly so to both of us who declared our favourite after doing a blind test. You'll never know until you know, so having an alternative set up can produce interesting results, either confirming your original choice or indicating that you may be better off going in a different direction.

Glad you sorted out the problem with the sax!
Kind regards
Tom