why is everything played so high on ALT0?

[mick_wilson]

i wish id bought a tenor now rather than alto 🙁 . I bought Alto as i was told its easier to blow and the most popular student Sax. I prefer low melow tunes. changeing the pitch of the cd worked great tho i now play the notes the Tenor plays thanks alot guys

 

[Taz]

Don't worry Mick, I started on the Alto then moved onto the Tenor cos I think they fit in with bands better than the Alto does. I still have my Alto and play it quite often although the Tenor is now sax of choice. Good luck with you decision making 😉

 

[phil_edwards]

mick wilson wrote:
i wish id bought a tenor now rather than alto 🙁 . I bought Alto as i was told its easier to blow and the most popular student Sax. I prefer low melow tunes. changeing the pitch of the cd worked great tho i now play the notes the Tenor plays thanks alot guys

play it down an octave if you prefer. I'm guessing that part of your problem is that you're relatively new to sax and the top register is difficult to play sweetly, without squeeking and squawking, hence you're not enjoying it.

Listen again to some of your favourite alto players - they're all playing up there, the big difference is thay make it sound sweet. It does take a lot of work, but is well worth it.

I'm an alto player, and didn't really enjoy playing upper register until I got a mpc/reed combo that worked *for me* and did plenty of long tones up the top end.

In the meantime, play anything you like, written for any instrment, so you can simply get on and enjoy playing around the area of the instrument you're comfortable with. Or, get some blues backing tracks in a few keys and just play along wherever you want to on the instrument - top, middle or bottom register. I can send you some if you like.

What style are you looking for, I've loads of charts for Alto which (might) be in lower registers. Give me an idea of the style you're after and I'll email some to you.

Phil

 

[sharon]

Mick you remind me of myself when I first started playing alto. I couldn't stand the high notes and wished I had got a tenor. I did flirt briefly with a tenor at the time (some of you may remember my posts on here at the time :whistle: ). I found it more difficult to play and sent it back to really concentrate on the alto.

Now I'm a over a year down the line, I'm really glad I stuck with it because it is so versatile and plays such a wide range of music which suits me. Phil is spot on about the sound being sweeter rather than screechy. It's taken me a year to get a decent sound (that's playing every day and doing long notes) and now my high notes are sweet and the lower notes as I want them most of the time but I still struggle with the very low B and Bb.

I still want a tenor but I'm not going to get one until I am proficient on the bottom notes. (and I've got to save up 😛 ) It's a long old road this sax business. 😉

Keep up the good work and you will see the results.

Sharon

 

[jadoube]

What Sharon said -

With the addition that when you get a tenor you have to work to get that sounding sweet too.

You squeak on the alto at first. On the tenor you fart at first. At least thats what I'm finding. Give it a while and perhaps... at least I hope so.

 

[andyblackard]

mick wilson wrote:
i wish id bought a tenor now rather than alto 🙁 .

I played tenor as a kid, but I bought a YAS62 4 months ago with the idea that I'd get a tenor when I learned to play the alto and all reports said this was a very good alto. But I'm really finding that I love the tone of this particular alto and after discovering Hank Crawford, I realize that the alto has a place in r&b/blues. Maybe it will grow on you. It does appear that both the alto and soprano have intonation issues that tenor players don't even seem to be aware of. I'm finding that as an ex-tenor playing alto, I want to use every bit of the bottom end of the alto down to low Bb, so I'm spending a lot of time getting those notes below low D solid. So I can appreciate you statement about wanting to play arrangements voiced in the lower register.

On the low end, the alto can sound similar to the tenor and on the high-end it can sound either like a woman's voice, a clarinet or a soprano sax depending on how you inflect the tone. I never found the tenor to have that degree of flexibility in tone. Right now I'm learning a Bonnie Raitt song and it is really cool on alto.

 

[andyblackard]

Dig this, Mick:

Hank Crawford (alto sax) "Bow Legs"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ2aplAQO-g

Hank Crawford (alto sax) "Don't Cry Baby"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKNB7V2UB3c

 

[mick_wilson]

dont cry baby is a real nice tune . id love to play that. im wondering im using a yamaha 4c with rico 1.5 reeds maybe i need to get several different reeds to experiment.?

 

[andyblackard]

mick wilson wrote:
dont cry baby is a real nice tune . id love to play that. im wondering im using a yamaha 4c with rico 1.5 reeds maybe i need to get several different reeds to experiment.?

I would trust a teacher's advice on that better than mine, Mick. But as a 4 month re-starter on alto who played tenor 30 years ago, the Yam 4c mouthpiece and Rico 2/2.5 standard reeds were impossible for me to use. The 4c choked off all the time and the Rico oranges were a lost cause - junk! I tried 3 packs. My teacher thought the same when he tried that setup on my horn.

I bought a Yam 5c mpc and that was tremendously better with Vandoren JAVA 2.5 reeds. 10,000 times better!

Then I bought a (plastic) Meyer 6M which has a remarkably better top-end and bottom-end than the Yam 5c, but I think its defective because it tended to squawk from day 1 side-by-side with the Yam 5c. The Yam 5c doesn't do this with the reed and lig. I read somewhere that someone with the same mpc had the same problem because of uneven rails. Its plastic and I was expecting hard rubber, maybe I got a bargain brand Meyer or sth. I can't even find it on the Meyer site. I wonder if its a fake. My teacher said it didn't look right.

Any way: I didn't have much of a problem with the Yam 5c mpc other than the high E/F/F# not singing. Its cheap and maybe it wouldn't hurt for you to try the Yam 5c mpc and a couple Vandoren 2.5 JAVA reeds. But both Yam ligatures that I had were junk - leaked like crazy (1 was misshapen). So plan on getting a better lig. The lig that came with my Meyer is fantastic but I don't know what brand it is. I'm holding on to my Yam 5c mpc because I want to try it again when I move up to #3 reeds which my teacher wants me to do when I get my next box of Vandoren Javas. I have a feeling the high end is going to sing better with heavier reeds.

Good luck!

 

[jadoube]

Mick,

What's going wrong for you with the Y4C and 1.5 reeds? Details will help the experienced folk here to diagnose for you.

As an aside, thats just like what my teacher advised me as a starter. For me stronger reeds were a physical impossibility initially. Might not be the same for you as a vocalist, probably stronger lungs than I had.

 

[mick_wilson]

I think the y4c is ok but i am able to blow 2 reeds. i just went to 1.5s now they seem to be collapsing on me when i blow ocasionally and i dont seem to get a sweet sound on high c csharp and b. dunno just thought i might experiment. starting to squeek a bit too sometimes however I have found that if i dont place the read right that can cause it. any advicei is good. I just seen a thread that mentions trying different thickness reeds 1 to strengthen emobouchure and 2 to see which one suits best?

 

[jadoube]

Well nobody more experienced has chipped in. For what its worth my thoughts;

Squeaks - normal when beginning and as you say placing the reed can make a difference. Its just the way things go, long note practice will strengthen your mouth and the squeaks will go.

Experimenting with a stronger reed. Why not, its only the cost of a pack of reeds that you'll be using later even if not now. My teacher firmly rejected the idea when I suggested a stronger reed to build up my embrouchure, but others would say different. Use whichever reed you find more comfortable I'd say.

Either way have fun experimenting to find whats right for you.

 

[jazzzzz8]

Hi Guys this thread is amazingly interesting and informative Iam glad I vistit it. Got so engrossed just burnt my dinner ah.

I think a great idea for you is to listen to the sweet mellow tones of Paul Desmond, known for His Take Five. Try to plaace yourself in his shoes; I know impossible, but just to feel it; love it; get into the groove with. Stuff like; Tupulo Honey, Brother can you spare me a dime....will send you in a spin. you will play sweeter after listening to Desmond I promise...I play Tenor but love Alto to.
Good luck....I know the technincle side of it gets me down to...

 

[mick_wilson]

I didnt beleive it possible??? but it works i have tested and played marca reeds (Tenor) size 2 on my alto and i get a sweet sweet sound high end the only downfall is it squeeks occasionally going from high to middle lol.

 

[mick_wilson]

I didnt beleive it possible??? but it works i have tested and played marca reeds (Tenor) size 2 on my alto and i get a sweet sweet sound high end the only downfall is it squeeks occasionally going from high to middle lol.

me on alto playing Blue Moon using rico 1.5s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOGSEKGNgQs

 

[Simon]

Hi Mick

Yeah, transposing sucks. So change the band! You can do this by transposing the backing track. I do this with Transcribe! which you can download and use free for 30 days from Jazzwise.



Simon

mick wilson wrote:
how do u transpose songs ? and are you able to play along to backing track?

sharon wrote:
Hi Mick,
I've also found this in some of my books. I've a rather nice Beatles book which is very high and I personally don't like a very high sound. I got around it by learning how to transpose songs I found particularly screechy. Don't know the reason for it though :?

Sharon