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by nectarios
(20 posts)
19 years ago

What now?

I have been playing the tenor for a bit longer than a month. I've finished my begginers book which had a few major and minor scales, and a few very basic tunes ranging from classical to traditional to jazzy blues. I can play and control all the notes on the sax, but off course no altissimo yet...although I can play second octave notes without using the 8ve key. The thing is that I am only interested in learning jazz and there is only one jazzy tune in that book that I've played over and over again and vary the sequence of notes to make things a bit more interesting. Other than that, I've been playing long notes and jamming over my sequencer, going up and down a few scales over a simple beat/bassline arrangement, using the computer as a metronome that does something more interesting than just "tick tock". The arrangements I've been making so far are all 4/4, but I am going to do some 3/4 tunes to jam over. I am still on the standard, cheap, Yamaha mpc that came with my YTS and I must say that it does the job for the time being. I am still on 1 1/2 reeds that I also find very comfortable. Where do I go from here? What is the next book that will teach me more of the basic stuff, but if possible, teach me some jazz phrases that I am so longing to learn? Should I go for a harder reed? Dunno if I should change the mpc really. The thing is that this one does the job. Should I wait until I get better, or am I simply wasting from getting a mpc that will sound better and help me progress? Can a mpc help me progress? Or is it simply down to practise?

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  2. by west
    (242 posts)
    19 years ago

    Re: What now?

    play a year or two before getting a new mouthpiece. I can recommend books, but I don't think they have anything that qualifies as "Jazzy", so here they are: The books are called " Standard of Excellence" and there are three of them. the red one is book 1, the blue one is book 2, and the green one is book 3. I would also suggest that you get some 2 reeds. If they're easier to play right off the back, then start playing with 2s. If not then every once in a while, switch from 1 1/2 reed to 2 reed and just practice. Also, just remember to work on intonation. Another t sax player at my school can't play for crap, ( i mean notes and rythms. he can't play in beginner books and the sound sucks like no other. So just remember to practice what matters also.

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    1. by chiamac
      (586 posts)
      19 years ago

      Re: What now?

      I'll agree on what west said... and these things take years to get sucky at, then a few more years to kinda get good. Don't worry about intonation and new equipment. Your sound will come with time, and you will learn to "use" your horn to make it do what you want.

      Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM


      1. by argonne
        (24 posts)
        19 years ago

        Re: What now?

        I would agree on waiting for new/different mouthpiece and reeds if you're able to make a sound on your current setup. Right now, getting used to the instrument and fingerings is important. But soon you'll be able to focus on breath control and intonation. Long tones will help with both of these things. It will improve your embouchre strength, breath control, and sense of where the center of each note is. You can find it by seeing how far you can bend the notes sharp or flat. I think long tones are an important part of even experienced players' practice routines. As for learning some jazz stuff, there are endless techniques, but one that I've had good luck with is using some of the play-along stuff from Abersold. You can learn songs and practice improvising, but also practice scales, patterns, transcribed jazz licks, etc with a group rather than a metronome or synthesized beat. Thats my 2 cents, I'm sure you'll get lots of other good suggestions here too.

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        1. by nectarios
          (20 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: What now?

          I thinking about getting a new ligature. When I tongue some loud notes to get a punchy transient, I get some squeaks a few times. I do not know if it is down to my inexperience (probably) or a ligature issue. I can get a better mpc right now, but I will take your advice and wait until I learn more things about achieving a better tone. I've simply been learning some of my favourite tunes so far, just the main lines and the easier phrases from Equinox, Naima, My Favourite Things, Blue Train, Giant Steps, Mr PC and generally jamming with my sequencer. Playing is muc more fun now that I don't have to look at notes on my book and learn tunes I am not really into. I am not doing any special embouchure or breathing exercises, but my playing time has grown a lot and I can blow a lot longer before I get a red face :)

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        2. by nectarios
          (20 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: What now?

          Argonne, I checked the Aebersold books out on the net, but there in no information about whether they are for tenor or not. I am interested on the "Volume 1 Jazz: How to play and improvise" Is this a CD play along book? Thanks for pointing that out by the way!

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        3. by nectarios
          (20 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: What now?

          Oops, sorry about asking if the Aebersold are play along books... a question you answered already :)

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        4. by argonne
          (24 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: What now?

          As you may have found, each abersold book contains transcriptions in Concert C, Eb (alto), Bb (tenor), and bass clef. I should note that there is no substitute for good instruction and group interaction, but I think these can be a great help and are a fun and effective part of the learning process. I hope you find the same. It sounds like you are getting a lot out of your practicing so keep it up! its always surprising how rapid progress can be with regular practice.

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