Saxophone Forum


by saxyjeff
(25 posts)
19 years ago

Intonation: Jazz vs "Legit"

Who designated classical players as "legit" players? Am I missing something. I respect classical musicians however I find this whole thing rather snobbish and trite regarding a separatist classification on "Legitness"...Did this all happen back when Adolphe Sax originally invented the Sax as a new Orchestral Instrument?? From what I gather the saxophone, due to its conical configuration has ALWAYS exhibited tonality issues that require greater effort at achieving consistent intonation. The smaller the sax the greater the intonation problems, No?? My understanding is that all classical woodwinds, being tubular, have more consistent airflow leading to easier intonation. If that's true then: Classical players do require better intonation when playing in a traditional ensemble vs a jazz player in a combo/ensemble setting. I think that is why in olden times sections had the same horn manufacturers and mouthpieces to more easily achieve homogeneity of sound/intonation. I feel the sax is truly the bastard son it is supposed to be. It was a great idea that didn't fit the norm for woodwinds, thus "legits" (??) feel this superiority over the rest of us who accept this beast for what it is, our horn of choice. Just trying to sound like the greats, transcribing and attempting to voice their nuances while developing my own sound is every bit as daunting, stimulating and personally more rewarding than attempting to "domesticate my Beast" so that i can blend into the classical, stuffy,....elegant herd. Give me a juke joint any day....know where I can find one? Jeff

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  1. by knorter
    (205 posts)

    19 years ago

    Re: Intonation: Jazz vs "Legit"

    Jeff I was reading the thread that led to this new post and thought I'd chime in. One thing kept bothering me when talking about differences between Jazz and Classical or "legit". If we are striving to be good musicians then certain absolute truths should be maintained regardless of what types of music we are playing. This should also be true no matter what horn, mouthpiece, reed, etc... Some horns do play better in tune than others but that doesn't excuse the player of the lesser in tune horns to play out of tune. Buy a tuner and figure out the difficult notes on your horn and make the appropriate adjustments. We should all strive to play with good intonation, sound, technique, time, and articulation just to name a few important elements of all types of music. Jazz gets a bad rap sometimes because it's easier to ignore things like intonation when you are soloing with a rhythm section and playing a flurry of notes. However, when you get to the ballad you'll wish you'd payed attention to these elements (at least your audience will:) Both jazz and classical saxophonists can gain an enormous amount of knowledge about their instrument by studying the other side.

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