Blues Brother's "Shotgun Blues" Saxophone Instrumental

[Michael Bishop]

Hey guys,
Here’s my Improvised-Blues Instrumental that was “inspired” by the Blues Brother’s famous song called “Shotgun Blues” On my last take with the Green Onions, Johnny pointed out I needed to simply the licks/riffs because we “say more when we play less”; so that’s how I approached this upload. There is no sheet music for this song…all of it is pure Improvisation based off of what I’m learning in Killer Blues right now. I started off slow/simple, just using the scale. As the song gets going, so does everything else if you get my meaning. I’ve been having great success with the Claude Lakey line of MPs and that’s what I’m using here–same one that I used for the Pink Panther; but I needed time to get adjusted to it–as it is with any new MP. I will be ordering a good ligature for this MP on Monday. The Claude Lakeys MPs seem to fit me really well–they have big tip openings but have medium-sized chambers, and that seems to be the ticket for me. From low notes to high notes, to slow/soothing subtones to rock, these Claude Lakeys are really working for me…it’s a nice feeling when you find that “shoe” that fits your foot LOL Claude Lakey has a metal MP called the Apollos; they’re constructed exactly the same as these 7* and 8* MPs, only their made of different kinds of Metal. I’ll get to try one pretty soon from the local dealer…that’s how I discovered Claude Lakeys for myself–and was encouraged from Johnny’s review on them with the Trevor James Saxophones. The next 3-4 uploads are all on Alto Sax.

[john]

yes Michael you are getting the ideas flowing…love the trills and growling very nice.
The thing you must work on now is intonation. Overall, you’re off from the track so you need to work with the A440 tuning app.
I checked your tracks and they’re in tune so you can work from there. If you don’t have a tuner there is an A440 on youtube.
I have a lesson on how to tune your sax perfectly in the blog. This is important because although you’re starting to get a good handle on your licks, if you’re that out of tune with a band they will notice it right away, even if you don’t so work with that tuner!

[Michael Bishop]

I’ve been using the A440 video from youtube almost every time I practice and it’s on my “liked” videos on youtube…I thought it was spot on but I’ll check it again; thanks for bringing this out. Do you think maybe the ligature has anything to do with it? I just ordered a good ligature this morning, cause the cheap one I’m using now constricts the reed. Other than that, I don’t know what else it could be.

[Michael Bishop]

My Altissimo G is a little out of tune, checked it with the tuner. It was slightly flat-sounding. Thanks Johnny for bringing that out. That’s something because if you take a close look at when I play Alt. G in this video–one example is holding it it for a long time near the end–I elected this time not to hit the G# key (fingering position No.2) and that’s probably what happened. I just hit the high bis key and the side palm key that we use for playing high F#. I didn’t think on this Saxophone the G# key effected the intonation on Alt.G, but looks like it does. Thanks for bringing this out to me.

[john]

no not the lig. experiment with the mp. go extreme with it … it’s not specifically the high G, it’s the entire horn so you have to figure out where the mp should be at on the cork….I think it needs extreme adjustment so experiment with it. if you can’t get it closer with the A440 app then use another kind of tuner that shows you how flat or sharp you are either with LED or the level type. you need to do this because you’re not detecting it as you play with the track.

[Anonymous]

michael – i dig the backing track! really cool!
i could tell you are way out of tune from the 1st note – no big deal, you must be kicking yourself? No problems! just tune up the sax & redoo the upload!

What i did do was, i imagined what the notes you were playing – i imagined them in tune, and it sounds fantastic ! i can see where you are going with your playing! Hats off to you!!

[Anonymous]

JF – hats off to you – the sign of a great teacher is measured by his patience!!!

[john]

Yes I agree with JB, the notes you are using are right on, you have taken the right approach with the blues scales and my last suggestions etc… just need to zero in on the intonation with your horn.

[Michael Bishop]

Thanks much Johnny, at least that is an added plus of seeing that I am understanding the Blues, starting to anyway. The problem has been that lately, with us being in the middle of a move to our new house that will be done very soon, I’ve been having to take the Sax apart and put it back in the case after every practice v.s. leaving it on the stand because if I leave it on a stand right now, either one of our pets or the kids is going to knock them over…that would be a near “fatal” blow to me. I just spent over $5,000 on these Saxophones, can’t just leave them out on a stand right now. So when I pull out the Sax, I’ve been relying on youtube videos to help me hone in on that “frequency” but it looks like this hasn’t been helping me, determining where the MP needs to be placed on the cork (not too far back or too far forward)…that’s all the problem is. I just posted a question in the “general questions” section of the forum asking about a tuner, check it out when you get a chance please.
Just a side question, the reverb, etc. on the video doesn’t seem to be “too much? Just asking that for knowledge sake because we added slightly more on it than the last video–it kind of strikes me as maybe slightly too much, but maybe I’m wrong?
JB: Great points and thanks for sharing. Not really down about it or anything, but the youtube videos I’ve been using to help me get those frequencies aren’t helping me that much..we’re all different and our individual needs are different. For some student players those videos may be all they need, for others like me I need more than just that. I need a good tuner that’s going to help me “hone in” on those frequencies so that I can determine where exactly on the cork I need to place the MP..in this video it was either too far back or not far back enough….that’s all that’s wrong and with a good tuner it will be resolved very, very quickly. On the plus side, you can see that I’m understanding Johnny’s teachings in Killer Blues and starting to use them in my playing…it’s starting to become part of “me” if you get my meaning. I have to give myself something to feel good about, nothing wrong with the LOL It’s getting there…patience 🙂

[Kevin]

Michael, When I was doing one of my uploads for christmas 2013, I went out to my shop(40degF) did a quick take and went thru the whole upload process and got a quick response from Johnny that I was “out-of-tune”. I’m still embarrassed that in my haste I didn’t get things tuned up before recording, but more so that I somehow didn’t pay good enough attention to have heard it.
So you don’t have to feel alone in that respect, I already forged the path…

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