Day Two with the New (“used”) Tenor Sax

[Steve CA]

Ok………so……you folks who have been involved in my progress………..here’s the latest:

Yesterday, after my “Physical,” I went directly to the Saxophone Shop, having received a phone call earlier in the day, stating that the Selmer Bundy II Tenor Sax I was interested in buying, was ready.

I got there at 4:45 PM

Tim had done a really nice job of cleaning it up, and making it ready, and played it for me (quite nicely I must say) thru the full range of notes that this instrument is capable of. I was impressed with the tone of the instrument, and his talent.

I got the horn home by 5:30 PM and didn’t do anything with it last evening.

This morning, after a good 8 hours of sleep, I got up and took a couple of pictures of the instrument. One that I’ll put here:

Then later this morning, I reviewed the C Major Scale Video in YouTube, and practiced it for a while, using the “Joy To The World” song as my first attempt at playing a song.

I know it’s painful to listen to, but I’m sure you all have been there, so if nothing else, it’ll remind you of where you came from.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJbSQTihHyI

What have I learned so far:

A. “Numb mouth” is possible
B. Low C required me to fill my cheeks with air; open my throat, and move up on the mouthpiece from the middle position
to get a clear non-overtoned “Low C.” (As opposed to the “Open C” which required a tighter embouchure).
C. There’s a HECK of a lot more to learn!!
D. I can laugh at myself
E. I might just get fairly good at this, provided I get my breathing & finger positions right, over time.
F. Ligature screws should be on the bottom
G. The weird open-end Rico Neck Strap makes me nervous (pic attached)

Have a good laugh listening and watching the video. I know “I” did!! Nevertheless………not bad for only an hour and a half amount of experience, eh?!

-Soupy

[john]

well, I hope you realize many people can’t even get a sound out in the first attempts so you are already doing great!
That low C is coming out nicely too…don’t for get at this stage to blow nice and loud and concentrate on breathing deep from your diaphragm.

[Steve CA]

Johnny: I consider that HIGH PRAISE coming from such an accomplished player as yourself!! Thanks for the encouragement man!! (Ever had the occasion to play with Kirk Whalum? He seems (along with guys like Branford Marsalis) to be a fairly good Sax player. Almost as good as YOU (lol). Almost!!

-Soupy

[jake]

Keep at those LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG Tones!! They will get you there. It’s amazing how quickly 2 years goes by and the progress made in that time with effort put forward! It get way easier but unfortunately, many other challenges lie ahead. LOL. Fun journey for sure tho! Good Luck!

[James]

Never too early to get a jump on those Xmas tunes, Soupy, lol. You sound great. I gave up using my open hook Rico strap for good reason. That hook WILL slip off at some point. Luckily, I try to keep at least one hand on my horn at all times.

[Steve CA]

Changing the strap and getting a stand. two items on my list. Now if I could just get a handle on when to use a different reed……………

-Soupy

[john]

you need to have a bunch of reeds to blow thru. if you try 10 reeds you’ll find that 1 or 2 will work better than the others. this is how you learn to figure out the difference between reeds. many beginners buy a couple reeds to start off with. let’s say those 2 reeds are crap but that’s all you have…see my point?

[Steve CA]

Quote:

Quote from saxjohnny on February 15, 2015, 11:47
you need to have a bunch of reeds to blow thru. if you try 10 reeds you’ll find that 1 or 2 will work better than the others. this is how you learn to figure out the difference between reeds. many beginners buy a couple reeds to start off with. let’s say those 2 reeds are crap but that’s all you have…see my point?

I bought a box of 10 (Rico #2) and so far, have used only one of them, twice over. Should I number them, and use “one a day” for a while?

-Soupy

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