Tip Book

[Troy]

Congratulations on your new grandchild! I sort of envy the ability to be able to return a child, however my wife lost the receipt on our daughter so we are stuck with her. I have no buyer’s remorse though; she's an exceptionally great kid. She's so happy (almost all the time), well behaved and has a great sense of humor, so much so that my brother's girlfriend and daughter volunteered to drive about 2 hours to babysit her one weekend, whenever we want. The problem is she is such a great kid; we're a bit shy about having a second because Jocelyn has spoiled us!

Anyway, back to saxual issues. Thanks for sharing that story – I laughed my butt off. Not laughing at you so much as laughing with you because I'm the same way, possibly worse. I get a little anxious going into the music store without my sax just looking for books or reeds or whatnot, so I'll probably need to be drugged when I go in to test/buy a mouthpiece or test a different horn! I know it's absurd and everyone sucks when they start, but it's a phobia I need to get over or work through if I want to progress. I can really appreciate the part about the split reed as well. I can imagine your blood pressure skyrocketing and nerves becoming more shot every time you squeaked or chirped, when you seldom do so now. I bet you were so relieved when you found the split reed and had something to blame it on besides your nerves and performance anxiety. :0) I've looked at my reeds a few different practice sessions and literally wished they were split so I could blame my issues on them, but no such luck so far. I do think I found one of my issues though – I don't think I was pushing my mouthpiece onto the neck enough to make a 100% firm seal, thus inducing a little air leak. Tonight is my first night practicing like this and although not perfect, so far I think I hear an improvement.

You have some great choices for songs. I didn't recognize Time Passages until I looked it up on Youtube. Once the song started I almost instantly recognized it. It's a great feel good mood song, mellow and relaxing. It reminds me of Paul Simon's song Slip Sliding Away. For some reason I've always loved that song. I have no clue what the song is about (never paid that much attention), but the vocals and music blend together very well.

Let me know how your sessions go. I'm looking forward to hearing some of your stuff on Youtube.

Troy

[john]

Sure Save… can you read music?

[Dave Tucker]

Johnny,
Your reply kind of threw me. I could not figure out what you wanted me to save. Then after looking down at my keypad I noticed the S is next to D so I figured you meant (sure Dave). Yes, I can read music pretty well. What do you have in mind?

Dave

[Dave Tucker]

Hey Troy,
I'm glad you could have a laugh at my expense. I'm glad the lesson was only a 1/2 hr. It sucks to practice in a wet shirt. Something that Johnny does not cover in his videos. I think you should always pack some Ativan. You never know when the Parrots, ducks or seagulls will come flying out of your horn. LOL Oh, I forgot to mention something else. I'm not sure about you but what else happens when you get a anxiety attack? If your like me your mouth will go dryer than a popcorn fart. How do wet a your replacement reed when your spitting dust. Luckily for me I had taken a bottle of water.
My teacher said she uses Rico Royal #3 reeds and suggested that I give them a try. I will see if I can locate a three pack and try them out.
As far as looking for a Youtube video. That's going to be awhile down the road. I just can't seem to find anyone that will produce and direct one at this time. I'll just have to keep looking.
Anyway's, take care for now.

Dave T

[john]

Sorry, yes I meant to type Dave! If you want to work on a jazz number I can give you the lead sheet and backing tracks for a popular standard such as All Of Me, or Misty.

[Dave Tucker]

Hey Johnny,
Misty has always been a favorite. I wasn't sure about All of Me. I did some research and found some very good video recordings of it. I new the song as soon as I heard it. It's been many years. If you can help me out with "All Of Me" I would appreciate that very much.
When I was looking for researching All of Me I came across another tune that caught my ear. Are you familiar with "Watermelon Man"?
Tomorrow I will upgrade to #3 reeds. I think I will try the Rico Royal reeds. Today I purchased "Summertime" and "Baker Street" from Musicnotes.com. I played all the way through Summertime with little problem. Now I have to work on getting some feeling into the music I'm playing.
Thanks for all the help you have given me so far. It's nice you can take the time from your busy schedule to help us out.

Dave T

[Troy]

Ha ha ha! Yeah, I didn't think about trying to wet the reed with a dry mouth, and I doubt it would be polite to ask he teacher to lend a hand. :0) If you think you'll be panicing much, it may be worth trying out some of those fibre reeds or something like that. I've never tried them but I don't think you have to wet them. (yeah, that was a low jab at your expense.)

The music store by my house doesn't have any 3 packs for reeds. The only 5 pack I've seen was the Hempke reeds I have now, the rest are 10 packs.

You can make your own video's using a USB web cam. I have the Microsoft LifeCam, which records up to 1280 x 720 HD. I record everthing in 720 HD as I practice and keep a few of the better recordings. I use the free software 'FormatFactory' to reduce the file size so the recordings I send to the online class are a lot smaller. The smaller file sizes by default are more grainy, but I've found recording at a HD level and reducing the quality still gives a much better video recording while still enabling me to have a smaller file size. The web cam was around $30-$40 I think from NewEgg if you're interested.

[john]

Yes Dave, Watermelon man is one of my Faves! I'll see what I can do to get it up here soon.

[Troy]

Dave,

I don't know if you are still researching any ideas on what to play, but I was just watching the movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and the song "Puttin' On The Ritz" was on the movie. As soon as I saw the song title at the end I thought of you and thought it would be a fun song to play.

[Dave Tucker]

Hey Troy,
How was your week? Hope you had a good one. I got my 2nd MRI results yesterday. I will have to see a Spinal surgeon. I have a Nerve sheath tumor. Dr say's it's most likely benign. I'll have to see what the specialist say's.

I checked out Puttin On The Ritz. I will keep that one in mind. While I was searching that on You Tube I came across a really nice song called Tico Tico for Alto Sax. That will be a good one to learn for finger work.
This week my lesson was great. I played a duet with the teach. I had a question for my teacher so I took my Henry Mancini song book to my lesson. She had a backing track for Day's Of Wine and Rose's. She sat on my left and when we started I was amazed at the sound coming out of her horn. She was playing a Selmer Series II into my left ear. I got lost a couple of times because i found myself listening to her. She is going to let me play it next week. Moon River is another one from that book that I have practiced allot. This weeks assignment she want's me to put some of my idea's into the 2 songs. Day's of Wine and Rose's I had already added a few note's and dropped a couple to make it sound like what was in my head. She liked it and want's me to do the same with Moon River.
I also upgrade to the Rico Royal #3 this week. They made a big difference in the sound. A much fuller and crisper tone. I guess it's dinner time.
Keep in touch and let me know how your online lessons are going.

Dave

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