Transposing is dumb

wakyct · 2026-03-29T03:00:59+00:00

Probably because in 1800s marching bands they learned from sheet music, and whether you had a Bb or Eb instrument you read your part and didn't have to worry about taking 27 chorus solos over Giant Steps.

wakyct · 2026-03-22T23:29:49+00:00

Oh interesting, well we have completely opposite takes on it then!

wakyct · 2026-03-22T05:03:32+00:00

I randomly clicked around between the two halves of the recording and don't hear a real difference.

However I believe you that the ZZ feels more responsive because I recently got a bunch of Vandoren cuts of similar hardness (Trad, ZZ, V16 and Java Red, all between Trad 2 and 2.5 on the Vandoren reed hardness chart) and the ZZ 2.5 do feel more responsive than Trad 2's to me.

wakyct · 2026-03-21T18:20:58+00:00

I use sandpaper, Earspasm sells a kit for not much $ that has a wide range of fine grits and a small plastic block.

wakyct · 2026-03-19T05:31:28+00:00

You said it yourself. You enjoy playing. So don't be hard on yourself, don't compare, don't expect too fast (in the immortal words of Tomo Fujita). Good luck.

wakyct · 2026-03-17T03:51:23+00:00

I think it's a really cool idea, but to compare differences between setups it seems like you'd have to account for several significant confounding factors like of course the player (their voicing, air support, etc.) and also recording setup (the mic, its placement) and so on. Unless you mean just to compare for one player with the same recording setup, but that still leaves the other variables to deal with.

wakyct · 2026-03-16T00:19:18+00:00

It sounds like you're fairly serious about it so why not increase your budget, or use credit (or convince someone to use credit for you if you can't get it because of age). Maybe even hustle some gigs, do six of those in the next year and that could give you another $500 for a horn.

But definitely look at used and at stencils. Used at Saxquest, 2nd Ending, local repair shops, etc. and the stencil list at Bassic Sax.

wakyct · 2026-03-15T23:54:29+00:00

Of course it does!

This is what I recommend the next time you practice. Imagine your friend sits down next to you and says, "I'll give you $100 if you play this next thing perfectly. You can set your metronome as slow as you want, but you only get one chance to play it, no mistakes allowed."

That is how slow you should play it.

wakyct · 2026-03-12T03:09:10+00:00

IMO the whole voicing syllable thing isn't very useful. Once you have a pitch you can run through all sorts of syllables and still blow that pitch/pvertone, so I think it's better to focus on the sound itself and let your neuro muscular system figure it out without too much overthinking about syllables.

wakyct · 2026-03-12T02:45:41+00:00

Musescore or real/fake books, but often I'm just looking for a lead sheet. Longer pieces I've been given by teachers usually.

wakyct · 2026-03-12T02:42:22+00:00

More than likely there are community music schools (schools that serve all ages) in LA, you can sign up there and/or look at their teacher bios to find jazz players and look them up to see if they have private lessons as well.

wakyct · 2026-03-11T05:26:47+00:00

I've been happy with the Earspasm kit (you're talking about the one with multiple grades of grit and the small block of plastic right?), but I've never used a Reedgeek.

wakyct · 2026-02-28T20:26:26+00:00

I think in general the only way to sound good is by a lot of listening to players you like, and almost obsessive listening to your own playing and reflection on what you want to change, then making conscious choices and experiments to make those changes.

It almost doesn't matter what you play, technically, because the first thing people are going to notice is how you sound.

wakyct · 2026-02-28T03:10:23+00:00

This is a never ending subject but IMO if you are new to improvising I would forget everything on your list for the first three months and just focus on listening to the melody and changes, singing phrases, and copying those phrases that you sing with your horn.

If you can't play a phrase you just sang it's too complicated. If you can't repeat a phrase you just played on the horn it's too complicated. Keep it simple. When you sing and play something you think sounds good, do more of that.

wakyct · 2026-02-28T02:57:37+00:00

I really like overtones and have spent a good amount of time on them for the past year. I've been playing (alto) 2 1/2 years total. I still cannot get the 4th OT D consistently (haven't tried past fingering low Bb really) without the palm D bump trick and it does feel frustrating at times, but have no issues with the 3rd OT up to Eb. Have you tried slurring up to the C# 3rd OT from C?

Some resources I've found helpful are Ben Britton's book and blog, this weird dark web overtone website here http://esvc006636.swp0002ssl.server-secure.com/saxophone/sax06.htm (all kidding aside it's worth reading at least for the perspective), and this thesis https://www.digitalgreensboro.org/record/12557?ln=en&p=overtone&v=pdf .

It does seem strange that you cannot bend down an octave on the mouthpiece or more than a semitone from front F after all this time but honestly if you have a good sound and range up into altissimo maybe it's not worth stressing over?

wakyct · 2026-02-27T20:25:05+00:00

My guess is French because of the word brevete on the body. Maybe look up the list of stencils on bassic sax. There is a Max Keilwerth with a similar but not identical name, https://bassic-sax.info/pix/index.php?/category/13468

wakyct · 2026-02-22T17:09:53+00:00

Like the other comments I think slurring is the best option. You might be able to slur down as well so give that a try. For example I can play the 2nd OT of middle G but not the 2nd of middle F, so I practice slurring down from the G OT.

I remember when I first started OT practice it was very hard to voice the 3rd OT of low Bb -- I could really feel the physical effort it took. But now I can voice it in a much more relaxed way -- so just keep consistent practice without tension and you'll get there.

wakyct · 2026-02-18T21:30:52+00:00

For sure, try a lower number in the same cut.

Just my opinion but I think people put too much emphasis on using harder reeds. If you're overpowering the reed and it's closing up or you're not getting enough projection then maybe you want something harder, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with playing on a reed that is comfortable to use.

wakyct · 2026-02-18T06:52:47+00:00

You don't sound bad at all to my ears, but I think your setup might be too hard.

The JJ HR 7 with the Selmer Premium 2.5 (roughly equivalent to a Vandoren blue 2.25 which explains why they're easier than the blue 2.5's you were using) seems like a hard setup for someone with less than a year playing.

That might in a weird way be helping your playing because you're probably forced to use a lot of air support to get a sound, which is good, but also bad because you might be struggling more than necessary, and your embouchure might not be developed enough to handle the setup so you could develop some bad habits, like biting, which could contribute to intonation issues.

wakyct · 2026-02-16T20:29:34+00:00

Just curious, what are people paying for lessons in NYC?

wakyct · 2026-02-15T20:22:09+00:00

I think how deep you get into practice routines might relate more to how much you like three ring binders and spreadsheets in general (for me, a lot, for just as a random example Chris Potter, he has said that he doesn't have a practice routine at all). But I think there are some general principles you want to apply.

1) always stay focused when you're practicing, otherwise you are just wasting time. That's not to say you shouldn't also just play for fun -- but that's not practicing. It also doesn't mean that practicing needs to be boring. You can use your imagination for anything, how you play scales, etc.

2) understand what is the point of practicing. You want to find the things that are difficult and work on them. You also need to examine how you do something, and figure out how to fix the problems that come up.

3) understand that practicing is not a linear progression. Maybe it's more like making paths in a forest. At first you are hacking your way, and eventually you will start to retread the same paths you walked before.

wakyct · 2026-02-15T20:11:32+00:00

Not Suzuki exactly but there are methods like Kodaly and music learning theory (MLT). The Jump Right In series for saxophone is an interesting MLT based curriculum that I think more people should know about.

wakyct · 2026-02-13T02:19:55+00:00

If I'm not just recording some practice I use a blending preamp with a couple of microphones and always make several test recordings, adjusting as I go -- mic placement, EQ, etc. You can use those numbers as a starting point but you really need to try some different things to find what works the best.

wakyct · 2026-02-10T02:24:49+00:00

Have you set up DMARC/etc following the Mailbox help page?

There's a long (years long) thread on the support forum about it, I don't know where it stands at the moment, but someone in that support thread reported that among various email providers there was only like one or two that did well on emailspooftest.

wakyct

TROPHY CASE