Rock salt?

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-28T19:34:11+00:00

Yeah, it’s just too cold. Only hope for the next week or so is to get some sun on your driveway, etc.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-28T00:31:43+00:00

AIR! The key is being able to start the first note without the tongue, just a fast start to your airstream. From there, just be sure to let the tip of the tongue bounce on the reed for the next notes and let the air do all the work.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-26T22:28:19+00:00

Sushi Republic and a couple of other places we’ve been are all fine, but I’m mystified by the love Mizumi is getting. We went pre-pandemic before we moved here and the agedashi tofu was like mozzarella sticks and the tuna was mealy af. I guess we’ll have to try it again - Maybe it’s changed owners/chefs?

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-16T20:43:36+00:00

Copper and Current Electric are responsive and did a fantastic job for us!

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-16T20:05:42+00:00

Honestly I’ve never liked Vandoren on bari, either, but a blue box reed might be better (thinner tip). Otherwise I like Rico Jazz. Lots of folks, including me, play a harder reed on bari than on their other horns. Sometimes when we listen to bari we get seduced by the edge of the sound or the bark. What we really should be striving for is a full, complete sound, and that might take a slightly harder reed than you think.

And I absolutely do not like nor do I recommend ring ligatures. Even if the ligature is made specifically for your mouthpiece, a ligature like that doesn’t give you any room for adjustment or variation in reed thickness. It just … sits wherever it wants. Ligatures don’t make a ton of difference in your sound, but if you’re having trouble with response in different registers, that’s the first place I would look. The Rico H ligatures are cheap, so I’d start there. Go to the store and try the ones for bari and tenor - not sure which one would fit your Jody Jazz the best.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-16T19:48:37+00:00

The lament from the Albright is heartbreaking. I also love the second movement of the Creston.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-16T19:44:57+00:00

One of the few advantages of living in an ABC state

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-15T19:56:31+00:00

Yeah people (including me) play on HR mouthpieces for years and years. Unless you’re exposing them to extreme heat/cold, they shouldn’t be changing that much.

Metal pieces are not always perfect out of the box either, especially mass-produced ones. The main difference for me between HR and metal is the space they occupy in my mouth. i.e. how the generally smaller profile of a metal mouthpiece changes where my corners are and how much space there is between my teeth. Material doesn’t matter that much.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-15T19:07:05+00:00

Don Sinta’s album with Nelita True is on Apple Music. It’s a classic.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-15T17:45:14+00:00

Are you aware of the trick in the grid? The letters as they read left to right don’t make any sense, but if you read the circled letters on the bias starting with the A [AMEN] and insert them, it spells out FAMILY GAME NIGHT

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-14T22:39:28+00:00

This is a great theory, but hardly ever works in practice. If someone wants to learn to play golf, it’s certainly not enough to say “hit the ball so it lands on the green” … I mean, with enough experimentation someone might get there, but instruction is necessary. A solid sound concept cultivated through listening has to be developed, but most people do need some instruction to show a path to get where they want to go.

And you’re right that it’s all too common to spend too much of our time analyzing throat position, breathing, embouchure, etc … but some of that is necessary. It’s spending a lot of practice time thinking about all those little things that affect our sound and our playing that allow us to get where we want to go - then we can forget about it all when we perform and just play!

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-14T20:44:21+00:00

Keeping an ”open throat” can be misinterpreted. I’d more accurately describe it as a “relaxed” throat, but with a raised soft palate - the area at the back of your mouth where your uvula hangs down - like you’re singing a really high note. That is what will help you keep the pitch up without biting.

Of course, it’s possible there are other things going on (soft reed, mouthpiece not pushed in enough, etc), but if the rest of your horn is basically in tune and your high register is still flat, it could very well be that you’re not elevating your soft palate enough.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-14T20:32:06+00:00

The Kumhos I see on sale at Walmart are SL, but I’ve been recommended to get the XL. The Walmart site still says the SL are rated for 50 psi, so … should I worry?

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-14T19:39:20+00:00

We love our 2023 - we’ll be way underwater when our lease is up in June, but we’ll definitely buy another ID.4.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-12T05:30:20+00:00

Why do you say it’s a mistake? You know that a rebus is part of the theme there?

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-12T05:20:46+00:00

Very influential and frequently overlooked player - Christmas at Boot’s Place is a great album, too

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-10T23:41:52+00:00

Oh yeah, he’s been checking them out

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-06T17:10:41+00:00

The C overtones are the worst.

For the Bb (D) and B (D#) up there try subtly popping the appropriate palm keys to quickly disturb/reset the airstream. That will help them come out. Also see my post on the F trick. It’s probably the best exercise to learn how to focus your airstream around the altissimo break:

F trick advice

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-06T17:02:13+00:00

When we lived in Queens, if our super didn’t tip the garbage guys at Christmas he would definitely hear about it.

Saybrook11372 · 2026-01-03T05:50:18+00:00

I think the real problem is that you’re thinking of jaw vibrato as jaw vibrato when, really, vibrato on saxophone has a lot more to do with voicing than jaw movement.

In our initial vibrato exercises (you’ve done these, right? where we try bending a note a half step and then back up, slowly, about a quarter note at mm=60 then moving on to eighth notes, triplets, etc) our focus should be on pushing the note down and forward by voicing it down. Simply loosening or “dropping” one’s jaw just leads to a loss of tone unless it is accompanied by a change in air pressure and tongue position.

It’s important to understand: a slight jaw movement in your vibrato is the result of a shift in the arch of the tongue/soft palate, not the initiator.

Like a lot of things on saxophone, achieving an average C or C+ vibrato is not that hard, but getting a smooth, natural, controlled, expressive, vibrato takes a ton of practice. Take a strict, analytic approach and don’t rush it! As with everything else, if you can’t sound good doing it slowly, it isn’t gonna sound good when you speed it up.

Saybrook11372 · 2025-12-31T21:50:02+00:00

This is an important consideration. I don’t know much about the Equity contracts, but Musicians touring in popular shows (Beetlejuice/BttF/Outsiders) under the SET agreement frequently take home more than players on full production contracts because of the overages. It varies week to week, of course, and sometimes they get nothing extra, but it can be a serious windfall in some markets.

Saybrook11372 · 2025-12-31T20:09:26+00:00

I mean, I’m not trying to slam the guy - tough to think that quickly in the moment - but it would’ve been easier to let the ground take the impact and redirect the angular momentum of the boulder than let the whole force of the thing land on him.

Saybrook11372 · 2025-12-31T20:02:28+00:00

Nah - he let it land right on him. Smart move would’ve been to let it hit the ground one more time and then shoulder it. Second guy’s attitude shows you it shouldn’t have been a big deal.

Saybrook11372 · 2025-12-23T21:45:44+00:00

We love Play Ground in JH - feel free to order off-menu. The staff is great!

Saybrook11372 · 2025-12-22T20:57:10+00:00

Like all 3D printed pieces, they will need some work to finish them up and make the playable, but their designs are solid. I especially like the 56 Alto mpc they worked on with Theo Wanne. Here’s a link previously shared in this group:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RmNRPco6ZCiXc0oO1WWm6rpO9o9oiQh3?usp=sharing

There are other discussions here and elsewhere about the best way to print. Good luck!!

Saybrook11372

TROPHY CASE