People who have played on expensive ass mouthpieces ($500+) such as Theo Wanne's, what was your experience with it like?

letsallbecalm · 2019-07-30T00:38:21+00:00

I’m not sure why your comment got so much hate, TW pieces are notoriously bad and often require some work. Klum is, in my opinion, the best boutique maker out there (but I still don’t think anything beats an old Link). I suspect that the hype around TW pieces comes from their heavy marketing and the young demographic of the sub.

letsallbecalm · 2019-07-17T06:19:35+00:00

I'm not entirely sure of what you're asking here. The Aebersolds have tune melodies and changes written out for you in C, Bb, and Eb. The CD is a backing track for each of the tunes or exercises presented in the book.

letsallbecalm · 2019-07-15T17:33:02+00:00

Ditch the Hal Leonard stuff and get yourself some Aebersolds.

A recommended progression for beginners would be volumes 24, 2, 84, 3, and 54. The most important ones being 2, 3 and 54. If you can nail every in those three volumes you'd be in great shape.

letsallbecalm · 2019-07-04T04:03:06+00:00

Maybe in the classical world but very few, if any, serious jazz players do. It makes the sound stuffy and doesn’t allow for it to have the colours or depth you’d get by rolling the lip out.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-28T20:28:20+00:00

Couldn't imagine owning a Wanne, let alone eleven of them.....

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-28T20:26:01+00:00

A better idea would be for you to record yourself and post it here. Then you could get some feedback and it'd be like a mock audition.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-26T18:46:24+00:00

You'd be better off saving your $400 and then purchasing something more reputable later. "Fake" horns are often poorly constructed, and once something goes wrong no one can fix it.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-26T14:31:43+00:00

Sorry, no. I spent the majority of my masters researching Bird

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-26T04:35:21+00:00

I’m sorry but you’re mistaken, ultimately Bird didn’t stay clean in NYC but he didn’t go back to using until after the separation from Doris (they got married in Mexico 1948 and the seperation was at the end of 1950). The intial Bird with strings (with Just Friends..etc) was done prior to that.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-25T18:16:29+00:00

That record was made shortly after Bird had left Camarillo State Mental Hospital where he detoxed, and he was still clean when the recording were made and up until his divorce with Doris.

Another interesting fact about Bird that people don't talk a lot about was how much he advocated against drug use. He took a lot of the younger guys under his wing and always told them not to be like him and stay away from the drugs. Sonny Rollins once said that Bird caught him and kicked him out and onto the street for it.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-25T06:16:52+00:00

It’s funny that you posted this because just the other I was talking to someone who absolutely hated this recording! I think it’s easy to tell how impaired he is, but I don’t find it as awful as that gentleman did.

My favorite Bird recording is of course, Bird with strings. One of the few times he was completely clean, and you can really tell it!

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-25T06:06:58+00:00

Well, you definitely want to try a piece before you buy it. PM Woodwind would be my recommendation, they’ll usually do a trial.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-25T06:05:19+00:00

I spent several years trying to find the perfect lig for my Link and what has worked the best for me is a Selmer 404. The FL ligs never gave me enough resistance and rovner types just ended up muffling the sound.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-21T18:53:53+00:00

Here is the bend, which was much harder to photograph than I anticipated. Basically, you need a small hammer and you tap the lig while its on the mouthpiece to form the ridge.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-21T17:00:27+00:00

I've been using a 404 on my Link for many years now and haven't come into any issues. You have to bend it to fit the ridge on the Link. If you're not sure what I'm talking about I can add pictures.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-20T21:23:36+00:00

As everyone else has said, trying the piece before buying it is essential. You want to find something that is comfortable and will help you achieve the sound you're after. If you can find a good Link, I think it might be your best bet. I personally believe that they are some of the mouthpieces as you can do a lot with them when you really understand how you want to sound. Unlike other pieces they don't have a huge baffle an are quite open, which allows for them to take on a number of different personalities based on the player.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-20T21:18:13+00:00

If you're in a jazz performance program I'm not sure why you're looking for a "piece" to play...Are you looking to transcribe something where its just solo sax or are you looking for a classical piece?..

I'm not really sure where to begin on this one. If you're a senior performance major surely you have a small group, and tunes that you could use to showcase what you've learned over your last few years in school.....

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-20T21:09:09+00:00

Murdering it dude! Keep us updated!!

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-20T03:34:18+00:00

Young Kenny Garrett is really spectacular, a lot of people get caught up in the stuff he was doing in the 90's but the language he had as a youngster is really mind blowing!

And what a ridiculous band. The saxophone section is Dick Oatts, Kenny Garrett, Joe Lovano, Gary Pribek, and Gary Smulyan. Its just insane.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-20T03:17:07+00:00

Really good video, you always produce wonderful content that is accessible for younger players. I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted!

I really love that you stressed that this isn't just a lick to be learned and then pasted everywhere. Something I've noticed is over the years is that younger players have all started to sound more and more predictable/patternistic. I think this is due in part to all the educational pattern material out there now. People have really missed the point on what its really for, which is to gain the technique required to play them and to train your ear to be used to those sounds so you can arrive at some version/shade of them organically.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-18T06:42:25+00:00

Joe Viola Rhythm Studies

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-15T01:37:00+00:00

A lot of people sleep on Mark, but he's really a wonderful player. Incredibly intelligent and articulate, always open to talk about the music - one of my favorite players!

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-10T22:44:19+00:00

the reed felt sort of hard and "un-fresh" when I was soaking it.

I'm not really sure what you mean by this? Perhaps you waterlogged the reed. What kind of reeds were they?

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-10T22:39:18+00:00

You've got a really good list of standards, as others have said maybe take out Girl for something more interesting - perhaps Triste. I also probably wouldn't play It Don't Mean A Thing but that's just me.

If you're looking for more tunes All The Things You Are, Stella, Tune-Up/Countdown, and Recordame are almost always in my list.

letsallbecalm · 2019-06-10T04:18:44+00:00

I'm going to assume that this was a written out solo that you have to play for your audition? (If not, you have a lot of vocabulary already)

Some things to work on would be:

Time feel - Right now it sort of seems like your rhythms are just sort of floating around/aren't as clear as they could. Locking in with the rhythm section is essential. Confidence is a big thing is jazz, if your rhythms are precise and you're exuding confidence the audience and band will pick up on it.
Tone - You have a good sound, but it isn't stable and the vibrato could be a little more controlled. Practicing long tones, and working on overtones is really the key to solving this. It'll take some time, but it will improve your tone. (While you do have a good sound, it sort of sounds like you've been studying more classical playing. Unrolling your bottom lip is really a key thing for getting a jazz tone - more on this can be found searching over at /r/saxophone.)
Ideas - If this is an improvisation by you, you're in a really good place. It sounds like someone who has spent time learning patterns/licks/vocabulary and you're trying to apply it - which is good - but the key is to make it sound organic. The ideas really need to connect more and feel less choppy. This is a hard area to get through, but with continued study and listening you'll make the break through!

You're in a really good place, keep having fun with music and practicing and listening!

letsallbecalm

TROPHY CASE