Shaker Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Bilbo Sadly fremiester and dlloyd are absolutely right, but there is light at the end of the tunnel...and it can come quite quickly...the light that is. I started on Alto and moved to Soprano a year or so later, inspired by Jan Garbarek, and here is what I learned. You play another instrument already, so the main 'problems' you need to solve are the physical ones...blowing, fingering and living with reeds, ligs and mouthpieces. You already know how music fits together, and reading and (hopefully) taste. 20 minutes a day every day (and twice on Sundays) for 6 months, and playing long tones (this is really important) will get you a long way forward, quite quickly...I'm not sure you can do it faster as your embouchere is the limiting factor. For this the smile/kiss exercise works well...alternate between each, holding them for 5 seconds each (but not in traffic!)...really gets the face muscles right. Finally, buy a good mouthpiece and canvas lig...it can make a cheap horn OK and a good horn great. I would liken it to the difference between a cheap tranny amp (from the 1970's) and a quality valve amp..the former constipated, unreliable and crap, the other warm, expansive and effortless. So, you might say, this is great advice Shaker, but you haven't explained why I can't take this excellent advice and apply it straight to the Soprano. That is a good question, and you could. However, an Alto is much more forgiving, especially on intonation, and you will learn the required mouth control with a greater margin for error...and the level of mouth control is much finer with the Sop. See it as drawing with pencils, then moving to pen and ink. A finally, you never regret buying a Yamaha:) Shaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Yeah - spotted the Yamaha thing already I am looking at options as we speak and can see the sense in the alto route. I am thinking I will go that route because the advice is pretty universal. I will have to fight my inate mistrust of deferred gratification to the end but more haste less speed woudl have solved me a lot of probelms in the past had I heeded its wisdon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaker Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Bilbo I would like to be in a band called 'Inate Mistrust of Deferred Gratification'..I see it as fusion of Jazz, Prog Rock and Beer. Good luck with the horn:) Shaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk[/url] Mornington Lockett playing My One and Only Love on a P Mauriat Soprano Saxophone. Absolutely beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 [quote name='spike' timestamp='1332433619' post='1588354'] This is the one you need Bilbo, very reasonably priced too [url="http://www.sax.co.uk/acatalog/Selmer-Series-III-Soprano--125th-Anniversary---Solid-Sterling-Silver-226135846.html"]http://www.sax.co.uk...-226135846.html[/url] [/quote] For £6k I'd have thought they'd have includes a case at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 One of these is on its way; it'll get me started without wasting vast sums of money [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGi-_zLfwjw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGi-_zLfwjw[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1333976035' post='1608968'] One of these is on its way; it'll get me started without wasting vast sums of money [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGi-_zLfwjw[/media] [/quote] Nice one Bilbo, enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 I intend to. I am not playing this seriously but to get out of the bass/guitar space I have been in for 31 years..... just to get some new perspectives!! Oh and its light to carry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Should've got a clarinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah thomas Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Good for you. My son started playing a soprano sax when he was seven. By the time people were telling him that it was a very difficult instrument to master he was already blasting out some pretty good sounds and found it easy to ignore the naysayers. He played it for four years before the piano and then the guitar stole his attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 I can now play half an octave of chromatics.....I SOOOOO suck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1334606820' post='1618533'] ....I SOOOOO suck!!! [/quote] I think that may be your problem...you're supposed to blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 I took my soprano to a gig last night (not to play but to show it to my sax player (who has a £4K Mk VI Selmer). He was really impressed with my Thomann and, when I told him the price, was astonished. He says it plays really evenly and in tune across the full range and only starts to struggle in the absolute highest register. He sounded marvellous on it (unlike me, who still sounds like a duck on heat). If ever I got good enough to play like that, I could still do it on my bargain basement starter instrument. Nice to know that you can still get on board even if you can't afford big money for professional instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hector Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1333307083' post='1599867'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk[/media] Mornington Lockett playing My One and Only Love on a P Mauriat Soprano Saxophone. Absolutely beautiful. [/quote] Niiiiiice. I'm playing a gig with Mornington in a month (14 June) - looking forward to it! Good call with the sop Bilbo. I'd love to take up another instrument, but I've only just got enough time to keep my chops up and work competently on one at the moment..... Edited May 20, 2012 by Hector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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