A New Tune A Day - Book 2

Started on "Book 2 : A New Tune A Day".

When I began Book 1, I flipped through the pages up until the end to get a glimpse of what to expect. I thought to myself, "This is soooo hard". Surprisingly, after 4 months of work it wasn't so hard after all.

But then looking at Book 2, I'm thinking to myself "This is sooo hard"...

Saxophone MIDI Controllers

Below are some of the more popular 'synthesised' or 'electric' versions of a saxophone.

Since there are electric guitars, electric violin, electric piano, I'd suppose an electric saxophone shouldn't cause too much concern.

Yamaha WX5

Akai EWI USB

Akai EWI 4000s

Broken mouthpiece

I was tightening the ligature (circular piece that holds the reed onto the mouthpiece) to start my eagerly-awaited Book 2 practice session; venturing into semi-quavers; when my unfortunate fingers slipped and dropped the mouthpiece onto the floor. It made a small chip on the corner edge, enough to decommission my piece into the bin.

Checked with my tutor whether it was necessary to try another brand/type, but he recommended to maintain use of a Yamaha alto saxophone 4C. It'll cost me RM100 to replace.

Here are the 'casualty' photos;

T-Square

The video above is a performance by Mr Takeshi Ito (of T-Square group) doing a heart-felt rendition of 'Forgotten Saga' piece. When I first heard this, it was truly an amazingly written piece and perfectly performed. And because it was in a grainy, nostalgic, monochrome (meaning black & white) video, the only 'colours' heard were his music.

"T-Square" is a 30 year old band (since 1978!!!) from Japan, comprising talented musicians in drums, piano, guitar and saxophone. Though their group has had changes in its members (and group name) over the past few decades, they've still remained popular till today. Read about it from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Square_(band)

Now I've to go find their album.

New reeds

When old reeds has served its purpose and begin to sound squeaky (for me it'll be in 1-2 months, depending on frequency of practice), I reach for a new one. This is for me to find out if I sound bad, or perhaps its just the reeds need replacing. Playing with bad reeds is demotivating as you'll doubt your ability.

However, new reeds need to be 'broken into' first before they sound well. Because they're new, its structure is still a little 'stiff', so to warm them up I do a few long notes then a few staccato. Probably best to leave it soaking in a spoon (I use a chinese soup spoon) a little longer than usual.

Currently am using a basic Rico #2. Will upgrade to a better range/brand a little further on. So far #2 hardness still works ok for me.

I do have a Rico Plasticover #2 to alternately play it once a while. Although, they're more suited for outdoor/band use because of their 'louder' nature.