WF New People Introductions
- Thread starter saxismyaxe
- Start date
Thanks for the welcome. 
...and lo, another man is initiated into the mysteries of the female mind...
Oh, nowhere near good enough to play with anyone yet! At least, I don't think so.
Preferences... anything that sounds good, really. I've a very eclectic taste in music and will listen to just about anything and I suppose that goes for playing too.
No doubt when I improve, I'll find my niche and my preferences of what to play - right now, if it sounds good and I think I can play it, that'll do me!
Nice signature.
(I once (before I got married) talked with a friend about that I was thinking of buying my one-and-only a ring but I didn't know the size, to which she replied "a ring cannot ever be too big.")
...and lo, another man is initiated into the mysteries of the female mind...
Oh, nowhere near good enough to play with anyone yet! At least, I don't think so.
Preferences... anything that sounds good, really. I've a very eclectic taste in music and will listen to just about anything and I suppose that goes for playing too.
No doubt when I improve, I'll find my niche and my preferences of what to play - right now, if it sounds good and I think I can play it, that'll do me!
I didn't even notice this thread was here!
Anywho, I'm Brian, a kid from New York who had just recently began clarinet last October. My only previous experience in music to this is quite a few years of playing percussion for the school band. However I took music theory this year which has helped a ton in clarinet; especially with scales! (I know all my Major and Minor scales, and most of my modes)
Anyways, it's nice to meet you guys!
Anywho, I'm Brian, a kid from New York who had just recently began clarinet last October. My only previous experience in music to this is quite a few years of playing percussion for the school band. However I took music theory this year which has helped a ton in clarinet; especially with scales! (I know all my Major and Minor scales, and most of my modes
)Anyways, it's nice to meet you guys!
Hi, everyone.
I'm in the process of returning to woodwinds after an absence of 30-odd years. :geezer2: I started on clarinet in 6th grade, added tenor sax and bass clarinet in fairly short order, and continued to play tenor sax for a couple of local gospel(-ish) bands throughout most of high school although various circumstances required me to withdraw from school band.
Somewhere along the line I discovered guitar, which derailed everything else for a while. I currently play guitar, electric bass, ukulele (yes, really), organ, and piano, as well as faking it reasonably well on mandolin and banjo. Recently I decided to pick up sax again, and am currently shopping for an alto that's both decent and affordable. I've found a local music store in West Palm Beach, FL that seems decent, and will probably wind up dealing with them.
At this point I have many more questions than answers, but after reading through a few threads on this message board I decided to go ahead and register anyway. I look forward to participating in this board, and hope that I can contribute to the occasional discussion here.
I'm in the process of returning to woodwinds after an absence of 30-odd years. :geezer2: I started on clarinet in 6th grade, added tenor sax and bass clarinet in fairly short order, and continued to play tenor sax for a couple of local gospel(-ish) bands throughout most of high school although various circumstances required me to withdraw from school band.
Somewhere along the line I discovered guitar, which derailed everything else for a while. I currently play guitar, electric bass, ukulele (yes, really), organ, and piano, as well as faking it reasonably well on mandolin and banjo. Recently I decided to pick up sax again, and am currently shopping for an alto that's both decent and affordable. I've found a local music store in West Palm Beach, FL that seems decent, and will probably wind up dealing with them.
At this point I have many more questions than answers, but after reading through a few threads on this message board I decided to go ahead and register anyway. I look forward to participating in this board, and hope that I can contribute to the occasional discussion here.
Welcome Jack. I send my returning musicians who don't prefer used instruments to Kessler Music. Many of these folks have played the Kessler Custom for years from Bari to alto. It's just too easy to buy a lessor instrument for more money.
Will you be taking lessons?
Will you be taking lessons?
Thanks, Gandalfe. Kessler are on my short list, and their Custom horns do seem to be a superb value. I might have to get rather creative with shipping methods if I go that route (can't get UPS/FedEx at my primary residence). However, it'll probably be a few weeks before I can feasibly whip out the MasterCard on this, so that gives me some temporal wiggle room for making delivery arrangements.
In the meantime at least I've got some books on the way, including Larry Teals Art of Saxophone Playing and Klose's 25 Daily Exercises, although the latter may be a little over my head for right now.
Access to regular instruction is tricky here. Unless I can find a teacher in Nassau who's available on Saturdays, I'll have to look for one in South Florida who can tolerate a student who can only make it in once every 3 or 4 weeks (presumably for a marathon session!). Fortunately, having some background in woodwinds and being fairly self-motivated might help mitigate my transportation and logistics issues to some extent. I'm all ears if anyone has any suggestions.
Or anyway, suggestions other than "forget it". I really don't see that as an option.
In the meantime at least I've got some books on the way, including Larry Teals Art of Saxophone Playing and Klose's 25 Daily Exercises, although the latter may be a little over my head for right now.
Access to regular instruction is tricky here. Unless I can find a teacher in Nassau who's available on Saturdays, I'll have to look for one in South Florida who can tolerate a student who can only make it in once every 3 or 4 weeks (presumably for a marathon session!). Fortunately, having some background in woodwinds and being fairly self-motivated might help mitigate my transportation and logistics issues to some extent. I'm all ears if anyone has any suggestions.
Or anyway, suggestions other than "forget it". I really don't see that as an option.
If I were you...
...I would not go the marathon route on lessons. The typical half hour session is good for instilling one or two principles, reviewing your progress over the inter-lesson period, and applying corrective measures.
Especially when restarting on an instrument, too much at once is - well - just too much.
And, don't be afraid to slow things down the first time through an exercise. Trying to play everything you encounter at mm = 160 is a sure route to frustration. Slow them down until you get to the point that your fingers can make the moves with facility. Once you reach that point, jack up the metronome three or four points and run them again.
...I would not go the marathon route on lessons. The typical half hour session is good for instilling one or two principles, reviewing your progress over the inter-lesson period, and applying corrective measures.
Especially when restarting on an instrument, too much at once is - well - just too much.
And, don't be afraid to slow things down the first time through an exercise. Trying to play everything you encounter at mm = 160 is a sure route to frustration. Slow them down until you get to the point that your fingers can make the moves with facility. Once you reach that point, jack up the metronome three or four points and run them again.
Greetings. I'm 50 y.o. work-at-home dad in Missoula, MT
Started on sax at age 8...quit after acquiring an electric guitar a few years later. Play all stringed instruments in all styles including classical and flamenco guitar (although I recently gave this up after some 35 years as I never practiced anymore, and I no longer enjoyed embarassing myself playing out in public with rusty chops); took up folk music--Irish, scandinavian, cajun and other American folk style fiddle; mandolins of all sizes; banjos of all styles (love that ragtime especially--on both 4 & 5 string); have played pedal steel, lap, saz, oud, and anything else I've come across (taking the David Lindley approach--whereby after guitar anything/everything with strings seems just a version of it...); some concertina (mostly anglo); diatonic button accordian (mostly two-row); some keys (reggae band); bass and drums. Was gigging quite a bit in several bands--mostly bass and drums. But, now that I'm old, I don't enjoy playing in clubs anymore. Maybe if I were single. Yes, definitely, if I were single....
And after some 40 years, I decided to blow on a sax again, and it's one of those things like riding a bicycle I guess--felt very natural. Formerly, everything I played on sax in school was scored; now, after 40 years of musicianship, everything is ear. What a blues instrument! This is extremely gratifying. It seems so natural--like singing.
Desiring to shed my nylon string guitars so I wouldn't be tempted to keep dabbling, I traded them for a Conn 10M. But since acquiring a nice little student wooden clarinet, I've really taken to that. I picked up a pristine Selmer series 9 bass at a pawn shop for an absurdly low price, and now all I do is listen to Mingus records.
I love High-life and music in the Kuti style. Love to play my bcl along to this. I want a bari sax...when I can find one, I'll throw the rest of my guitars and stuff at it...
Started on sax at age 8...quit after acquiring an electric guitar a few years later. Play all stringed instruments in all styles including classical and flamenco guitar (although I recently gave this up after some 35 years as I never practiced anymore, and I no longer enjoyed embarassing myself playing out in public with rusty chops); took up folk music--Irish, scandinavian, cajun and other American folk style fiddle; mandolins of all sizes; banjos of all styles (love that ragtime especially--on both 4 & 5 string); have played pedal steel, lap, saz, oud, and anything else I've come across (taking the David Lindley approach--whereby after guitar anything/everything with strings seems just a version of it...); some concertina (mostly anglo); diatonic button accordian (mostly two-row); some keys (reggae band); bass and drums. Was gigging quite a bit in several bands--mostly bass and drums. But, now that I'm old, I don't enjoy playing in clubs anymore. Maybe if I were single. Yes, definitely, if I were single....
And after some 40 years, I decided to blow on a sax again, and it's one of those things like riding a bicycle I guess--felt very natural. Formerly, everything I played on sax in school was scored; now, after 40 years of musicianship, everything is ear. What a blues instrument! This is extremely gratifying. It seems so natural--like singing.
Desiring to shed my nylon string guitars so I wouldn't be tempted to keep dabbling, I traded them for a Conn 10M. But since acquiring a nice little student wooden clarinet, I've really taken to that. I picked up a pristine Selmer series 9 bass at a pawn shop for an absurdly low price, and now all I do is listen to Mingus records.
I love High-life and music in the Kuti style. Love to play my bcl along to this. I want a bari sax...when I can find one, I'll throw the rest of my guitars and stuff at it...
Hello! Thanks for adding me!
I have loved music all of my life... I remember spending a lot of time at the local music lesson place between me and older sister. I began playing piano when I was about 9 or 10, though I gave up lessons after just about 4 years when I started high school. I begin playing the clarinet in 6th grade, and since our marching band schedule and my academic goals didn't always agree, something just had to go. I still have my (not recently) tuned piano, and play from time to time.
Now 16 years after high school, I am pulling out my clarinet again. I have played from time to time, usually at least a couple times a year. I've been struggling to achieve that work/life balance we all strive to find, and the other day I came home from work and the only thing I wanted to do was pull out my clarinet! As soon as I started playing, I felt every ounce of stress dissolve.
My husband surprised me with a clarinet overhaul last year for my birthday to get my clarinet back in working order, so it's ready for action!
I was always 1st chair in marching band, concert band, and pep band, and participated in All-County, All-District, and All-State concert bands. I also performed yearly in the Solo and Ensemble events, although to be honest, I really hated that! I prefer to be part of a bigger group, concert band was always my favorite, as the music was challenging and required the band members to work together to create the piece.
I was looking through some old folders today and found my senior year solo for the Solo and Ensemble. "Sonata in B Flat Major" by Johann Baptist Wanhal. I also found my score sheet - I received a 2 (1-5 scoring system, 1 being a "perfect" performance). It was interesting so see the judges comments on areas I needed to work on... those were trends for me, namely breath support for longer phrases, projection of sound, and dynamic phrasing. I suppose those will be key areas to focus on as i start back
So does anyone have any suggestions on how to get back into the groove? At best, now, I'm mediocre.... and I strive to reclaim my once awesome love for the clarinet. My action plan is to spend the next few months brushing up on technique and then join my local community band.
Hope to get to know everyone here!
I have loved music all of my life... I remember spending a lot of time at the local music lesson place between me and older sister. I began playing piano when I was about 9 or 10, though I gave up lessons after just about 4 years when I started high school. I begin playing the clarinet in 6th grade, and since our marching band schedule and my academic goals didn't always agree, something just had to go. I still have my (not recently) tuned piano, and play from time to time.
Now 16 years after high school, I am pulling out my clarinet again. I have played from time to time, usually at least a couple times a year. I've been struggling to achieve that work/life balance we all strive to find, and the other day I came home from work and the only thing I wanted to do was pull out my clarinet! As soon as I started playing, I felt every ounce of stress dissolve.
My husband surprised me with a clarinet overhaul last year for my birthday to get my clarinet back in working order, so it's ready for action!
I was always 1st chair in marching band, concert band, and pep band, and participated in All-County, All-District, and All-State concert bands. I also performed yearly in the Solo and Ensemble events, although to be honest, I really hated that! I prefer to be part of a bigger group, concert band was always my favorite, as the music was challenging and required the band members to work together to create the piece.
I was looking through some old folders today and found my senior year solo for the Solo and Ensemble. "Sonata in B Flat Major" by Johann Baptist Wanhal. I also found my score sheet - I received a 2 (1-5 scoring system, 1 being a "perfect" performance). It was interesting so see the judges comments on areas I needed to work on... those were trends for me, namely breath support for longer phrases, projection of sound, and dynamic phrasing. I suppose those will be key areas to focus on as i start back
So does anyone have any suggestions on how to get back into the groove? At best, now, I'm mediocre.... and I strive to reclaim my once awesome love for the clarinet. My action plan is to spend the next few months brushing up on technique and then join my local community band.
Hope to get to know everyone here!
Welcome Kris.
When I returned to music after a ~30 year break within a year I joined a community band. That's when I really started getting serious about fixing my weaker points in music performance. And it was a great way to network with like-minded musicians. You can read more about community bands here.
When I returned to music after a ~30 year break within a year I joined a community band. That's when I really started getting serious about fixing my weaker points in music performance. And it was a great way to network with like-minded musicians. You can read more about community bands here.
I seem to remember the comments on my last audition were something like, "Great tone. Needs to play faster. Work on sight-singing."I was looking through some old folders today and found my senior year solo for the Solo and Ensemble. "Sonata in B Flat Major" by Johann Baptist Wanhal. I also found my score sheet - I received a 2 (1-5 scoring system, 1 being a "perfect" performance). It was interesting so see the judges comments on areas I needed to work on... those were trends for me, namely breath support for longer phrases, projection of sound, and dynamic phrasing. I suppose those will be key areas to focus on as i start back
Hello -- a total wind newbie from soCal
Greetings to all from an absolute, utter, and untrammeled wind newbie. I quite literally haven't the damnedest clue what I'm doing, so it should be fun.
I've played piano since I was Very Wee Indeed, almost all classical, and currently play and write, and decently I think. I've been playing viola for a bit although as a beginner I'm of course quite bad at it. It was attractive to me to try a non-ET instrument and a portable one besides, and to me a viola is like a violin that sounds like the illegitimate love child of Steve Perry and Aretha Franklin, so who wouldn't love it?
However, I was also interested in an even more portable instrument that I could travel easily with and that wouldn't get me sniffed by bomb dogs and sent through the porno scanner at the airport (unlike the travel viola I just ordered), and where I might only have to moderately murder myself just to learn to get it not to moo at me. I heard a YouTube recording of a tenor recorder and liked the sound much better than the thing I played as a freshman in high school, and since I have big hands already, I figured I'd give it a go.
Well, it's only literally just come in the mail, and I have yet to put it together and give it a go. I have never before in my life played Sumpin Whut Gits Blowed Inta, so this should be interesting for me. Maybe not so much for my neighbors, who already suffer through my beginner string playing. It's a pity that the piano is the one I can actually play decently, but it's also the one that comes with headphones!
Anyhow, I love classical music of all eras, opera (especially Baroque), and stadium rock. I've done some work and am planning to do more on arranging my favorite Haendel arias for piano and solo instrument, mostly violin and viola. Maybe I can post the sheet for any wind instruments that can play in those ranges.
Anyhow, happy to be here and sorry for the long ramble. I have a whooooooooooooooooole lot to learn about this thing. I'm still sort of getting used to the idea of having to clean spit out of an instrument. Any recommendations on good tenor recorder method books will be gratefully accepted.
Greetings to all from an absolute, utter, and untrammeled wind newbie. I quite literally haven't the damnedest clue what I'm doing, so it should be fun.
I've played piano since I was Very Wee Indeed, almost all classical, and currently play and write, and decently I think. I've been playing viola for a bit although as a beginner I'm of course quite bad at it. It was attractive to me to try a non-ET instrument and a portable one besides, and to me a viola is like a violin that sounds like the illegitimate love child of Steve Perry and Aretha Franklin, so who wouldn't love it?
However, I was also interested in an even more portable instrument that I could travel easily with and that wouldn't get me sniffed by bomb dogs and sent through the porno scanner at the airport (unlike the travel viola I just ordered), and where I might only have to moderately murder myself just to learn to get it not to moo at me. I heard a YouTube recording of a tenor recorder and liked the sound much better than the thing I played as a freshman in high school, and since I have big hands already, I figured I'd give it a go.
Well, it's only literally just come in the mail, and I have yet to put it together and give it a go. I have never before in my life played Sumpin Whut Gits Blowed Inta, so this should be interesting for me. Maybe not so much for my neighbors, who already suffer through my beginner string playing. It's a pity that the piano is the one I can actually play decently, but it's also the one that comes with headphones!
Anyhow, I love classical music of all eras, opera (especially Baroque), and stadium rock. I've done some work and am planning to do more on arranging my favorite Haendel arias for piano and solo instrument, mostly violin and viola. Maybe I can post the sheet for any wind instruments that can play in those ranges.
Anyhow, happy to be here and sorry for the long ramble. I have a whooooooooooooooooole lot to learn about this thing. I'm still sort of getting used to the idea of having to clean spit out of an instrument.
Any recommendations on good tenor recorder method books will be gratefully accepted.Welcome and remember, it isn't spit; it's condensation.
Need a "LIKE" button here.....
Greetings
I've experimented with instruments most of my life. Portability was always something that appealed to me--partly I think because most of my gigging is with drums and doublebass, and I also have this image of busking for a living when either Yellowstone or the economy (or both) completely blow.. I always considered three instruments to be superior in this regard: fiddle and mandolin (carried together in a double-case); english concertina; flute...for their chromaticism and sonic potential in small packages. Well, I eventually gave up english concertina--even though I think it's one of the most elegant instruments--as I could never quite get on with the alternating hands fingering layout, so I still play a bit of anglo concertina (and button accordians). When I travel for leisure I always carry the fiddle/mando double-case. I sometimes carry a second bag with a concertina and a diatonic button accordian. Now, since recently returning to ww, I might pack a flute and cl together too.