I was sure to read the entire Berlioz Wiki before replying... just an aside incase there was something I was going to miss. On to the reply...
You would have done better to rent The Music Man; it's in a line from the show...
Ol' Hector had some pretty weird ideas, but his heart was in the right place. Ramble through his thoughts in the Dover Press version of his book on Orchestration (which happens to be the title as well), and you'll get a glimpse of how his mind worked (and get to read Richard Strauss's comments on it as well). Hector's suggestion that a section of three or four bass clarinets would add sonority to a symphonic orchestra shows a stunning disregard for the economics of the concert hall, even if his heart was in the right place.
First of all, my good man, I don't believe you understand my situation quite right.
Perhaps not. But, one goes with what one has to go on.
I AM studying with a college professor whose first name is "Dr." I am not, however, in a university program. I'm currently a stay at home dad in my mid 20's who got back into playing after a couple year hiatus, partially having to do with the kids. My rekindled love affair with music and saxophone brought me to get back into studying intently and trying to better my abilities. I don't currently have a college degree (have a year of engineering under my belt before I got bored and switched majors... took a sabbatical and got hit with a big dose of life).
That pins it down a bit more. Nothing wrong with loving music. However, there's a lot wrong with loving music to the extent that you plan to make a living at it, before you have the "chops" to make the grade. (More on this later)
I understand my situation and music, for about the first six months of this past year, was a release and a way for me to get away for a while.
Nothing wrong with this. Many get the same sort of fulfillment out of playing, at a wide variety of levels.
In the past 6 months, however, I've considered options in my life to further myself and my family. I had been considering joining the military in either intel or communications (one interesting, one with job opportunities post-mil), and then thought about merging the two paths. I started lessons with the intent of working back up to a level where I could audition for a military band. Yes, I know I'm not good enough for The President's Own or any of the Air Force bands, but with proper training, enough practice, and the determination, its possible. It may not be probable, but its possible.
A lot wrong with this, particularly if you have a family beyond yourself. You are trying to enter a field that is crammed with folks coming out of music schools (with "credentials" based more on paper than on ability, but paper's a hell of a lot more easy to review), this to enter a life that's hard on families at its best (deployments without family). (It's not as bad as it used to be, since musicians don't go through standard training any longer, even in the Marines.) Sure, if you do make the grade, you'll get a lot of practice and get paid for it for the duration of your hitch, but you will be playing a form of the lottery, one where even the best sometimes don't win the brass ring.
(I often tell of my days (literally) in an Army band during the tail end of the Vietnam era. I had just finished up the first four months of my time in our division's armored battalion (which was being redeployed), and I had the opportunity to land in the 4th Infantry Division band. I was actually transferred over (and had a clarinet sent over for me to use, this in advance of the actual event) before the mounting clues about the Cambodian "invasion" (supply dumps filling up in the base camp, the majority of the infantry battalions in the brigade in on stand-down) dawned on me. As the proud possessor of the then 11B military occupational specialty (infantry, ground pounder, cannon fodder, whatever), I could see the writing on the wall, and quick as a gun engineered a transfer to the divisional armored cavalry squadron. I then spent the remainder of my time in country sitting atop of my tank (despite the infantry MOS, all of my in country time had been spent in armored vehicles) alongside of Highway 19, watching the infantry folks being trucked off to the west. All of the infantry folks in the band got swept up and transferred to fill out the infantry units. So much for instrumental music.)
But, I digress. Even without the chance of ending up in a line unit, military life is still pretty disrupting. Some can adapt, some cannot. (I also did s few years in the local NG unit up north - a whole different set of circumstances there.) From what you have said earlier, I don't think that you and the military, even such a dilute military as is the United States Air Force, would be a good fit. I could be very wrong of course. But, the difference is that, if I am wrong, you still have to live through a minimum of four years of military life with all the disruptions and all. If I am right, then you've got a miserable experience in front of you.
Enough about the military, however. It's a choice that only you can make, and once made you are set for the next four years.
I understand that there are very few spots, and I don't know if any are open. I do know that there has just recently (past couple of weeks) been a call for musicians for the military, and I believe for the Army specifically. I know beyond the musical aspect of it there is also the physical aspect, which I am trying to work on as well.
All true enough, but the physical aspect is not what it used to be, so don't worry there.
If you look at some of the arguments/statements that Pete and Gandalfe have made, you will see why I have given strong consideration to the topic I have started. Pete stated that the keywork on anything made in the past 30 years is going to be "better" than my Conn. If you look at something from Gandalfe you'll see how he recommends becoming friend with a good tech if one is to play a vintage horn. I have a pretty good tech, he just did a lot of work to my horn, and it still has flaws and limitations compared to many modern horns.
All correct in the global sense. No question that these folks can steer you right there. However, this is a forest for the trees issue. A better horn is always out there somewhere. I'd kill for a Conn horn (one from the 1920's, mind you) with 1950's Selmer keywork and a reasonable thumb hook, all gold plated and in a non-stinky case. Given enough money, you can realize any dream.
But, the problem here is that you don't have that money, and despite your planning, don't have any certainty of getting it any time soon. That's a fact that's as true as it is unpleasant for me to say it to you. If you are good on your current Conn horn, then you are likely good enough as it is without a new horn (or even a new mouthpiece). Changing horses in midstream isn't likely to be the magic fix that you would like it to be. And, even if it is, again I have to say that you don't have the money or (currently) the prospects of getting it.
There's a nifty quote from (of all people) Hunter Thompson that applies here:
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
Following a dream is all well and good, as long as there are not thousands of people waiting for you to debase yourself for the sake of your art. Believe me, they are out there, and if you don't stay in a twenty year military career, you are going to find yourself in a "play for exposure, not for pay" nightmare somewhere down the road. You are an outsider now, when literally thousands of conservatory trained musicians are pounding the same pavements with those degrees, ready to take up low paying jobs in the field in front of you. Unless you are ready to play everything and anything, you will have limited opportunities to make a living, and even if you do you will be scrambling just to keep your (and your family's) heads above water. When all of this is considered, worrying about this or that sax is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Andrea Dora.
(I'll wait while you look that one up on Wikipedia...)
My teacher is classically trained, and teaches in the manner she knows and loves. In the classical repetoire there are not just notes in the altissimo register, there are passages. There are many players who wish for horns sans the F#3 key, but what it may a concession in with certain aspects of sound quality (possibly "perceived sound quality"), it makes up for in opening the door for in fingering options and accessability in the altissimo register. She played a MkVI for I believe over 40 years. I've played it, its amazing. It had no F#3 key and she was an opponent of the key for years. She had conceded to technology and went on a new horn search. She picked up a hummingbird collector's edition (hand picked out of every pro horn in stock @ WWBW last summer, pre-buyout) and hasn't put it down since. She's a convert. The addition of one key has opened up many doors and facilitated a smoother and more cohesive upper register.
Great - for her. Not so great for you, given your stated financial position and current prospects. Remember, the influence of the whole saxophone experience varies inversely with the distance from the bell of the instrument. The sax has less influence than the mouthpiece, the mouthpiece less than the reed, and the whole shebang less than the flesh and blood thing north of the mouthpiece.
I'm pretty fast on my Conn... I've known it for 11 years. I picked up the SX90R I've had and was immediately faster. From minute one. I've been going back and forth and back and forth, and I like both horns, but I still don't think the JK is an endgame horn for me.
Also, at the time I started the post I was waiting on my horn to get back from the shop and had been using a student model Vito. The repairs to my horn went over estimate by a decent amount of $$$, but my horn is an excellent example of what it is, and could command, in my estimation of current market value and condition of the horn, in the 2400-2500$ range. At the time I started this, a gentleman I had just sold a mouthpiece to (to fund the repairs) was selling a lightly used and recently set up (with brand new neck) Ref 54 for 2700$. He sold his Mk VI after he found a 6M locally that he fell in love with. We were in talks of doing a trade + cash, but my horn didn't get out of the shop in time and I believe SaxQuest bought it up off ebay.
At the time, I could have probably traded my horn + 200-500$ for a Ref 54, in similar excellent playing condition. I was a few weeks away from having that much cash and wasn't completely sold on the idea (but chomping at the bit, as you'd notice if you read the entire thread, if you haven't already). At the time, I wasn't talking about a 4000$ horn, I was talking about a 2700$ horn.
It's been my experience with horn sales in the second-hand arena that you seldom realize what you would like to get. I've sold off an entire set of Mark VI horns (soprano to baritone) and got enough to buy a pretty car and boost a down payment on a house, this at the behest of my wife at that time. These days, I don't have the wife, house, car or horns. I still don't think that I got fair value for the horns, even though three of the four were virtually new and the fourth (the baritone) was in almost new condition. Such is life.
But, I was able to steal (almost literally) another Mark VI tenor at salvage sale prices, and then parlay that purchase into a wonderful baritone, all of this due to my current (and last) wife. Since that time, I've added the others as needed (while never having given up my three main clarinets throughout it all).
Sometimes the magic works, but more often it doesn't and you end up selling hundreds short. Good luck with that, however it turns out.
The military gig is probably one of the best muscian gigs in the country, one of the toughest to get, and there will be stiff competition. I am interested in having the best possible gear going in to battle as possible. I understand that buying a reference 54 over a 6m-VIII isn't buying chops in a box, and its not buying a year of practice, but it could possibly be a slight edge.
Only that, and hardly worth the extra price considering your current situation.
I can say that if the Ref 54 would have been out in early 97 when I bought my horn, I would have bought one, but it wasn't. I also would have NEVER thought about the military right after high school. I'm older now, have a family, and am looking to provide for them. If I could do it doing something I love and could be passionate about, it would be even better.
There are very few in the world who have a career that they love as a passion and get paid well for it. The world is full of people who, hoping for such a career, spend their lives preparing for it at huge expense, neglecting every other approach, only to find out that there are few slots for professional actors, models, artists, musicians, authors and poets. While I wish the best for everyone so inclined, I am enough of a realist to not think that 1% of them will succeed.
When I was your age (says the old man, knocking the crumbs out of his pipe bowl) I knew a girl in collegiant -level theater in Saint Louis MO. She worked the St. Louis Repetory theater when I played there in the pit orchestras (damned good money, if somewhat seedy surroundings), and I even dated her for a few months during one production. (She played one of the whores in Threepenny Opera - nothing like seeing your current amorata dressed up in a corset under the lights to get your imagination going.)
This girl had everything. A voice like a songbird, with incredible range and expression. Stage presence that could only be called commanding. Legs down to there, and the rest of the goods to go with it, including a glorious mane of red hair. Acting ability, so much so that the rest of the cast paled by comparison. All in all, a stunning, talented, knock-'em-dead performer - sort of like The Mer, only with good looks in the bargain.
(You can check that one out in Wikipedia as well - go ahead, I'll still be here...)
I lost track of her (not The Mer, but rather my young lady friend) when I changed jobs with the government and spent a lot of time out of town, but I (and everyone else associated with her) truly believed that she was going places in theater. (One thing that I knew was that she was way too good for the likes of me.
She moved on to New York with high expectations and - poof - vanished from view. No one of us who knew her back in the day has ever seen hide nor hair of the girl since. (She doesn't even show up on that internet search engine that turns up everyone - only her mother up in central Illinois (who is long time dead at this point).)
What happened? Well, nobody (including her college drama instructors) knows for sure. Most likely she ended up marrying someone with money (she was a knockout, after all) and moving to Scarsdale NY and cocktail parties and parenthood. But, she never cracked the Broadway barrier, likely as not because there were already hundreds of Sutton Fosters already there, stacked up like so much cordwood, each and every one as cute and perky and talented as Connie, and only a limited number of slots in which to stuff them.
As for Connie, so too for you - and me, and everyone else in the "Gee it's fun to do this" fields. You can increase your chances through some avenues - willingness to play all types of music helps, playing rare instruments helps (baritone over soprano, alto or tenor, bassoon over clarinet and so on), getting "ins" with people in the business, and so forth. But, taking a flying leap as one of many tenor or alto players in the world, hoping to grab and retain a grip on a slender thread of a chance to make a go of it when you have a family to support isn't the percentage shot.
FWIW, when I started back taking lessons 3 months ago, my teacher (who came from a military family, was offered a spot in the top AF band out of either HS or U of Miami (undergrad), is married to a retired AF guy, had a sister in the military and has a nephew in Iraq right now) didn't think I had a shot, and was working to steer me in another direction while keeping me playing for fun. After my last lesson, we talked for a few hours (about many many things), and she thinks I should give it a shot. I also gathered that she put my level on that of a collegiate student. I think I have a few advantages (life experience, among others) over someone who may technically be a better player at the HS senior level (and there are plenty of those), but I thrive on competition, and 6 months of a military music school would allow me enough time to play "catch-up" in my areas of weakness (which I know and continually address).
All of this points to a crap shoot, like it or not. With a family and limited funds as part of the picture, I'd say skip the horn, use your current skills to impress them, and that way if you don't make the cut, you'll at least not be out of hard to come by cash. Remember, your teacher doesn't have the same stake in this that you do. Your failure (should it occur) will be no skin off of her back. So, go with the skills that you have (or work them up further) and save the money spent on the panacea of a new instrument.
BTW, I'm just an hour and a half from Nashville, know any session gigs there?
Nashville used to be death on horns (the Grand Ole Opry used to have an unspoken ban on them in any group that appeared there), but there are a few calls for them these days. Better you should get your mandolin chops up to speed, though, for Nashville work. Well, that and join the union...
BTW#2, I'm looking at a job interview soon which is not music related, but a sales gig with an opportunity to make a LOT more than a military musician would, but money isn't everything...
Well, now you're cookin' with gas. It was worth staying up to 2:30 AM to write this post, just to see this last bit at the end of your obviously heartfelt thoughts. My last piece of advice all along was to do just that. Great minds think (almost) alike!
Money ain't everything, but it can feed and clothe you and your family, and even provide the means to purchase that horn (or horns) of your dreams. Play as a sideline, get your fulfillment from that (plus make some really nice money on the side), and make everyone (yourself included) happy in the bargain.
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