Need some help ...

Willow11

Willow11

Okay, so I am new to this website and am still learning my way around. However, the reason for my post is I have recently started playing again after several years and I feel like a lost kid. I thought playing my sax (which I did for almost 10 years through school & college) would be something I would never forget ...

So, any suggestions ... music, tips, tricks, new stuff, etc. I am all ears :)
 
Willow11 said:
Okay, so I am new to this website and am still learning my way around. However, the reason for my post is I have recently started playing again after several years and I feel like a lost kid. I thought playing my sax (which I did for almost 10 years through school & college) would be something I would never forget ...

So, any suggestions ... music, tips, tricks, new stuff, etc. I am all ears :)
Click to expand...

If you don't have a copy of "The Art of Saxophone Playing" by Larry Teal ($10.77 Amazon.com) it is a great reference for serious saxophonists.

I would also highly recommend Smart Music. http://www.smartmusic.com/

John
 
Thank you for the suggestions. I have been struggling, not only with relearning everything but with my confidence. These sites and suggestions are proving very helpful.

I have also really enjoyed this site and glad I found it. Hope to talk again soon :)
Bre
 
Start with the suggestions below. Both are excellent.

If you are into jazz, I highly recommend the Aebersold play-a-longs. They are fun, and anything to increase your practice time is a good thing in my book. If you are new to jazz and Aebersold, Maiden Voyage is the first book I'd recommend.

Once you build up your lip, gain confidence, and tune your instrument, you can start figuring out what ensemble to play with. Community bands, quartets, and the like will do more to help you become a musician than anything.

At some point, you will need help to raise to the next level of playing. That would be the time to start looking for an instructor. Tips on altissimo, effects like growling, refining your jazz articulation, etc. are a lot easier with the right instructor.
 
Thanks for the jazz suggestions. I use to play a little in the jazz ensembles; however, most of my playing was in high school and college concert, marching and symphonic bands.

When I left college and joined the AF, I stopped playing. It's been about 10 years and have recently returned to college to finish my degrees and decided to take a music (symphonic band) class for fun. I've just been frustrated with it, I use to be one of the best in the state in the college district and I thought it would be something I would never forget.

But, this site has been a huge help (something I did not have back then) with the suggestions and threads to read. Some of the technology and stuff has changed so much, I feel really old school when I talk to current players about almost anything, it's kind of funny actually.

I do know now that I will never stop playing again, I literally feel like a complete beginner... I even forget some of the fingering - LOL. But I will definitely try some of your suggestions, I look forward to as many as I can get :)

Thanks
 
Been there, 'cept my break was ~28 years. Now seven years later, I take two lessons a week, run the Microsoft Jazz Band and other groups. :cool:

There are more than a few professional players and some seriously good instructors on this forum. Take your time making your way through the material collected here. And feel free to continue to ask questions. Enjoy.
 
I'm loving the link ... You guys sound great! 27 years though, I thought my leave of absence was long :) Well, you inspire me to know that I can regain all my talent and confidence...

I've been thinking of some lessons too, just to get me back up to where I was at least. It's just a matter of finding someone in the area, that's I work well with and that is affordable. But I've been looking! This semester starting up in January will be my first time back playing with a group of people since I stopped playing, so we'll see how that goes :)
 
go to the local universities saxophone professor and ask him about any of his grad students or current music ed students in the sax studio. They need experience, you need a cheap teacher, win win. They can help you at least get to a good high school level, then you can decide to move up with a different teacher or just keep playing. Skype lessons with Steve Neff may be anothe roption.
http://www.neffmusic.com/component/option,com_xmap/Itemid,40/sitemap,1/
so cool thing there is you can download the videos, watch em as many times as you want, and if you need an in person lesson you can skype with Steve. Pretty spiffy. Allows you to work on your own schedule without having to pay for lessons if you have to cancel, etc etc
 
saxplayer1004 said:
..Skype lessons with Steve Neff may be anothe roption.
http://www.neffmusic.com/component/option,com_xmap/Itemid,40/sitemap,1/
so cool thing there is you can download the videos, watch em as many times as you want, and if you need an in person lesson you can skype with Steve. Pretty spiffy. Allows you to work on your own schedule without having to pay for lessons if you have to cancel, etc etc
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Greg Fishman and Tim Price do skype lessons too. I hear they are excellent.
 
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Figured Tim may be a hair out of his league atm *no offense bud, but he's in a league of his own. Nice thing with Steve's stuff is you can download and rewatch the specific lessons you need to do, and at $10 a pop for most of em, it's hard to beat
 
They're prerecorded lessons. So no actual individual help, but it works real well if you do an initial consult with him so establish your playing, do 5 ish lessons that he recommends then come back and see the progress via live skype lesson. Obviously works better with self motivated adults, and only up to a certain point. I've got a few to help with improv. I play semi professionally, and having a set video like that to kind of point me in the right direction was extremely helpful, and I've had some students that couldn't commit to a set schedule every week, so they'd get one lesson a month from me and supplement it with those from him.
 
Gandalfe said:
Greg Fishman and Tim Price do skype lessons too. I hear they are excellent.
Click to expand...

Thanks for these suggestions, I just checked out the Neff music site that was posted, as well as looked up the two names above - I never even though about lessons through something like skype. That is amazing, we definitely didn't have that when I stopped playing :)

I like the idea of the site too, that you can play and practice and then if you need personalized help, you can get it through skype. That is great.
 
Welcome back to the sax! Even though it will be frustrating at first, it will be worth it once you get through that initial relearning phase. :eek:)

I'm sure you find lots of great suggestions, so I'll add just one more.

If you are interested in getting back to the jazz idiom, pick up Jim Snidero's Beginner Jazz Conception. (You mentioned that you were still getting back with the fingerings). Eb is Yellow, Bb is red.

What makes this book great is it has 10-15 jazz etudes based on standards that has a play-a-long. 1/2 the CD is Sax + Rhythm section, the other 1/2 is just rhythm section.

This type of book has made a huge difference for me because it allows you to play along with someone so you can work on matching their sound, pitch, articulation and phrasing.

I just recently found a classical book by H. Voxman that does a similar thing with piano accompaniment. (I have it for flute and clarinet but I'm sure there must be a saxophone version).

Best wishes and keep at at!! :eek:)
 
Thanks for the additional suggestions. It's definitely been a world wind lately since I started playing again... I just hope that I continue to pick it back up quickly :)

Thank you for thoughts and suggestions, all of the help/guidance I've received from this site already has been really great!
 
I agree! It has been great playing again, I forgot how much I missed it :) And you're also right in the half the battle being figuring out where to go from here. I use to play in small jazz bands and quartets and what not, so I may try something like that again after this first semester back in an actual music class.

But we'll see where it leads me, I'm looking forward to the journey :)
 
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