Dang.... Now Dat's a Good Sign!

i started using my rico strength 3 reeds because the other 2 were damn stuffy soundin.. blew until i was out of breath and the tone was horrid. after switchin to those size 3 ricos, i felt dat i'd achieved a better tone than before and my embouchure had to get somewhat tighter but not too much anyway. i think my embouchure's too hard for the size 2 vandoren traditionals. rico 3s are like 2.5 vandoren trad. so it's like half strength up. and wat a diff a half strength makes! i could tell immediately because my muscles had to be firmer.

dat's a gd sign. it means the embouchure is maturing and gettin stronger, it's time to move up one step to achieve a nicer tone. soft reeds play easily but they dun give a better tone as compared to the harder ones. hard ones are of cos more difficult to play but they give a beautiful tone. i'm tryin to achieve a 2.5-3 vandoren trad strength kinda embouchure for jazz.

Zee Progress

am currently working out on producing a nice even and full tone on the sax. it's not easy at all. other musicians like guitar players, keyboards and such think dat we have a gd time on the sax. not true. in actual fact, we go thru hell to achieve dat kinda constantly gd sounding tone which you dun get by just one attempt. playin the sax aint like strummin a guitar. strum a C on the guitar, strum once, strum twice again and you'd probably get a nicer sounding C, the tone doesnt fluctuate. try soundin a C on the sax and see wat kinda shit you end up in with the intonation, tone colour, breathe support etc. you can sound so many ways playin a C and you'd sound crappy. playin the sax, you gotta worry about how good your sound is and whether or not u are in tune dat kinda thing and you can play note extremes with ease on say the piano and guitar, but try playin extreme low notes and extreme high notes on teh sax and you'd find it is damn tough to get those notes out! gettin them out is a fete in itself, gettin them at teh correct pitch is a whole new ball game!

woodwind players have it hard man.. playin the drums, i use to think dat the sax, flute, clarinet and other woodwinds etc were instruments for wimps. the reason being because i didnt like my school's symphonic band cos they sounded really fuckin bad durin rehearsals and durin show time, they sucked too. and i reckoned they were easy to play. ya know, just blow dats it. i just didnt have any respect for woodwind players.

but rite now, I AM a woodwind player! And i know exactly how bloody hard it is to play a woodwind instrument! gosh, within the woodwind family of saxophone, flute, piccolo, clarinet, bassoon and oboe, do you know dat the sax is one of the easiest to play?? gosh, i simply had no idea! the oboe is regarded as the hardest of all woodwinds to play because it's difficult throughout the whole register to play certain notes and sound NICE :) tough stuff man. so many factors affect and change the sound on a sax drastically; mouthpiece, neck material, ligature, reed, pad resonators, the person himself. i'll never look at woodwinds and criticize again :)

Thus Far...

anyway, it's gonna be one step at a time, i'm gonna get my sax technique straighten out first and master the stuff i can do on sax before i venture into flute and piccolo. i'd have to double on these someday anyway. those 2 instruments really trigger off some sorta arousal man i swear! they are beautiful sounding woodwinds!

i'm excited at the prospect dat i'm gonna be gettin a new mouthpiece very soon. the reason being a change of sound. classical players use diff mouthpieces from pop players which are again diff from jazz big band players etc etc. there are lots of factors involved in the production of a sound on the sax, and each saxophonist's sound is unique to himself. dat's why kenny g sounds different from david sanborn who sounds diff from teo boon chye who sounds different from me. it's such a personal instrument the sax. like fingerprints, there's just not one sax player who sounds exactly like another.

till date i've had 7 lessons spannin about 3 and a half weeks? and in dat short period, boy i've learnt a hell lot. from day 1, i didnt know anything about playin the sax at all. rite now, i know how to assemble and disassemble a sax, i knoe better how a sax's mechanism works, i know how to check for leaks, i know how to look out for a good tone, i can read music more than ever before, i can play a classical etude, i know and can play 8 major scales etc etc and i learn how to breathe properly, posture, EMBOUCHURE, my embouchure's grown so hard, i think i wun be kissin any gal in a long time cos my lips might just crush her! and so much more. it's incredible, 2 lessons, 3 hours per week , an average of 3-5 hours of practise a day make a hell lot of difference in the long run. i'm glad i started out on a right foot.

anyway, i know the future looks bright~ looks good. i cant wait for the 2 month holiday break. i can devote like 8-10 hours per day then practising.

Hero
HA! wat an appropriate song~ i kinda thought it was nice after not having listened to it in a long while. found out dat it is indeed really nice to play along with! lots of improvisation can be done~ i especially like this part of the bridge which goes: "Lord knows. Dreams are hard to follow. But don't let anyone tear them away..." how beautiful~


There's a hero, If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid, Of what you are
There's an answer, If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know, Will melt away

And then a hero comes along, With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside, And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone, Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth, That a hero lies in you

It's a long road, When you face the world alone
No one reaches out a hand, For you to hold
You can find love, If you search within yourself
And the emptiness you felt, Will disappear

And then a hero comes along, With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside, And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone, Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth, That a hero lies in you

Lord knows, Dreams are hard to follow
But don't let anyone, Tear them away, hey yeah
Hold on, There will be tomorrow
In time, You'll find the way

And then a hero comes along, With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside, And you know you can survive
So when you feel like hope is gone, Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth, That a hero lies in you