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by ericdano

Making Reeds

September 2, 2007 in Articles

Ok, are you sitting. Yes? Ok. I play oboe.

Take a deep breath

It’s not as bad as everyone says. In fact, it is a beautiful instrument, and great classical works composed for it. The only issue I have with playing Oboe is reeds.

Right now, I’m using reeds made by the Alan Double Reed company. I really like the Medium Hard Concert reeds they make. But, to truly know the instrument, I decided this summer to learn how to make an oboe reed. I purchased a reed making kit that included some gouged and shaped cane. I also was armed with a copy of “The Art Of Oboe Playing” which has a great guide to reed making guide.

Long story short, I still don’t know how to make an oboe reed. I have yet to make it past the binding the reed to the staple part. Erg. If/When I get past that, then we come into the whole scraping/shaping thing. Maybe I need a good video of the whole process….

Single reed players have it good, but, are there any people out there that actually make their own saxophone reeds? I know that I have, in the past, shaved and trimmed some reeds to make them play better. But to construct a playable reed from a blank? Is it worth it?

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Saxophone Necks?

July 31, 2007 in Articles

hammertime829 writes “I was wondering if anybody could tell me if getting a new neck for a saxophone makes a big difference in the sound or intonation?”

Great question. Anybody? I know a guy who plays a Selmer Mark VI with a Yamaha neck………works for him, so he says.

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by ericdano

Michael Brecker dies at age 57

January 13, 2007 in News

Sadly, this time around it is true. I had seen a couple of emails in various lists I subscribe to this morning, but someone finally gave me a link to the a news site that has the details.

"Michael Brecker, a versatile and highly influential tenor saxophonist who won 11 Grammys over a career that spanned more than three decades, died Saturday at age 57.

Brecker died in a hospital in New York City of leukemia, according to his longtime friend and manager, Darryl Pitt. "

Truly, a great loss for jazz and the saxophone. Michael was a genius.

I remember first seeing him in the late 80s at the Shoreline Jazz festival. I had gone to see the group Spyro Gyra cause I thought they were great (hey, I was a high school noob). I was totally wrong. The Michael Brecker band, of which I knew nothing, was playing during the day, and I was amazed. He did his thing with the EWI where he would walk on stage, and play around with it for 15 minutes. Amazing stuff. I don’t remember staying for more than 3 Spryo Grya songs after hearing Brecker.

Soon after I heard him on Michael Frank’s song Dr. Sax. Wow! I was hooked. I got to meet him when he was the guest artist at my College. We talked about tech gadgets (Something about Palm Pilots and Maps as I remember). He was funny. During rehearsals, he was messing up (jet lag), and he’d make this face when he did it. I was laughing to whole time.

It’s a sad day.

Update: 01/14 19:28 GMT by E :The New York Times has a nice article about him today.

Update: 01/15 00:48 GMT by E :The Michael Brecker site now has word of his passing. :-(

Update: 01/15 07:18 GMT by E :Someone posted a video on Youtube as a tribute. Nice montage. And of course, my favorite Steps Ahead song, Self Portrait

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by ericdano

Around The Horn Backgrounds Part III

December 14, 2005 in Sheet Music

Final batch of backgrounds for Walt Weiskopf’s book Around the Horn. They were encoded using AAC compression supported by iTunes and Quicktime.

They are zipped for easier downloading. Enjoy!

Band in a Box files for all these.

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Around The Horn Backgrounds Part II

December 2, 2005 in Sheet Music

More backgrounds for Walt Weiskopf’s book Around the Horn. They were encoded using AAC compression supported by iTunes and Quicktime.

They are zipped for easier downloading. Enjoy!

Band in a Box files for all these.

More to come!

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by ericdano

Around The Horn Backgrounds Part I

November 28, 2005 in Sheet Music

Four years ago, I did some backgrounds for the Etudes found in Walt Weiskopf’s book Around the Horn. Well, technology has changed. The original backgrounds were done with Band-In-A-Box version 11 for PC , exported to Midi, and then rendered using a variety of sound modules.

Fast-forward four years, these backgrounds were done using Band-In-A-Box 2005, and Roland’s Super Quartet. These were rendered in seconds using DXi. They were encoded using AAC compression supported by iTunes and Quicktime. They are zipped for easier downloading. Enjoy!

Band in a Box files for all these.

More to come!

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by ericdano

Oodles Of Saxophones

September 22, 2005 in Articles

I just received the latest Woodwind/Brasswind catalog. Have you seen the number of companies that make saxophones. Here is the list (in no particular order):

  • BandNow
  • Barrington (advertised heavily in the catalog)
  • Yamaha
  • Amati
  • C.F. Conn
  • Keilwerth
  • Blessing
  • Allora
  • Selmer
  • LA Sax
  • Jupiter
  • Chicago Jazz Series (LA Sax?)
  • Woodwind Brand
  • Yanagisawa
  • Unison (not in the catalog though)
  • Buescher (not in the catalog)
  • Selmer USA (not in the catalog)

Whew. And then there are different models from these guys. Selmer has at least 9 different alto saxophone models. Wow. Is there really a market for all these brands? Are any of them to be avoided? Did I forget any?

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Selmer Or Yamaha?

January 8, 2005 in Articles

jazzboy writes “So which one is the best Selmer or Yamaha? I have played sax for around 1 year and a half. 2 months ago I got a Yamaha yts-575 allegro tenor sax. After a few weeks me and my dad went searching on the internet and found a much better horn at the same price, the brand name was(I think you guys know this name) Yanisawa, and so I just got ripped off, but just in case I would like to know the difference between Yamaha and Selmer.”

So, I don’t get it. You searched online and found a Yanagisawa. Is it better? Have you tried it? And you want to know the difference between Yamaha and Selmer? Wouldn’t it be better to ask the difference between Yamaha and Yanagisawa?

You have been playing a year and a half. Do you need a professional horn? No. Hell, I remember taking lessons in High School and my teacher had a Vito Alto that my teacher would make sound 20 times better than my friend’s Balanced Action Alto that he spend thousands of dollars on.

If you look, you can always find something cheaper and better. I would suggest learning on the Yamaha horn. It’s a good horn. Get a good mouthpiece, and maybe some instruction, and practice. You don’t need the top of the line horn at your level.

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by ericdano

Sax Repair Book(s)?

November 8, 2004 in Articles

Saxy Beast writes “I’m 15 years old and tired of waiting for 3 weeks to get my sax repaired! I’m thinking about getting into DIY repair, but don’t really know where to start. Does anyone have any suggestions as to who makes a good basic repair book? With a (very) limited income, I’m looking for something fairly cheap ($30 or less?). All I really need to know how to do is the basic upkeep/maintenance skills. (Right now I’m looking at Lawrence Frank’s Clarinet, Saxophone, & Flute Repair Manual. Does anyone have this book or know anything about it?)”

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What To Use On An Old Buescher

September 14, 2004 in Articles

“I’m an old guy getting back to playing after 45 years of “silence”. I’ve found my eye’s aren’t seeing the charts like they used to but, my fingers have an amazing amount of “memory” left in them (thanx to the great old Englishman I had as a teacher all those years ago and the foundation he gave me). I’ve been getting a lot of compliments, to my surprise, on my technique and sound on my old tenor (a Buescher purchased in 1954) and the original mouthpiece / lit. setup. Now I’m trying to educate myself on mpc’s and I’m looking for resources that will explain the differences in chamber, baffle, tip………etc. I would like to find info for both the tenor as well as clarinet (clarinet was always my primary instrument)………can you advise me in this matter? Thanx for any help you can offer.”

The best place to start on this journey would be Mouthpieceheaven.com. I’d recommend spending time at a store with a bunch of mouthpieces and trying them out. Something about a 105 tip opening (Berg Larsen opening type) or about a 5 or 6 start Link/Meyer opening. Chamber size will depend on what kind of sound you want. Good luck!

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Circular Breathing

June 25, 2004 in Articles

An anonymous coward writes “My teacher just told me the circular breathing theory. I find it quite difficult to actually use this technique. Could any of you tell me other ways of doing it or give me some advice, thanks.”

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Trane’s Electronic Saxophone…

May 2, 2004 in Articles

Saxy Beast writes “I recently read somewhere that later on in his life, John Coltrane played on an early EWI type of sax. He used it to play two notes at once, kind of like multiphonics. I was just wondering if anyone knew anymore about this instrument, i.e. who made it and if he ever recorded with it.”

Hmm, I don’t know a thing about this. And looking on the net doesn’t seem to turn up anything. Perhaps he dabbled on a prototype Lyricon? Though ‘Trane died in 1967, so, I don’t think that would be it (Lyricons were a 70s thing).

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Roland Caravan mouthpiece

March 4, 2004 in Articles

jazzeux writes “Hi,
I recently read in your post that you are using a “Roland Caravan” clarinet mouthpiece that you love. I tried to find info on the internet but I didn’t find anything. Can you give us more info about it (what compagnies made it, why do you like it, how much does it cost, etc) Thank you very much.”

I do not think a “company” is making these mouthpieces. I believe they are hand made from Ronald Caravan or his shop. Weiner Music carries them, and Musicm.com has them as well as the whole line. I like it so much cause it resonates, and I can do both jazz and classical music with it (clarinet mouthpiece).

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by ericdano

Help with Harmonics

February 22, 2004 in Articles

An anonymous coward writes “Hey,
My teacher wants me to practice with harmonics. But I just can’t get out a normal Bb from the low Bb for example. Could any of you tell any thing to make it easier?? It would help me A LOT.
Thanks”

I believe you mean overtones, right? This is a difficult thing to try to make suggestions about without actually “seeing” what the problem is. It is kind of like singing “la-la-la-la-la-la-la” in an arpeggio. Overtones are gotten by doing different shapes in your throat, not by squeezing the reed.

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Things You Have Hear Of, Hardly Seen, But Can Buy

January 16, 2004 in Articles

I found a couple of things that, well, are strange. And you can buy them.

Saxophone Mute. Yes, you can get it here. I’ve only seen ONE guy ever use this. And that was a LONG LONG LONG time ago…..in a Galaxy Far, Far Away……..and I think he was hanging with a Wookie, but thats another story.

A Pad saver for your bell. Yes, available here as well. I gotta ask…..why? Will not a rag or towel work just as well?

Also, the Winter NAMM show happened last week. There were some wacky instruments there. Conn Double Bell Euphonium, Short Bone, and 11 string basses. Some practical things, like the Kiss Cupholder, and various other strange items.

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