I’m still working on getting the hang of tuning by ear with a tuning fork.  Part of me wants to just get an electronic tuner so I can just see if I’m in tune or not.  However that is something you should avoid, as it will only hurt you in the long run.  This is even more important if you plan on playing with anyone else in the near future, and being able to play in tune with them.  Your not going to pull out your little electronic tuner and tell everyone to hold on while you make sure it is right, and then inform them if they are or not as well.  That is just unrealistic.

So, what is a good way to get better at tuning?  Stephen Howard provides the following suggestions.

“Almost any kind of playing is going to be helpful when it comes to tuning, but one of the most useful things to do is concentrate on octave jumps.  The reason for this is that this is the easiest interval over which to hear tuning problems – and the way in which you do this is to both sing and play the jump.  Take a tune like ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ – this starts with an octave jump. You start by playing the root note on the sax – then you stop and sing the opening phrase. You then play it on the horn.  This teaches you to pitch notes with your voice – because being able to hear an interval in your head is more than half of being able to play one in tune.  You follow this up by playing the major scale from root to octave and back again on the horn. This helps to improve your knowledge of scales and also to maintain the tuning and you move up and down the instrument.  You can follow this up with major arpeggios.

Pretty much any book of exercises will help, but I find it easier to play tunes – slow ballads and the like. The reason being that you’re more likely to be familiar with a tune than an exercises, and it’s a lot easier to hear when the tuning is out.”

I like the idea of playing tunes myself as well, as it just is more enjoyable to begin with, and at the end, you’ll have a number of songs you’ll have learned you can play for others and play just for your own satisfaction.

Well I ended up getting sick AGAIN.  February was definately not my month.  This time I was tired of it all and went straight to the doctor to see what they could do to help my body get over all this junk.  Now I have lots of shiney pills and a shot to go with it and I’m starting to feel better again.  I’m resting up for the rest of the week, and then I’ll get back to my practicing and recording again.  After a day or two of practicing my songs I’ll record a number of them, especially the ones I have done in the past so we can all hear if I have made any good progress.  I feel I have, even with my limited practice sessions over February I do pretty good at playing all the correct notes, the part that is a little weak now is my tone, but what do I expect from not playing much for a month.

This coming Monday I will try and post a number of songs, and I would love to hear what everyone thinks.  Until then, stay healthy!

It took me nearly two weeks to get over this illness that I had.  I’m glad it is over with now, and I was able to play my saxophone  again for the first time since I came down  with it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results.  I actually ended up having to stop practicing for a reason other than my mouth giving out.  I played longer than I had ever done in the past.  Now the tone wasn’t perfect, there were issues here and there, but overall it sounded fairly well.  Tomorrow I’ll have to set a timer before I start playing and see how long my practice session actually lasts.

Basically today I went over a variety of scales and arpeggios of the G Major scale, the played a number of melodies while my baby boy sat on the couch and listened.  My lung capacity isn’t quite back where it needs to be so I ran out of breath a few times, but I think I did fairly well on that too.   Tomorrow I think I’ll add the C Major scale along with the G Major scales to my practice session and see how it goes.

Well I haven’t had nearly as much time to practice the saxophone this week as I have been sick ever since my last post.  It isn’t pleasant.  Hopefully I get to feeling better soon and can get back to my practicing.  I’m guessing this thing is going to take a week to get over at the rate I’m going.  My next post will be once I get over this, and can get back to playing.  I’ll then record some of the tunes I learned over the past few months.  It should be fun.

I have gotten to the part of my saxophone book where they switch from melodies to scales and arpeggios.  I started off today with the key of G, and went through four different exercises.  I should have them all down very well by the end of the week.  My endurance while playing still isn’t very long.  After playing the four exercises I couldn’t go on any longer.  I’ve only been playing for just over two months now, so it may still take some more time.  Right now I just break up my practice sessions into 15 minute segments so I can get as much practice in per day.

At the end of the week, I’ll record the scales and post it online so everyone can hear how it is going.

My tuning fork and metronome arrive this weekend.  The metronome is no issue for me, as I have used them before when playing the piano.  So now I have one again and can use it to help with my timing when playing music and scales on my saxophone.  The tuning fork however is another story.  This is going to take some practice.  I strike the tuning fork on an object and the fork begins to vibrate.  It’s not terribly loud so I then put it close to my ear and listen to the tone it is making.  I do this a few times and try and remember the sound I just heard.   I then play G on my Saxaophone, which I recall hearing somewhere is the tuning note.  If I’m wrong then maybe someone would be kind enough to tell me otherwise.

In any case I “think” it sounds right.  The note I play on the saxophone sounds pretty much the same as the tuning fork.  I don’t think it sounds any sharper or flater.  When I can have a saxophone teacher again I’ll be able to confirm all of this of course, until then I’ll just have to listen very carefully and take it slow.

Nothing new going on just yet, just working on my long tones while I wait for my tuning fork and metronome to arrive.  They have shipped, so I should be getting them in the mail by the end of this week.  I’ll find out then how good my ear really is.

In the mean time I do have a nice story about my 1 year old son and the saxophone.  He really seems to like the saxophone and my playing (he may be the only one at this time).  When I pick up the saxophone he starts bouncing up and down, clapping his hands, and gets a great big smile on his face.  He will then crawl over to me and use the music stand to help him stand up so he is right next to me while I practice.  When I play my long tones he will make a fairly close noise as well with his voice and hold it as long as he can.  He smiles when I play “Marry had a little lamb” and claps along to other songs I play.

The other thing he really enjoys doing is messing me up (however I think he just likes making the tone of the saxophone change).  He will get closer to me while I’m playing a long tone and press in one of the keys of the horn, which of course will change the tone I am playing.  He laughs and smiles real big when he does this, as he feels he has accomplished something himself.  He really seems to enjoy music, and I’ll have to get him into playing the piano as soon as he is old enough.  This will give him a nice musical foundation for when his lungs are strong enough to play a saxophone.

It’s nice having him enjoy being with me while I practice, at least I know I’ll always have one fan.  Hopefully more to come in the future.

Today I checked out my twitter page and noticed I had a tweet from The Sax Doctor who has been following my blog and giving me very helpful suggestions when needed.  His latest suggestion is to be careful when it comes to tuners and the saxophone, as you can come to rely to much upon the electronic device and what you are seeing and not on your ear to embouchure relationship as it should be.  He directed me to an interesting article on his site about the proper use of tuners for the saxophone, and I would suggest any one else in this particular situation read it as well.  It is very interesting.

I have already ordered my tuner, so I will be getting it soon.  The good thing is it is also a metronome, and it has two different types of tuning methods in it.  One will play a tone for you to tune your instrument to, and the other will tell you what note you are playing and if you are sharp or flat.  I’ll use his suggestion on letting someone else use the device when I play and letting me know if I am sharp or flat or not.  My mother does have a Yamaha Concert Grand piano, so I may very well take my saxophone over to her house and have her play some notes that I can then play along in tune with as well.

The other item I ran across is ear training programs.  When I was younger I took ear training in Theory classes, so I know pretty much how it works.  I’m going to start this up again to help develop my ear better, as I’m sure it will only help.  I’m going to look over a few programs that offer this and will post which program I like best later on.

I went to Dowling Music today, which is located in Houston, Texas at 2615 Southwest Fwy @ Kirby and had a chat with Gus who works there about my saxophone.  I asked him to take a look at it and see what he thought of  the keys and if they needed any adjustment.  He said the saxophone was in good order, and the LH palm keys were light to the touch.  In fact he said that he’s experienced others that were much harder to push in than mine.  I was given some suggestions on why I might be having a hard time with those LH palm keys.  He said to make sure not to use your fingers with those keys, but rather your palm (as the key names suggest).  I wasn’t sure if I was moving my fingers to press the keys or not, but figured that I might, so when I practiced today I made a conscience effort to make sure I press those keys with just the palm of my hand.  I am getting better with it now, just need some more practice and I’m sure I can iron out the issues.  As I can easily play from low C to high C on the Saxophone I am going to focus on going from high C to high F and back down to get that area worked out.  Once that is done I can start working on my scale studies better.

While I was there I purchased some Vandoren #2 reeds, as after trying one from my teacher I liked them better than the Rico reeds I had previously.  I also placed an order for a Sabine tuner/metronome, which should arrive within a week.  Up to this point I have not had one, and I know I really need to get one to one, make sure my saxophone is in tune, and two, to ensure I am playing in time.  I’m fairly good at doing it without a metronome, but not good enough, so it’s time to do it right, as it will only help in the long run.

He showed me what sheet music they had for the saxophone (plenty to keep me occupied for years to come).  I didn’t buy anything today, as I still have other issues I really need to focus on before I get too involved in that.  I’ll stick with my simple melodies, scales, and long tones for now until I can last at least 30 minutes to an hour before I get too tired.  Then I’ll look into getting some music to play.

Gus also let me know I’ll probably play my Vito saxophone for about 2 to 3 years before I outgrow it.  He said I’ll know when the sound I push through the horn becomes too much for that particular horn and it starts to hold me back.  At that point I’ll start looking into more advanced models.  That’s good to hear, as I’m sure once I get another  saxophone I’ll spend at least $3,000.00 on one, and it will take me a while to save up for that type of purchase.

Today I was looking over my book “Learn to Play Alto Saxophone Today” and found a suggestion to use the alternate fingering for C to help when moving from B to C on the saxophone.  I have to admit it is much easier, as using the standard fingering for C and then jumping back or up from B can cause a audible wobble if not done quickly enough.  The alternate fingering is also fairly easy as well.

On Saturday I am planing on stopping by a local music store to have my horn looked at.  Just checking that everything is running well, and also seeing what type of music is available in my skill range.