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The Saga of Pete

pete said:
VERY rarely does someone even thank me for fixing their computer. Yes, it's my job. It's still nice to say "thank you".

I know what you mean. I could go on a rant about the rudeness of society now-a-days. But then I'd be looking like this: :geezer1: (OK, I don't have a bun on my head and don't yet have grey hair, but other than that...) :emoji_smile:

Geez man...When exactly did we get old????????? :( :eek: :emoji_astonished:
 
Helen:

No one who plays bass saxophone is truly OLD. Courage to expose one's individuality tends to be a trait of young people.

Eventually you will be lauded for your ability to enrich contemporary society. Who could be content with Soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone anyway?

I'm prepared to dye my hair and do choreography with a bass sax strapped around my neck. Who's next?
 
Groovekiller said:
Helen: No one who plays bass saxophone is truly OLD. Courage to expose one's individuality tends to be a trait of young people. Eventually you will be lauded for your ability to enrich contemporary society. Who could be content with Soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone anyway?

I'm prepared to dye my hair and do choreography with a bass sax strapped around my neck. Who's next?
I'm so there; just give me an easier part than you two play. :D
 
Bass saxophone is perhaps the hardest of all saxophones to master. It doesn't matter what type bass you play - they are all difficult.

Remember that everything is bigger. Take a bigger bite (bigger is only a small amount of mouthpiece, but it's a BIG mouthpiece, so you'll have to open your mouth. Take a bigger breath. Part of the mechanism that drives a bass sax is inside your body. A larger resonating chamber BEFORE the horn starts is an asset. It's all in the Benade book, but it's complicated. JUST TAKE A BIGGER BREATH. It solves so many problems.

Wiggling your fingers is not a problem, even on an old mechanism. Old Conns and Bueschers are among the easiest bass saxes to play. If something doesn't work, especially across the C#-D break, take bigger breath. Problem solved. Anybody can play fast. A great sound takes forever.
 
Groovekiller said:
Bass saxophone is perhaps the hardest of all saxophones to master. It doesn't matter what type bass you play - they are all difficult.

Remember that everything is bigger. Take a bigger bite (bigger is only a small amount of mouthpiece, but it's a BIG mouthpiece, so you'll have to open your mouth. Take a bigger breath. Part of the mechanism that drives a bass sax is inside your body. A larger resonating chamber BEFORE the horn starts is an asset. It's all in the Benade book, but it's complicated. JUST TAKE A BIGGER BREATH. It solves so many problems.

Wiggling your fingers is not a problem, even on an old mechanism. Old Conns and Bueschers are among the easiest bass saxes to play. If something doesn't work, especially across the C#-D break, take bigger breath. Problem solved. Anybody can play fast. A great sound takes forever.


Truer words have never been written!!!

I try to tell any sax-playing friend who tries my bass to make sure that their breathing is supported with their diaphragm, because if the breath support isn't there, nothing is going to come out of the other end.

The other thing that someone trying bass for the first time has a hard time getting their head around is the looser, but still firm embouchure you need to have when playing bass. This comes easier for bari players than for tenor or alto players I notice.

What I notice on myself...and this is just weird...I have a harder time playing my low A bari than my bass. (My main bari is a low Bb.) What is even stranger is that my bass is leaking and needs tweeking (mind you, what vintage bass doesn't?), but my low A bari has just recently been regulated. Go figure...
 
I haven't played very many bass saxes in spite of my desire to acquire one on the cheap. What I have noticed as I moved over to playing Bari is that after you get the breath it's just easier to play than anything else.
 
I've noticed that players who are much more accomplished than I don't sound better or even good on the bass sax the first time they try it. Most of them can't get the wicked D2 to speak on my tweaked out Buescher bass sax. And making the low A bark on the Eppie bass sax takes some serious fortitude. I tend to take for granted the amount of time it takes to get the voicing right until these moments. And for me, learning to get a sax to speak is a labor of luv.

Sunday night during quartet practice where Suzy had already played bari, alto, and sop, I had played sop, tenor, and bari, I asked our instructor to play bari so that we could try out a new chart that was challenging but that Suzy and I had worked up the sop and alto parts. (Thanks Merlin for that!) The instructor wouldn't even try at 65 years of age as he said he didn't have the air. I so take those things for granted.
 
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