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From: "A Johnson"
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 18:03:37 -0600
Subject: Re: [CB] [CB Digest]My horn is a Yamaha bari, I've tried the palm D, and it just wont play that
note at all. I've been having to lip down most of the time, but sometimes I
end up having to push the mouthpiece in, and lip up the other notes, ending
up with a sore mouth.
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 17:08:17 -0700 (MST)
From: Shouryunus Sarcasticii
Subject: Re: [CB] [CB Digest]On Thu, 15 Feb 2001, A Johnson wrote:
> Was playing my bari today, and noticed the middle D was real sharp, was
> wondering if any sax players out there know any tricks or adjustments to
> make it lower a little.This is pretty common with just about every saxophone on the face of the
planet, Andrew. Unfortunately, it's a compromise, as if manufacturers
were to build it perfectly in tune, the low D would be horrendously flat.
Generally, what you have is a low D that is moderately flat and a middle D
that is moderately sharp. Oftimes people think it's SERIOUSLY sharp, when
it's just amplified by the typical slight flatness of open C#, C, and B#.
Just work your mouth to help out those notes when they're exposed...drop
your jaw a little to bring middle D down, and firm up and raise your
tongue position to bring up flat notes. A cross we must all bear...J. Shouryu Nohe
http://web.nmsu.edu/~jnohe
Professor of SarCaSM102, New Mexico State Univ.
"Never put passion before principle. Even when win, you lose."
-Miyagi-san, KKpt.II
---------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 21:53:47 -0800
From: bitwise
Subject: Re: [CB] Bari sax intonationAndrew - has this D been noticeably sharp all along, or did
something change? I read the gyrations you had to go through
to play more or less in tune, and I can't believe that that's just
the way it is. If this is a 'new' problem for you, and you just
changed mouthpieces or reeds, try going back to what you
used before. It's surprising how much those things can affect
intonation. I play contra-alto clarinet, which I'm quickly finding
is about the most finicky instrument around as far as reeds,
mouthpieces, and even ligatures go.
Ambient temperature and humidity are other factors to consider.
I've had my clarinet about four months, so I don't yet know how
it will be in warm / dry conditions, but I can say that getting it to
cooperate in cold / damp is a challenge.Craig
---------------------------------------------------------
From: ZIPPYTPH
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 08:32:33 EST
Subject: Re: [CB] [CB Digest]Regarding the out of tune bari: A trip to the woodwind repair person might
be in order so you can rule out a pad leak or some other problem you may not
have noticed. A leaking pad higher on the horn may not have full effect
until you reach a note using more keys.
sande---------------------------------------------------------
From: LeliaLoban
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 10:32:14 EST
Subject: Instruments eat strange things (was: [CB] [CB Digest])
ZIPPYTPH wrote,
<< Remember to never overlook the obvious. I played next to a soprano sax
player during a concert. The fellow was very concerned over his intonation.
After the concert as he was putting away his horn out pops from the end of
the sop sax his cork grease.
SH >>LOL! Yeah, in my flea market and yard sale pickings, I've found the insect
cemetery, the rat manure, the shelf fungus and the whole icky menagerie that
migrates into neglected instrument cases. I bought a nice old Conn sax in
poor condition a few years ago that gave out strangulated gasps instead of a
tone. I didn't think much about the strange noises because the neck cork had
crumbled and most of those pads were dead; they were ex-pads; they were
extinct; they had closed their last holes; they had expired; they had
shuffled off this mortal coil, etc.. When I took the sax to the repairman,
he said, "Hmmm..." and peered down the bore with a flashlight. Then he
reached down the neck end with a grabby-claw. Presently, <clunk!> down into
the bell dropped a fine old hard rubber clarinet mouthpiece! It turns out
to be my best mouthpiece. Some vending machine!Lelia
---------------------------------------------------------Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 10:33:29 -0800
From: Dave Richoux
Subject: Re: [CB] Instruments eat strange things
LeliaLoban wrote:
> ZIPPYTPH wrote,
>
> << Remember to never overlook the obvious. I played next to a soprano sax
> player during a concert. The fellow was very concerned over his intonation.
>
> After the concert as he was putting away his horn out pops from the end of
> the sop sax his cork grease.
> SH >>
>I have a 1918 USQMC Conn Helicon that was fully restored in 1980 after it was
stored in a basement for 10 years - when the repairman was taking it apart he
first tried to flush it with water - no luck. A poke with a cleaning rod resulted
in a very dead, very dry blackbird in the low bow section. Probably a cat had
tucked it in there for later eating and forgot about it...Bye-Bye Blackbird!
BTW, the horn works very well now.
Dave Richoux
---------------------------------------------------------
From: CrazyBassoonist
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:49:24 EST
Subject: Re: [CB] Bari sax intonationSpeaking of bari sax intonation...
I've always noticed that my middle C's have been flat, whether I use the
normal fingering or press down the B key with the side C key. I guess it's
just the horn (CMU's only baritone sax, with no low A key... but hopefully
now that we have a saxophone quartet started and we have a member of the
American Sax Quartet as our coach, that'll change, since it's ridiculous that
a school like ours doesn't have a bari with a low A... but I digress). So is
there some other fingering I can use instead, or should I try different
mouthpieces or harder reeds or something?
Mark F
bassoon
baritone saxophone
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