General Music Chat

I’m working on a smooth jazz tune and thought it would be cool for a change to try and get the real thing rather than use a synth fake. I belong to Indaba, an online collaboration site, so I put the song up as a project. I had a sax player submit a track, the solo part was really good, but during the flourishes in the verses, there is a real loud screech leading into many of the notes.

I’ve heard a live saxophone maybe three times in my life. On every sax part I can remember, I don’t recall hearing the screeches. So am I being hypersensitive to the flaws of the instrument and that is normal, or it was just bad playing? I got lectured because I don’t anything about the dynamics of playing a “horn”, which of course I don’t, since I don’t play one, or even met anyone that does.

???
Youtube is your friend. Great sax sounds... Great!
A little Sonny Rollins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S46dhVcY ... re=related

Oh wow duh. Lol Excellent idea, thanks Johnny. I wasn’t going to trust straight audio, because the assumption was that it could be heavily doctored.

No squeaking there . Wow ok that guy talked like he was the best sax player to walk the earth and the sax parts he did were clearly garbage. I feel a lot better knowing I wasn’t out of line to disapprove and have to take steps to replace the junk. Thanks again man, a bit of my ignorance has been cured.

Saxaphones normally shouldn't shriek or squeal unless you want that sound...

I'm very familiar with how a sax SHOULD sound, I've performed with a bunch of good sax players...

The screeches just come from being amateur.

The screeches just come from being amateur.

+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sax screeches are usually because the reed is either too hard or not wet enough. I either keep mine in my mouth for 10 minutes before trying to play or soak it in a glass of water. If I still screech I get a softer reed. If I want screeches when I play, I just bite down on it...works every time. (I've played sax since high school, but not often any more.)

Oh yeah, it can also happen because the players embochure is weak....mouth muscles need a lot of excercise. There again, a softer reed is a must.

Edit - also realized, air leaks around one or more pads can cause squeaks too, which is why I had to retire my tenor sax. Pads finally broke down and won't seal any more and I'm not going to spend around $150 to repad a cheapo school horn I never liked to begin with...my alto works much better except for the low C to B flat, those have air leaks I've never been able to fix. Don't use them much anyway though.