New strap, but I'm still painfully slow...

[Konrad]

On tenor. I tried alto again and was just zooming around. The embouchre thing is tiring, but I'm sure that can be overcome.

Trouble is, I love tenor. I've been practicing scales every morning and afternoon, but it's slow going (literally) when it comes to comfort and speed. A new neck strap helped, but...

HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE!?!

The problem is that I can figure riffs out with no problem. Then I can't pull them off unless I play a slow version of the song. Triplets come quick. Running straight up and down a scale does not.

Any advice? Is there hope for me?

Also, how do you keep your fingers from flying off of the keys?

K

[max]

Slow, precise repitition.

My college prof called it "snap technique" - the amount of time it takes to either raise or lower a finger should be the same whether you're playing in a slow tempo or a fast one.

So practice sloooooowly, but precisely, snapping between notes.

Accept nothing less than perfection. If you can't play it perfectly, slow it down until you can.

The best thing about snap technique is that once you have something learned (honestly learned), increasing the tempo is simply a matter of decreasing the time between snaps. You'll still want to work up gradually, but can do it much more quickly than you may have been able to otherwise.

It takes as long as it takes.

I know you have beat up hands, but if you can really play alto like you describe, there's no reason you can't do it on tenor too. Just take the time, and be honest with yourself.

Also, how do you keep your fingers from flying off of the keys?
You just don't allow them to when you're going slowly. They'll stay on once you increase the speed.

[Konrad]

Thanks Max.

If I had any cash, I'd probably by a Yani tenor as the low thumbhook on my Yamaha is part of the problem. If I dip my shoulder to play, my speed improves with the improved hand position, but I am sort of a posture kind of person... maybe because I practice Kung Fu. My buddy's Yani really is a lot more comfortable, but the price tag is unreachable at the moment.

That said, I'm going to go back and start practicing the way you described. I read a few of Paul's articles. We'll see how it goes.

K

[Gandalfe]

Konrad, I trust you aren't playing with a lot of stress. I know mastering an instrument is hard, I'm still trying to master the sax, but it should be fun too. I have made the most progress by playing in community bands. I know it might not be the 'cool' thang to do, but it really works. Our practices last three hours on Thursdays. To me, it seems like 15 minutes. And I am playing a lot of different kinds of music and meeting a lot of fellow players. Can't be beat.

[singlereed]

Hang the horn on the strap in front of you - no hands. with gentle pressure only on the thumbhook, bring the mouthpiece towards your face. It should enter your mourh, level, with no movement of your head. Adjust crook, mouthpiece, and strap so that this happens.

Also, it is a strange fact that the fingers go faster when you have more breath support and a good mouthpiece/reed set-up - see Larry Teal's book The Art of Saxophone for tips on reed adjustment. I think the relevant page has been copied on to the Saxgourmet website too.

[Konrad]

Thanks Gandalf and Singlereed.

I really do enjoy the sax... Part of the problem is I have very beat up hands. My little finger is a little like Roger Staubach's, which makes fingering smoothly kind of difficult...

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.

K