Bari and Alto, supposed to double but how?

[TokyoRain]

my band teacher wants me to play both bari and alto next year and play Bari in the college band I am in as well. But, I don't how to get it so that I can pick up the Alto and play like I used to and then strap a reed on the Bari and play with all the alto->Bari stuff. Should I just practice playing on a Bari for 15 minutes or so then switch to Alto and back and forth?

(P.S. Our band is looking for a full arrangement of Tank! by Yoko Kanno we have 1 Bari, 3 Alto, 2-3 Tenor, 3-4 trumpet, 1 keyboard, 1 piano, 2 guitars, 1 bass, 1 drums, and some bongos and other such additions. If you have access or where to buy a copy please message me. thanks. :P)

[NatureColor]

Dont think about the problem before even trying it or when you play it. Just play and make it work. If you know you'll have certain problems when or before you play.. then you WILL have a problem. Psychology stuff bud. Good luck.

[Martin Williams]

Its really not to hard of a switch, just remember you have to loosen up the embrochure when you play the bari, which in the end will help you with alto playing as well.

If you have Finale 08, I can send you my arr of Tank. All the parts and rhythms are there, leaving you to finish some of the harmonies I haven't bothered to do yet. Shouldn't be to hard, most of them come up earlier in the piece anyway, you just have to finish them. I've even transcribed the alto solo.

[hakukani]

Yep, bari and alto shouldn't be too hard to go between. Just try to match the setups, so you don't have to make any really big changes.

[Little Sax]

my band teacher wants me to play both bari and alto next year and play Bari in the college band I am in as well. But, I don't how to get it so that I can pick up the Alto and play like I used to and then strap a reed on the Bari and play with all the alto->Bari stuff. Should I just practice playing on a Bari for 15 minutes or so then switch to Alto and back and forth? [...]

It shouldn't be a problem; just get very familiar with each horn. Once you do that, your "muscle memory" will take over and you'll be fine.

Likely the biggest problem you'll encounter is trying to keep your reeds moist when you're not playing the "other" horn. ...Legere solved that problem for me. Perhaps one of the synthetics will help you out if you experience that problem.

A little over a year ago I sat in with an informal sax choir gathering. I played bari on most of the pieces and sopranino on the few that called for it. The switch really wasn't bad at all. Switching between bari and alto should be just fine.

Good Luck!

[kensax]

my band teacher wants me to play both bari and alto next year :P)

Get some Rahsaan Roland Kirk records and start shedding right now dude!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41384434J9L._SS500_.jpg

[kensax]

my band teacher wants me to play both bari and alto next year :P)

Get some Roland Kirk record and start shedding right now dude!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41384434J9L._SS500_.jpg

[kensax]

Two posts for two horns

[Conrado]

I've never noticed a problem switching between the 2 even on the same set. Just do it.

[Mal 2]

I find it helps to use a big mouthpiece on the small horn, and a small mouthpiece on the big horn. By that I mean outer diameter, not chamber or tip size. This way the change doesn't feel so enormous. I use Link Super Tone Masters on tenor and bari, and hard rubber mouthpieces on soprano and alto.

Alto and bari feel so completely different that you will find yourself just falling into each role once you've acclimated to both. Fortunately for your ear, the octave between them won't be confusing in the least.

[TokyoRain]

Thanks guys and yeah all that stuff should help I'm just having trouble hitting the low register and stuff on Alto, I want to tighten up around the mouthpiece since it feels a lot smaller than my bari mouthpiece. If that makes sense, anywho, we'll see how our concert goes on Thrusday I guess :P

"If you have Finale 08, I can send you my arr of Tank. All the parts and rhythms are there, leaving you to finish some of the harmonies I haven't bothered to do yet. Shouldn't be to hard, most of them come up earlier in the piece anyway, you just have to finish them. I've even transcribed the alto solo."

I porbably won't be (our concert) until December so plenty of time, thanks for the offer we have a loan coming in to see if this one arrangement is what we want or not, I'll message you if it is not and we still need a copy thanks :)

[Multi Reed]

This may help you out -

The biggest 'issue' I have observed with college players swapping from an alto to a bari is the way they approach it. Put the two mouthpieces side by side. The alto is much smaller. The problem I often see is that students do not put enough bari mouthpiece in their mouth and tend to sitback on the mouthpiece - treating it like an alto.

Here is a rough guide to fixing this problem. Take a piece of paper and gently slide it between the reed and the alto mouthpiece to the point where it just starts to grab. Put your thumb there, remove the paper and then put your mouth back onto the alto. You will probably find that your lips just start to touch where your thumb is, right? (Remember, I said this is a rough guide)

Now do the same for the bari. This shows and demonstrates the amount of mouthpiece that you need to take in.

One last experiment. Play a B on your alto and as you are playing slowly move the mouthpiece out of your mouth. What happens? The pitch flattens off. That is another reason to make sure you take on enough bari mouthpiece.

I have heard the argument of trying to find a setup that is close to your alto before but I personally do not like that. I have heard people suggest going metal with mouthpiece choice on bari too as it makes the mouthpiece feel smaller in your mouth. Again, that is not for me. I like having two mouthpieces that feel decidely different as it helps me to find the sound and approach I am after. None of my mouthpieces feel the same on any of the horns I play - the rest is just practise.

[estagro]

I used to play both bari and alto in high school, switching from one to the other and back, sometimes from song to song in a concert. Never had issues. Go for it.