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During this last month, I've had a gum infection and hadn't been able to practice very much. My wife had been planning to sing a solo during our church's 5th-Sunday singing service. With my chops getting better she told me what she wanted to sing and how she wanted me to accompany here on tenor sax.
This was all fine and good until I realized the low key she was planning to sing in. My wife has one of those low sexy "phone sex" type voices so we often have to transpose the music down into the baritone range for her. Now as usual, it was up to me to meld a "phone sex" voice into a church solo that would actually work.
But with my poor formerly diseased chops, I was in no shape to play low and husky down in the C1 and B1 range without honking. And it just doesn't sound right with me playing up an octave while in harmony with my wife's voice. So to keep from honking the low notes, I tried sticking a rolled up towel down my bell. Wow.. It not only kept the honks away but it also gave me sweet low dark sound kind'a like the old Martin horns make. I was also surprised that the towel didn't make the low notes go flat. But everything stayed in pitch pretty well. Additionally, when I played my little piece in the middle, in which I did progress up an octave and more, I was able to really push it hard without rattling the church windows which is something have done before. The volume control was great.
So and think I'm going to add a rolled up towel to my repertoire. I won't use it all the time. And hopefully my low end control will come back with my chops. But it seems to work surprisingly well in certain venues.
This was all fine and good until I realized the low key she was planning to sing in. My wife has one of those low sexy "phone sex" type voices so we often have to transpose the music down into the baritone range for her. Now as usual, it was up to me to meld a "phone sex" voice into a church solo that would actually work.
But with my poor formerly diseased chops, I was in no shape to play low and husky down in the C1 and B1 range without honking. And it just doesn't sound right with me playing up an octave while in harmony with my wife's voice. So to keep from honking the low notes, I tried sticking a rolled up towel down my bell. Wow.. It not only kept the honks away but it also gave me sweet low dark sound kind'a like the old Martin horns make. I was also surprised that the towel didn't make the low notes go flat. But everything stayed in pitch pretty well. Additionally, when I played my little piece in the middle, in which I did progress up an octave and more, I was able to really push it hard without rattling the church windows which is something have done before. The volume control was great.
So and think I'm going to add a rolled up towel to my repertoire. I won't use it all the time. And hopefully my low end control will come back with my chops. But it seems to work surprisingly well in certain venues.
