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Several years reading posts on this forum as well as my own experimentation has led to what I hope is an interesting conclusion. Repeatedly, the phrase I see often in here is "It is not the horn, or the mouthpiece/reed combination. It is the player." The more I try different combinations the more I am prone to agree. For good or for bad, I sound like me on any horn I play; if not at first, eventually.
Every time I get my hands on another horn, either on trial or I have purchased, I go into my studio and ask my wife to listen to a blind test. I just refer to them as "horn number one" and "horn number two." (Throughout this post, you can substite mouthpiece with horn. It is the same thing either way.) Almost without exception, she hears the subtle differences at first then, as I go back and forth and continue playing she has trouble differentiating between the two. In all honesty, after playing a newly acquired horn for a while, it starts to sound like me. Sure, there are always going to be a little variation here and there, but as I adjust, it comes out pretty much the same. So why the big variety of horns and preferences?
Here is my theory. Ultimately it is not the sound as much as it is the feel. Have you ever had a horn you just can't put down? One that seems to go wherever you want it to and whatever you hear in your head just seems to pour out of the instrument. Have you ever found that horn that just becomes one with you? An extension of yourself? If you have found that dream horn, could it be that it is the feel of the horn more than the sound? The resistance, airstream and tactile sense under your fingers, in your lungs and embouchure are just perfect for you. Whether it has Conn, Selmer, Buescher, Keilwerth, Buffet or any other name on the front it becomes your perfect horn. I submit that the feel is at least as important than the sound. If it feels like your soulmate it will become that regardless of the initial sound.
I realize this sounds more like Philosophy than Saxophone or Music, but it is something I have experienced and truly wonder if anyone else has.
Every time I get my hands on another horn, either on trial or I have purchased, I go into my studio and ask my wife to listen to a blind test. I just refer to them as "horn number one" and "horn number two." (Throughout this post, you can substite mouthpiece with horn. It is the same thing either way.) Almost without exception, she hears the subtle differences at first then, as I go back and forth and continue playing she has trouble differentiating between the two. In all honesty, after playing a newly acquired horn for a while, it starts to sound like me. Sure, there are always going to be a little variation here and there, but as I adjust, it comes out pretty much the same. So why the big variety of horns and preferences?
Here is my theory. Ultimately it is not the sound as much as it is the feel. Have you ever had a horn you just can't put down? One that seems to go wherever you want it to and whatever you hear in your head just seems to pour out of the instrument. Have you ever found that horn that just becomes one with you? An extension of yourself? If you have found that dream horn, could it be that it is the feel of the horn more than the sound? The resistance, airstream and tactile sense under your fingers, in your lungs and embouchure are just perfect for you. Whether it has Conn, Selmer, Buescher, Keilwerth, Buffet or any other name on the front it becomes your perfect horn. I submit that the feel is at least as important than the sound. If it feels like your soulmate it will become that regardless of the initial sound.
I realize this sounds more like Philosophy than Saxophone or Music, but it is something I have experienced and truly wonder if anyone else has.
