Saxophone Forum


by Sarias
(4 posts)
15 years ago

High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

Ok so today we auditioned for jazz band and i got shafted from lead because my tone wasn't bright enough even though i played the music perfectly where as the other guy who is lead messed up a lot but had the "perfect sound" according to the teacher who just so happens to have a dr in jazz. I think thats bs because this guy who may be a jazz expert but doesn't play the sax thinks that he can tell me im playing the sax wrong for jazz, even though ive been taken lessons for 6 years studied with the sax professor at nau and have 2 sax teachers ( a classical and a jazz teacher) I work really hard for this and i get shafted due to favoritism and nievity. What do you prefer bright or dark?

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  1. by Sarias
    (4 posts)

    15 years ago

    Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

    not to mention i play for jazz on a meyer metel mouthpiece on my selmer while he plays on his canonball excaliber (which i know will be brighter) but its almost whiny and sounds like crap, but still i play on a meyer mouthpiece which will still give me a bright sound

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    1. by cuber
      (653 posts)

      15 years ago

      Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

      its idiots like that who would make me not want to associate myself with jazz. just because he has a doctorate doesnt mean hes good, i listened to the grad students from Illinois, and they sucked. bunch of rif players. really annoying when they didnt even change the key of the rif into the key of the song. The undergrads at elmhurst were a hell of a lot better. they could actually improvise. dont change your sound because some idiot tells you to, its YOUR sound. screw what everyone else says it should sound like. by the way, there is no "Perfect jazz sound" some are better than others, but having a bright sound IS NOT better than dark. for example, say youre putting a band together, and Chris Potter and Coleman Hawkins try out for tenor (only choose one). Are you going to not choose hawkins because of his sound, which happens to be darker? needless to say, but i prefer a darker sound. It allows you to do SO much more, the notes become secondary to the other things that you can add into something, other things that you CAN NOT (at least i havent heard a good example of it) add with a brighter sound. like emotion, for example. or slow songs. I listen to bright sounding guys, and all i hear is the dryness to the tone. it disgusts me. I hate it.

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      1. by The Connman
        (4 posts)

        15 years ago

        Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

        That has to be the most rediculous thing i have ever heard of. There is NO such thing as so-called "Perfect Jazz Sound". Sound is a matter of prefference. As for being chaired, I was chaired 1st as a freshman this year in my college jazz band over a sophmore who didn't make the cut and another sophmore because I am simply a better player with great tone. "Perfect Jazz Sound"="Perfect Bull Shit".

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        1. by kelsey
          (930 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          Sarias, get serious! If what you say is true you must really have a bad sound. If the other kid made mistakes and you didn't, maybe your sound is so hideous that the teacher doesen't want you to play lead. Were you allowed to hear the other kid audition? As a music educator, I didn't let the kids hear each other play and I always used a judge from outside my school. When auditioning sax players at North Texas State, as a Graduate assistant there, auditioning students came into the room one at a time with 3 different grad students listening and judgeing. It's always possible you were robbed but not to likely........Kelsey
          Barry Kelsey

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        2. by Sarias
          (4 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          "i listened to the grad students from Illinois, and they sucked." Haha he went to illinois for grad school hes a bass player though (which btw makes me mad because he doesn't accually play sax) "I was chaired 1st as a freshman this year in my college jazz band over a sophmore who didn't make the cut and another sophmore because I am simply a better player with great tone" Ive been lead last 3 years so i just figured my senior i would again and i get screwed over for the 4th time this year i have a good tone, ive been told by many people that i do so i dont know what his problem is im 1st in our wind enseamble im not the best in region but i was like 1 away from making regionals last year he was like 100th so yeah "Sarias, get serious! If what you say is true you must really have a bad sound. If the other kid made mistakes and you didn't, maybe your sound is so hideous that the teacher doesen't want you to play lead. Were you allowed to hear the other kid audition? As a music educator, I didn't let the kids hear each other play and I always used a judge from outside my school. When auditioning sax players at North Texas State, as a Graduate assistant there, auditioning students came into the room one at a time with 3 different grad students listening and judgeing. It's always possible you were robbed but not to likely........Kelsey" Well lets see Ive taken Sax lessons for 6 years, been to music camps, studied with the sax professor at nothern arizona U, and the jazz sax guy there also. sound is not my issue. lets just say freshman year i was laughed out of an audition room because my sound was so hideous, so i decided to work really hard and now i have a nice dark sound. I mean yeah i can play bright but i prefer dark. I didn't specifcally hear his audition just heard it through the wall. and he was the judge becuase he is a bad teacher who although is an awesome bass player and knows a lot about music and stuff he only cares about the happieness of the band as a whole and was like well hes more popular so lets give him lead alto, or hes more popular lets give him section leader. i hate high school im so looking forward to college. I was robbed and everyone but his friends agrees with me

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        3. by chalazon
          (547 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          sooo..sarias...I'm sure you have the most gorgeous sax tone in history..I,m convinced you've got the greatest technigue since Brecker..I'll bet you're the next Don Byas...ever heard of him...now maybe you could give some thought to working on your ATTITUDE!..just a suggestion..

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        4. by Sarias
          (4 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          my only attitude ive developed towards my band program has come from people treating me like crud when all ive ever done was be nice to them. This one kid i helped him pass algebra and english and we were good friends one day then a few weeks ago he tells me I hate you your a fag so leave me alone. My attidude comes from me working hard then getting laughed at, called stupid, made fun of, called names, and whatever i hate my band program because it doesn't matter whos the best it matters whos the most popular. I never said i sound like brecker ever i that would be ignorant because the greats paul desmond, brubeck, becker all these people are awesome sax players. Im not an ignorant person i know theres loads of people out there better then me Im just saying if there are 2 people who audition and one plays better overall shouldn't he get it not the person whos more popular i mean in real life thats not how it works i know, but i can get along with any person except for the other saxes in my band, ive been to camps where i got a long with all the saxes, its just these 5 people who refuse to listen to me

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        5. by kelsey
          (930 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          Sariasly, if I were you I would go to the school counsellor and tell your story of woe. They would be able to explain things better than just a bunch of sax players. Sounds to me like you are having problems with some of your fellow students and could use a little help.............Kelsey
          Barry Kelsey

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        6. by newreedsyndrome
          (343 posts)

          15 years ago

          Re: High School Jazz Bands Bright v Dark

          Dave brubeck's a piano player. His sons, darius, dan, and mat play piano, percussion, and cello respectively. his son chris plays trombone, bass and piano, and is an excellent composer. I don't know which sax player named brubeck you could be refering to. Maybe one of all those people you mentioned What you are saying leads back to you. Obviously the cats in your school band have had prolonged exposure to you, and that's the source of their contention. When you go out into the world, if you start working as a musician, you're going to be playing a lot of second alto, so you may as well learn how to do it and get used to it. As far as bright vs. dark, in the context of lead alto, you need to have a lot of edge to your sound to lead the section. I don't care if you can play loud enough to lead your school band - I'm talking about a professional section.

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