As a former Saxophone player who has done thousands of gigs, it was obvious to me that the two professors were not working from practical experience, but from the history books, whatever.
Regarding the demonstration of changing mouthpieces and the influence of the Americans on the way of playing music, I would like to offer an alternative explanation.
Firstly, in the 1920's/30's notes were more likely to be tongued and dotted quaver/semi-quaver groups were played to exact values, hence the term 'Rooty-Tooty.' This is probably an over simplification of the way the dance music of the day was played, but in my book this was the way bands of this period played. The American way of playing dance music was more relaxed, notes tended to be slurred and dotted quaver/semi-quaver groups were played 'Legato.' Rather than the Americans introducing a new form of music, it was just a more relaxed way of interpreting the note values.
During the 50's I played Euphonium in a Brass band and at that time 'Rooty-tooty was the order of the day especially with the older members of the band. This however does not happen now, Brass bands obviously don't 'Swing' but their interpretation of music particularly 'Pop' orientated music is now much more relaxed.
The Saxophone Mouthpiece.
I once saw the saxophone described as 'As easy to learn but hard to play.' This in my opinion sums up very accurately saxophone playing.
Mouthpieces and reeds were a constant source of potential problems for the saxophone player. There were quite a few Sax players around and they all seemed to produce different sounds.
Apart from the Bog-standard type of mouthpiece, there were some that had a big influence over the sound you produced, two I remember were the 'Roc' and the 'Berg Larsen' stainless steel models. I played a Berg Larsen for some time it was a great mouthpiece, however I found it difficult when changing to clarinet as we had to in some orchestrations, so I switched to a Selmer with a medium lay and all was ok.
The sound produced by saxophone players varies considerably, too soft a reed and the top notes suffer, too hard a reed and the bottom notes cannot be played quietly. What is most important is when you play in a section the matching of tones is crucial, you cannot have players that dominate or stick out like a sore thumb.
Another thing that influenced the change in the sound of dance music was the modification of instruments, the saxophone bore being increased is one example. I am sure that other instruments such as the Trumpet and Trombone have also been updated. Instruments were also gold-lacquered as opposed to silver-plate which I am sure has an affect on the tone. Matching and controlling vibrato is also essential. Some players used a hand vibrato and some, what I used to call a nanny-goat vibrato.
Sunday 6 July 2014 1:35PM
BBC 4. 30.06.14. 'Len Goodman's Dance Band Days.'
As a former Saxophone player who has done thousands of gigs, it was obvious to me that the two professors were not working from practical experience, but from the history books, whatever.
Regarding the demonstration of changing mouthpieces and the influence of the Americans on the way of playing music, I would like to offer an alternative explanation.
Firstly, in the 1920's/30's notes were more likely to be tongued and dotted quaver/semi-quaver groups were played to exact values, hence the term 'Rooty-Tooty.' This is probably an over simplification of the way the dance music of the day was played, but in my book this was the way bands of this period played. The American way of playing dance music was more relaxed, notes tended to be slurred and dotted quaver/semi-quaver groups were played 'Legato.' Rather than the Americans introducing a new form of music, it was just a more relaxed way of interpreting the note values.
During the 50's I played Euphonium in a Brass band and at that time 'Rooty-tooty was the order of the day especially with the older members of the band. This however does not happen now, Brass bands obviously don't 'Swing' but their interpretation of music particularly 'Pop' orientated music is now much more relaxed.
The Saxophone Mouthpiece.
I once saw the saxophone described as 'As easy to learn but hard to play.' This in my opinion sums up very accurately saxophone playing.
Mouthpieces and reeds were a constant source of potential problems for the saxophone player. There were quite a few Sax players around and they all seemed to produce different sounds.
Apart from the Bog-standard type of mouthpiece, there were some that had a big influence over the sound you produced, two I remember were the 'Roc' and the 'Berg Larsen' stainless steel models. I played a Berg Larsen for some time it was a great mouthpiece, however I found it difficult when changing to clarinet as we had to in some orchestrations, so I switched to a Selmer with a medium lay and all was ok.
The sound produced by saxophone players varies considerably, too soft a reed and the top notes suffer, too hard a reed and the bottom notes cannot be played quietly. What is most important is when you play in a section the matching of tones is crucial, you cannot have players that dominate or stick out like a sore thumb.
Another thing that influenced the change in the sound of dance music was the modification of instruments, the saxophone bore being increased is one example. I am sure that other instruments such as the Trumpet and Trombone have also been updated. Instruments were also gold-lacquered as opposed to silver-plate which I am sure has an affect on the tone. Matching and controlling vibrato is also essential. Some players used a hand vibrato and some, what I used to call a nanny-goat vibrato.