Dizzy Gillespie, Move Over!
Hmmm. It will probably be more like "Dizzy Gillespie, roll over in your grave"...
I stumbled onto an old, unclaimed trumpet that was in a lost-and-found where I work. The thing had been there for a couple of years, and nobody had ever stepped forward to say "Mine!" So, I was told to make it disappear if I wanted it. It's an Olds Ambassador model, circa 1970. Lots of the enamel is worn off, and there is no mouthpiece, but mouthpieces only cost $15-$20... and all the valves appear to be just fine! I estimate the worth of the instrument in its current condition to be about $50. I can get a decent sound on a brass instrument, but I know no fingerings, thus I know no notes. Where to begin? Probably with an instruction book. Once I learn some notes I can take on guys like Dizzy, Satchmo, Wynton Marsalis, etc.
I also bought my own saxophone mouthpiece to use with my daughter's alto sax. I play clarinets (regular, alto and bass), so I figure that saxophone shouldn't be too difficult to learn. During college I borrowed a friend's alto sax and taught myself some scales and arpeggios. I got to where I could play some melody lines by ear, and my sound was improving daily until my friend needed his instrument back. That ended that... Now, 25 years later I'm ready to give the sax another go.
Which instrument should I start on first, the trumpet or the alto sax? I had a thought: why not see if the mouthpiece to one instrument fits on the other, and go from there?
When I eventually release my first CD, "Various Miseries", I will be sure that both the sax and the trumpet appear in one of the songs. It will be brutal, but what the heck!
The CD is one I have been working on at home, using my digital 8-channel recorder. I will be playing and singing all the parts, and just about all the music will be original. It should provide you, the listeners, with a truly miserable experience! Heh heh heh!
I stumbled onto an old, unclaimed trumpet that was in a lost-and-found where I work. The thing had been there for a couple of years, and nobody had ever stepped forward to say "Mine!" So, I was told to make it disappear if I wanted it. It's an Olds Ambassador model, circa 1970. Lots of the enamel is worn off, and there is no mouthpiece, but mouthpieces only cost $15-$20... and all the valves appear to be just fine! I estimate the worth of the instrument in its current condition to be about $50. I can get a decent sound on a brass instrument, but I know no fingerings, thus I know no notes. Where to begin? Probably with an instruction book. Once I learn some notes I can take on guys like Dizzy, Satchmo, Wynton Marsalis, etc.
I also bought my own saxophone mouthpiece to use with my daughter's alto sax. I play clarinets (regular, alto and bass), so I figure that saxophone shouldn't be too difficult to learn. During college I borrowed a friend's alto sax and taught myself some scales and arpeggios. I got to where I could play some melody lines by ear, and my sound was improving daily until my friend needed his instrument back. That ended that... Now, 25 years later I'm ready to give the sax another go.
Which instrument should I start on first, the trumpet or the alto sax? I had a thought: why not see if the mouthpiece to one instrument fits on the other, and go from there?
When I eventually release my first CD, "Various Miseries", I will be sure that both the sax and the trumpet appear in one of the songs. It will be brutal, but what the heck!
The CD is one I have been working on at home, using my digital 8-channel recorder. I will be playing and singing all the parts, and just about all the music will be original. It should provide you, the listeners, with a truly miserable experience! Heh heh heh!
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