Don't put yourself down for starting late (at 14). I started late at 32....and still playing at 72. You are doing all the right stuff.. Self analysis with good ears and focused plactise and expanding your horizons is all to be admired and all you need...your love for the music and entertaining is terrific... Cheers Mate.
Dude the stuff about wishing you had footage of the people you admire early in their music experience is literally me. My teacher can whip out a trumpet in any key and transpose and play anything I might be working on, making it sound pretty good, in like a minute and a half. Theoretically he was once where I am now, but it’s hard to see things that way most of the time.
Lol, my band director can pick up any instrument in the room and play the part perfectly except for the double reeds, I've seen him pick up and play a piccolo and tuba within 5 minutes of each other
Loved the video, I'm in grade 11 and I've been playing the sax since grade 7, but I've only been practicing seriously since about the middle of grade 10. It's been really great because of my band teacher who really helps us out, and lots of saxophonists on youtube, you included. Thanks for showing us your progress!
You started late at 14 …. I started late at 52🤣 Wish I started at 14! The thing to celebrate is not when we started but the fact that we didn’t stop. Well done - you are still playing and I thought you were already good after 3 years. Great video
I’m 14 and started playing sax for my high school band. I was looking around on RU-vid looking for people who give tips on playing sax and I found this channel and ever since I’ve been really inspired. I managed to land a solo in our spring concert and it was ok for my first solo on stage. I can only hope to play and sound as good as you one day.
loved the story you shared about your ensemble and how you all had language barriers but as soon as the music started you were all on the same wavelength.. so dope! great video thanks for sharing
Dude. I'm 31 and you have inspired me to pick up a saxophone. I've done vocals and 0 instruments my whole life but your vids have really motivated me to get out of my comfort zone 🙏🏽
Please don't take this the wrong way, but thank you for making me feel better about myself. I have been playing for one and a half years and I am regularly too hard on myself. You are one of the only people showing their real long-term progress on saxophone. Thank you.
I’m 15 and I started playing the alto sax (my first instrument) a few months ago at 14 for my marching and jazz band classes, and I hope to grow up to be as good a musician as you are
I've been playing for 5 years (started seriously at 52) and so far I can relate to the facial expression when hearing oneself play. You are doing great. Your video has motivated me to continue with the journey.
Hey!! I started playing sax when I was 12 so that I could join my schools jazz band (7th grade was the first year they had one). I started learning piano when I was 8, flute for concert band when I was 10, and I was in my schools choir when I was 11. So, while I knew musical basics and everything, sax was such a big difference from what I knew. When I started you were such a big inspiration (you’re actually the one who made me want to learn saxophone and not trombone or trumpet, my other options), and you encouraged me to keep practicing and playing. I can still remember how surprised I was when my band teacher put me in the lead sax position after I had only been playing sax for 4 or 5 months. It came so naturally for me, and my love for the instrument is only increasing as I play it more. I still love flute and piano, but sax is definitely my favourite. I have to thank you for that, I’ve found my passion in music and it’s thanks to you.
I’ve got 4 and a half years under my belt and I gotta admit, the work never really stops. Especially since I’m setting my sights on California All State band in a few months for my 11th grade year. But yeah, I think most of my improvement really happened these last few months when I finally started taking practicing really seriously
I really respect your dedication to your craft. Thanks for sharing this. It's inspiring to see a youngster not knowing what he was doing to later becoming a seasoned professional. Well done my man! Inspiring! 👏👏👏
Damn, you got good VERY fast, but long term you really committed to and progressed the learning process into your own style. As a non-wind/reed player, I can't even hear some of the "bad" bits you're picking up on looking back. Cool video.
Very entertaining and interesting. Keep them coming! You listen with a "technical" ear. My untrained ear appreciates and enjoys even your earliest efforts.
I used to study administration but after a deep dive in RU-vid + bad decision making I dropped out and entered a music college. These where the kind of videos that inspired me
Really cool video! As someone who’s taken lots of breaks from sax and doesn’t really know how to practice, I’ve always wondered how people meaningfully progress. I see you performed a lot! Maybe that’s a key🙂
What a wonderful video. I really appreciate you sharing all this, it gives me so much perspective. I'm 39 and I started clarinet 2 years ago. I had zero musical knowledge before that. I practice everyday, I play all the time, and I'm starting to play with friends. I have kinda imagined my progress up to about 5 years and it doesn't seem far off from where you were through those years, so that's nice to see. Also very cool you are playing bluegrass. I am working on learning how to play country clarinet along with a guitar and hope to play fast enough for bluegrass one day. Thanks for sharing.
This inspires me as a guy with a year experience on Sax and going into Music Ed. I feel more comfortable going in and I feel like I can make it into the school.
Good job, You put the time in. I really started at 15, worked hard , went to Berklee, became high school band director, pro musician, college music educator. Backwards sax photos (18:60) drive me crazy
I’ve just started learning saxophone in the last 8 months as a second instrument as I’ve been playing flute for a long time before this. This is really inspirational for me.
I’m amazed at all the opportunities you were able to perform. I live in Kansas and there’s barely any opportunities to do this stuff. I’ve had to travel a couple hours to some of the stuff I’ve gotten to do.
Dude I’ve been playing for 9 years as a senior in high school I’m nowhere close to where you were at my age, going to college for performance and ed wondering where in the country you grew up. I’m in western New York and I don’t know anyone with your talent. I’ve made all county and nysma (conference Allstate) man congrats on everything man.
Hey thanks so much!! Everyone is on their own path and learns at a different pace so don’t compare yourself too much! I grew up in Pittsburgh (still live there). Thanks so much for watching🙏🏻
started 21-07-2020 with my saxophone journey at the age of 50, now 2.5 years later, not even close to where you where at, but i keep practicing... nice compilation
Wow, how reassuring to see someone else, who's street lengths ahead of me, coping with all the same issues on his improvement road to perfection. There might be hope for me yet.🙂
Good night congrats you did not start late .I started at twenty four years old and still playing now thirty nine years later. Keep practising you will get better.
They may be cringy to you, but these videos show that if you put in the work, sometimes hard, it pays off. I'm old, when I see the smiles on peoples faces on The Dooo's, and Rob Landes' videos it makes me wish I had learned to play an instrument. 👍
Hey Frankie! This was an awesome video. I've only been playing for 5 years so I've still got a while to go but it was great to see your playing progression. I'd recommend for a video trying out the new alto nexus reeds!! They've actually blown me away. I'd give it a go if I were you xoxo
While as you say you started too late, I started studying at 41. Now I'm almost 47 and I still neither have a vibrato nor sound good enough. I even can't get rid of mistakes while improvising because don't remember all the notes in some harmonies. I also can't play good low notes. So for 10 years you're playing brilliantly compared to me.
Funny thing, I can relate. I have a video of my son at 10 years old playing at a Recital on his Sax. He just graduated from Pasadena City College in June and will be going onto Calif. State University Northridge. He is really good now. He likes Jazz. Were you an only “Jazz” player in College ? Check out The Jazz Avengers. They’re from Japan.
I started learning sax in middle school cause I'm in a music school but that means that I didn't practice in the summers and that I missed a lot of lessons during the Quarantine, so practically I've only been playing for about 3years and only this year have I actually taken it seriously
At that particular point, you didn't sound bad on a melody like 'Tenderly'. And I agree. Your music direct had to have pick a song like that. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed, (nice tone,, btw)
I started at 24 now im 28 i think i sound just like you when you had 4 years of practice So i think im doing something right i hope i can reach your level someday
I started in 7th grade, but never really practiced until this year. My senior year. I made 1st chair all state and now I keep wondering how much I could have improved if I had practiced even a year earlier. Don't do what I did young ones.
I played piano after 10 years of interruption and funny enough my fingers become bigger and distances have changed. So, I could not do it automatically although I have muscle memory to play those songs which I had learned. (I use muscle memory to write on computer as well. Like this comment I wrote and then I have to reread and edit what I have written automatically)
I always had the opposite problem Really good tone quality from the start but just sucked at playing fast or soloing Your soloing sounds better than most people straight off but the tone quality had some catching up to do lol
Loved your video. I played throughout grade school and high school. I'm 54 now and started picking it up again regularly. I've always had that pure tone classical sound and now I've really been trying to get that edgy, buzzy sound like you had on your Feb 26, 2022 section. What was different in that solo, compared to the others, that gave you such a different sound?
Ahh that's awesome to hear! Honestly, I think I had just been transcribing a lot of Sam Greenfield who has a super bright edgy sound so that was the sound I had in my head
Love the vid man I've been playing tuba since late 8th grade (I'm in 9th now) but I do have a question is it bad or good that I also make harsh slef analysis and could it effect my overall confidence?
Really nice seeing someone else's improvement over time.. however i'm still struggling with embouchure on saxophone because i moved from clarinet to sax and i still hold it kinda tight and i also think the ammount of mouthpiece is way less than it should be. What do you think about rolling your lower lip a bit more ? Is that something i should try ? Out of 10 embouchure videos, 8 of them talk about it and the fact that the clarinet/saxophone embouchure are way different than you'd think. Thanks in advance, good luck, and i'm hoping to see more of your videos!
Yes! I’ve been going out to bluegrass jams and learning more tunes, I just haven’t posted about it much because it’s a smaller part of everything I’m doing. I usually will try to post tunes I’m learning on my Instagram though
