About a month ago, I received a Rico Reed Vitalizer Case in the mail. I had given the folks at Rico Reeds some feedback about one of their products and they sent the case as a thank you gift for my input.
For a long time now, I have been a throw-the-reed-on-the-mouthpiece-and-leave-it-there-kind-of-guy. I decided to give this reed case a try to see what would happen.
Based on my experiences over the last month, here’s a description of some pros and cons.
Pros:
The case can hold up to 8 reeds and there are numbered slots to help keep track of them.
The case can hold any size reed from Eb clarinet to baritone saxophone.
The design is compact and would easily fit in just about any case.
The humidity pack that goes in the case has kept my reeds in good playable condition. I just wet them a little bit and I’m ready to go.
None of the reeds I’ve kept in the case have warped at all.
The case comes with stickers to help keep up with which reed case goes with which instrument.
Cons:
The numbers for each slot are the same color (black) as the rest of the case and can be hard to see especially in low light (backstage/onstage) situations. I will probably use my label maker to make some stickers that have some contrast.
The spot on the case for the instrument sticker is on the bottom. I would prefer it to be on the top, but that’s not a big deal. If you only play one instrument, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Having this case means that you’ll have to regularly purchase the humidity packets (Reed Vitalizer Packs). They recommend changing them every 45-60 days. It would be a yearly expense of probably $35-$45 depending on where you buy the packs.
Having put that all out there, I can tell you that I would definitely recommend the Rico Reed Vitalizer Case to anyone looking for a reed storage solution. My reeds have been in better condition and have all lasted much longer than they previously did. I was a little put off at first with the idea of having to buy humidity packs on a regular basis, but it looks like keeping my reeds in this case will actually save me money in the long term.
I am using one case now for my tenor reeds and I just bought another one to use for bari and bass clarinet reeds. Thanks for putting out a great product Rico!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Rico Reeds Artist and do not have any affiliation with them.
While I was online tonight, I stumbledupon good-ear.com. It is a simple ear training tool with a lot of options. A lot of the hits on my site come from people doing google searches for “charlie banacos exercises.” Good-ear.com allows you to do exercises like those that are randomly generated in real time. It also keeps track of your progress by letting you know how many right answers you’ve gotten out of the total attempts.
The best part of this website is the price – it’s FREE! I was really happy to find this and just wanted to share it with all of you.
The basic gist of the story was that this trombone player was chronically ill due to mold and bacteria that were growing inside his horn. This may sound like an isolated incident, but scientists running an experiment prompted by this case found that every instrument they tested had some form of contamination.
For saxophone players, there are a few things you can do to maintain good saxophone hygiene.
1. Clean your mouthpiece.
You can use a mouthpiece brush to get out any particles that are left behind after playing.
You can also let your mouthpiece soak in hydrogen peroxide. This can be really gross if you haven’t cleaned out your mouthpiece for a while, but also has a fun, science fair quality to it.
You can use soap and lukewarm water. Be careful to avoid hot water with hard rubber mouthpieces. The hot water can cause discoloration and you’ll end up with a green or brown mouthpiece.
2. Clean your neck.
You can use a neck brush (a trumpet snake would probably also work) to remove particles. You could also put soapy water on the brush and scrub the inside of the neck.
You can put hydrogen peroxide in the neck and let it soak for a few minutes. Be sure to put a piece of tape over the octave pip if you do this.
3. Clean your reeds.
Wipe excess moisture off of reeds (on both sides) after playing.
Dispose of reeds that have any mold on them.
Soak reeds in a 50%-50% solution of water and hydrogen peroxide. This will get the reed clean, but it will play softer afterwards.
4. Clean the body
Run a swab through the body of your saxophone after you finish playing.
If you have a shove-it (those fuzzy things that people put in their horns), put it in the horn to remove moisture and then take it out. Storing shove-its in the horn keeps that moisture in your horn, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid.
Wipe down the exterior of the horn with a soft cloth.
I have 5 spots available for saxophone students who would like to study via Skype. I specialize in helping students who want to:
Produce a beautiful, professional saxophone tone
Get more out of their practice time
Develop greater facility
Clean up their technique
Learn music theory and apply it to the saxophone
Transcribe songs and solos
Begin their journey of saxophone playing (young students or adults)
If you’re interested in improving your playing in any of these areas, please contact me by clicking here. The rate is $50 for a one hour lesson or $30 for a half hour.
Please act now to secure your spot in my online studio.
Traveling with an instrument has been daunting for a long time. The fear of being stopped somewhere between the ticket counter and the plane and told you have to check your prized (and very delicate) possession has been great. Hopefully a lot of that fear can be alleviated with the Congress’s passage of the new FAA bill. It appears that as long as your instrument will fit under the seat, in the overhead compartment, or in a storage locker in the cabin, you can bring it on with you. There is also a provision for larger instruments, but people wishing to travel with those instruments in the cabin would still be required to purchase an additional seat for that instrument.
This is all to be taken with a hint of caution, for now. On the page I linked to above, you can get a .pdf summary of the part of the bill that relates to instruments. In that summary, there’s a section at the bottom that says:
“Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue final regulations to carry out subsection (a).”
Subsection (a) is the part of the bill that describes the policy for bringing and stowing instruments in the cabin of a plane. This is a victory for working and traveling musicians everywhere, but it may be a while before we are guaranteed this right.
Here’s a video from the Moksha gig on Friday at Las Vegas Country Saloon. This is from Christian McBride’s “Technicolor Nightmare.” Jen Hartswick’s on trumpet, Peter Apfelbaum and Skerik are on tenor, and I’m playing bari. Enjoy!
This solo has all of the things that I like about Rick Margitza. There’s a lot of great melodic inside playing, material built off of upper structure triads, and a strong display of fluency in the altissimo register. I actually learned this solo 6 months ago, maybe longer, but I just got around to writing it down. I spent a LOT of time playing this slowed down to 50% (even down to 25% sometimes!) in Transcribe! It was the only way I could have possibly gotten the 32nd-note double-time stuff down.
A couple of notes for practicing/performance:
The solo goes up to altissimo D (D4). I decided to write this all with ledger lines and not use 8va.
There are a couple of harmonics in the solo. They have a ° sign above them. Finger the bottom note and sound the top note.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I love reading books about music! It’s so nice to have that access to someone else’s perspective and insights. Here are a couple that really influenced how I think about music and how I work at music.
1. The Talent Code – Author Daniel Coyle has spent most of his career writing about sports. There are, of course, many parallels between practicing sports and practicing music. In the book, Coyle talks about hotbeds of talent in sports, music, and other disciplines. What’s striking is that all of the hotbeds have a large number of things in common – direct, expert coaching, simple, uncluttered environments, and a lot of repetition along with a list of other factors.
The takeaway from this book for me was the importance of slow practice. Parts of the book describe the Meadowmount Music Camp. The teachers encourage slow practice and the saying around there is that if someone walking by can recognize a passage you’re practicing, then you’re playing it too fast. In my own practice, I haven’t taken to quite that extreme, but when I’m working on something new or encounter problems with something I’m comfortable with, I slow it down and attempt to play with as little tension and with the best technique I can. This has been extremely helpful.
2. Effortless Mastery – In this book, pianist Kenny Werner, writes about his life as a musician and issues with negative self-talk that we can all experience from time to time (or all the time!). He goes on to discuss how he was able to let go of this burden and gives advice to musicians who want to follow that same path. It also includes a CD that contains 4 meditations guided by Kenny Werner.
I think that book serves as a reminder of two things. 1. It’s very easy to talk yourself into walking into a musical situation feeling defeated before you play/sing a note. 2. Music is a truly joyful activity that we do with people that we care about and we have the right to feel that joy, to spread that both to our friends on the bandstand, and to the listener(s). We also have the right to revel in the joy of our bandmates.
The beginning of a new year is always a time of reflection and renewal. Many people are making resolutions and striving to create habits or break old ones. Just like everyone else, I’ve been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year and how to go about it. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of my ideas for new year’s resolutions. You might find something that you hadn’t thought of that resonates with you or you might have a resolution you’d like to add in the comments. I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you make it a great one. Without further ado, here’s the list.
1. Listen to more music.
2. Learn more tunes.
3. Find more playing opportunities (jam sessions, start a new project, etc.).
4. Start taking lessons (for the first time or start up again).
5. Write music.
6. Go out and support live music.
7. Learn a new instrument.
8. Transcribe solos.
9. Listen to new (to you) musical styles.
10. Memorize something new every day.
11. Read a musician’s biography.
12. Develop a practice routine.
13. Improve your technique.
14. Find the equipment that you love and not just what works.
15. Learn music notation software (Finale, Sibelius, etc.)
16. Learn audio software (ProTools, Logic, etc.)
17. Learn music fundamentals on your instrument (scales, chords, patterns, etc.)
18. Create your own patterns
19. Work on music business skills.
20. Work on ear training.
21. Try to connect with a musician you admire (in person or via social media, email, etc.)
22. Practice something is awkward/uncomfortable/difficult every day.
23. Learn some basic instrument repair skills.
24. Insure your instruments.
25. Get in the studio and make a recording.
26. Sell off all the extra gear you’re never going to really need.
27. Don’t take a solo on every tune.
28. Study music theory.
29. Read music-related books.
30. Be creative everyday.
So there it is, a few ideas to start off the year. These are not my personal resolutions. I already do some of these things (my instruments are insured, for example) and strive to do some of the others. Again, if you have any resolution ideas, please leave a comment.
This video is taken from the 2011 Commencement at the Juilliard School in New York. The speaker was composer John Adams. He speaks very eloquently about the role of arts in today’s society as well as the divergent path we choose as artists. His words are uplifting and a reminder of why we do what we do.
