blusax

Thats pretty nuts. I went to AIT with one of the injured soldiers. I'll have to email him and give him crap.

I marched in that regional only boa contest we did when I was in HS... didnt make finals but yeah... I remember marching early in the day too... it was cold.

Mr. Baker was a good director. Its been 10 years since I was in a band of his. Sometimes you don't really appreciate a director who is able to make a band play to their potential because they arn't considered an elite band. Biggest compliment I can give him... he was always professional. One of the best directors I've known.

yeah I actually havent gotten withing 500 points of that score since... I just was hitting everything in the pocket that game.

Have a unique perspective being in the army. Wouldnt do it as punishment for mental mistakes. For someone slacking sure.... but if you assign it you run/push right there with them. Lets them know they are part of the team and you are right there with them. Good leaders would anyway.

This would be better answered by someone who has heard you play and is familier with the band you're in. The "more air" comment is accurate but not really helpful. Im assuming you're a sax player by your sig. Lets agree the most important difference between a brass instrument and saxophone is that the sax has a reed that vibrates and a brass players sound is produced by their lips vibrating. That said a brass players dynamic range should be greater than a reed players. Things you run into as a reed player if you're playing as loud as you possibly can... your reed with actually close up on you sealing itself onto the mouthpiece tip opening when you try to push to much air through. Also the size of the facing/tip opening on the mouthpiece will limit how much air your can push though (Why virtually all jazz mouthpieces tend to play louder than your stock C*). Something you will notice with brass is their tone. I am much more suited to the classical saxophone sound vs a jazz sound. Ask joe blow trumpet player to play the same volume on a longtone with a jazz tone and a classical tone (bet you money it will be virtually the same tone, bright). So in concert band, you are playing with a dark sound that blends vs a trumpet playing with a bright sound that sticks out. That by itself will give the illusion of the trumpet being louder than the sax. Quick fix I would try not knowing you. If you are getting an airy sound and can't get a piano level dynamic to come out with virtually no back pressure in your mouth. Get a softer reed. That blowing your brains out comment makes me think you have to much back pressure vs how strong your embourchure is. If you are pushing as much air through as you can and the reed is sealing itself against the mouthpiece thats a sign you would want a harder reed. I would be willing to bet softer is the way to go since many reed players associate harder reeds with being a better player (because many band directors don't watch their mouths and give misinformation to reed players they teach). If this post is related to experiences in a jazz band, get a jazz mouthpiece. Stock mouthpieces like a selmer C* or something like it just arnt appropriate in that environment.

Briefly scimmed this thread to see if my top reason was given. To me... its tradition. Alot of other factors that have been mentioned are involved also. But a tradition of excellence is hard to bring down. Being an 8th grader seeing your future band and knowing they are one of the top bands in the state makes the average person willing to work abit more than they normally would. I would agree with money to some extent also. But its not so much money as what is common when schools are in affluent areas. More kids tend to take private lessons... thier parents push them to do well on thier instruments... and an affluent school with alot of parental support is more likely to attract the top notch directors. In that sense... money matters. Band to band kids arnt noticibly more talented than anywhere else unless you want to start looking at magnet performing arts schools (I can think of 2 in texas off the top of my head).

Grats to those of you in bands that advanced. Area B has always been tough.

Typical legit setup for me is Yanagisawa 992 as I mentioned in above post. A selmer S80 C* (had it over 10 years now) vandoren reeds strength 3 and a BG tradition ligature (gold plated). Pretty satisfied with this setup. Lately we have had a big band going where I play same horn with a meyer 8m large chamber with vandoren java 3s and a rovner ligature. Blends very well and lets me be loud enough to support our lead alto at any volume. But I wouldnt be on that piece if I was playing lead cause the sound doesnt cut enough. Looking for a mouthpiece for lead alto playing atm. Dont get to do much big band though. My tenor playing is currently limited to dixie band where I play reference 36 with an otto link 7* with stock ligature and vandoren 2 1/2s. Not pleased with mouthpiece sound in this group but its functional for jobs and no one says anything so guess its my problem.

Well obviously this is a personal preference issue. At the moment I play alto and tenor in various ensembles. Im really all about the sound I produce on different horns rather than how technically sound it is (although thats important too) My unit just got a horn I requested about a year ago a Yanagisawa 992 (bronze) alto. Love the horn to death. Very dark sound (darker than selmers) and the altissimo is just a little easier than my selmer series 2 alto. For Dixie Band and the occasional big band stuff I play on a selmer reference 36. Love that horn too. Been dying to try a yamaha custom z tenor but there wernt any I could find and test at TBA this year.

I agree with itsstephenyo post. A better question is how many playable reads does someone go through a week. Its all relative. Im very particular, I like a very pure dark sound that I can produce at a pp to a forte and not have much noticible back pressure. That for me is a vandoren 3 on alto of which about half are good and the other half (well if you have a stand in band that keeps creeping down... the reed holders wedged up against the pole works wonders) are trash. Rotate them rehearsal to rehearsal, practice session to practice session and you'll get more use out of them. And not that I dont like the idea of getting the most of marching band rehearsals... but I would recommend using lesser reeds (the trash I mentioned above) for those considering the conditions yall often face.

Got this from another page yesterday as I use to compete in this contest back in my day. Contest has gone down abit in finals performances the last few years since Birdville usually holds thier contest the same day. Finals Rankings Summit (Mansfield) Martin Aledo Azle Bowie (Arlington) Crowley Arlington Springtown Joshua Pleasant Grove