I have been having a tough time. I have what is called degenerative disc disease. It is a deterioration of the disc between my vertebrae at all levels. It is, at times, extremely painful, as the nerves to my arms and legs are pinched. As my spine becomes more misaligned the more pain and numbness I suffer.
Every time I play the saxophone there is recovery time of about 2 days. So I’m not improving very fast. Sometimes I feel like I will never get back what I’ve lost. I do enjoy playing though. So, I will always play it no matter how much it hurts.
I do have a list of tunes that I’m working on. They are all jazz standards, mostly from the Real Book. I am also working to create background tracks which I would use on solo gigs. That is, if I can get a gig.
I am using Garage Band, which is a multi-track recording app that comes free on Apple computers. The app is really powerful and very useful. I have created some really good recordings with it.
I will keep moving, even if I have to do so slowly. The Allora Paris Series Tenor I bought is a really good instrument. The more I play it, the better it sounds. And the sound is gorgeous.
I am extremely impressed with the Vandoren V16 mouthpiece also. It is inexpensive, and gives me the tone and richness that I thought only a metal mouth piece could give. I still want to get a new Alto Sax as well at some point. I think I sound better on Alto than I do on Tenor. But I enjoy them both.
I did find out that there is a community band in the area. I may check them out as soon as I think I’ve had enough practice. I don’t know when that will be. I may go to a rehearsal just to hear them. I don’t know what level of music they play. Hopefully it is something I can keep up with. I don’t mind being the weakest player in a group because I am not a terrible player (I don’t think). Being the weakest link makes me push harder to be better.
At this point though I am only dreaming.
tonelovette.com 