A question about singing.
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I am a terrible singer. My range is about 13 notes. Anything above C4 is a struggle...
Anyhow, as some of you saw, on FB, I'm looking for a version of "Rejoice, Greatly" piano accompaniment. My piano teacher was looking for it, and I was sent a couple of good versions.
But...
When it comes to "making music," for singers, I really don't get it. I'm a crappy sight-reader, but when I play something from a score, I know exactly what keys to hit, and usually the timing.
Is it the same for singers?
Singers talk about "the instrument." Is it the same as playing a "real" instrument - one which, when you press a series of keys, stroke a bow, whatever, you get a predictable tone? Looking at the soprano part of "Rejoice" I'm thinking that this wouldn't be all that hard to play on the piano - but without accompaniment, would a singer be able to pull it off just as easily?
Am I making sense?
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Wind and string instruments (and I will include voice as a wind instrument) are all about learning to create and sustain a pleasant tone. Timbre, intonation, support, vibrato, etc… are the difficult parts of playing these instruments.
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control. Over time, as you develop your embouchure and are more capable of controlling your pitch you can move on to an instrument that will be capable of far more nuances but can also be too difficult for a beginner to master…
Piano is all about pressing the right keys in the right order with the right force. Both are difficult for different reasons.
The Brad
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Wind and string instruments (and I will include voice as a wind instrument) are all about learning to create and sustain a pleasant tone. Timbre, intonation, support, vibrato, etc… are the difficult parts of playing these instruments.
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control. Over time, as you develop your embouchure and are more capable of controlling your pitch you can move on to an instrument that will be capable of far more nuances but can also be too difficult for a beginner to master…
Piano is all about pressing the right keys in the right order with the right force. Both are difficult for different reasons.
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
Wind and string instruments (and I will include voice as a wind instrument) are all about learning to create and sustain a pleasant tone. Timbre, intonation, support, vibrato, etc… are the difficult parts of playing these instruments.
Fascinating. For a while I studied with a teacher who was part of a "school." The school was actually someone's basement, divided into various rooms. My room had a really shitty upright piano. The teacher was great, but..
Anyhow, sometimes, during my sessions, I could hear students in other rooms playing various string instruments. They always, ALWAYS, sounded horrible. I mean, screaming cat horrible. I know the notes were correct, but OMG, that sound. Listen to any elementary school orchestra and you'll get what I mean.
There was nothing "pleasant" about it.
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Wind and string instruments (and I will include voice as a wind instrument) are all about learning to create and sustain a pleasant tone. Timbre, intonation, support, vibrato, etc… are the difficult parts of playing these instruments.
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control. Over time, as you develop your embouchure and are more capable of controlling your pitch you can move on to an instrument that will be capable of far more nuances but can also be too difficult for a beginner to master…
Piano is all about pressing the right keys in the right order with the right force. Both are difficult for different reasons.
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune. It doesn't matter, since the kids will be out of tune anyway.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no real point buying them a good instrument until they've demonstrated they'll commit.
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@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune. It doesn't matter, since the kids will be out of tune anyway.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no real point buying them a good instrument until they've demonstrated they'll commit.
@Doctor-Phibes said in A question about singing.:
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no point buying them a good instrument.
It was the way I was taught… And what I was told in school…When I had Luke start, I had him use my Cannonball. Decent instrument. Not a Selmer Mark VI or even a Super Action, but decent. He was all over the place and couldn’t hold the pitch. He was discouraged. Went out and got him a Selmer AS500 and it was much better. But tye AS500 is a nice little horn…
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@Doctor-Phibes said in A question about singing.:
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no point buying them a good instrument.
It was the way I was taught… And what I was told in school…When I had Luke start, I had him use my Cannonball. Decent instrument. Not a Selmer Mark VI or even a Super Action, but decent. He was all over the place and couldn’t hold the pitch. He was discouraged. Went out and got him a Selmer AS500 and it was much better. But tye AS500 is a nice little horn…
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
@Doctor-Phibes said in A question about singing.:
@LuFins-Dad said in A question about singing.:
There’s no such thing as a beginner piano, but there are beginner saxophones/flutes/etc… I would not want my son to start on a Selmer Mark VI Alto Sax, for instance… when you are starting, you need something that will create a tone and pitch easily and is easier to control.
Is that true, though? I learned to play on an old Selmer alto, the main reason for buying it was that it was cheap. When it was produced in the 1930's, it was a top-of-the-line instrument.
I'm not sure I buy the idea of a pro-instrument being harder to play. My experience was the opposite. Cheap saxes generally aren't as in-tune.
I thought the reason for student instruments is that they're cheap, and kids will not typically treat them particularly well. Also, they'll most likely not stick with it, so there's no point buying them a good instrument.
It was the way I was taught… And what I was told in school…When I had Luke start, I had him use my Cannonball. Decent instrument. Not a Selmer Mark VI or even a Super Action, but decent. He was all over the place and couldn’t hold the pitch. He was discouraged. Went out and got him a Selmer AS500 and it was much better. But tye AS500 is a nice little horn…
OK, I hadn't experienced that, but I believe you.
As far as Mark VI's and SBA's go, my understanding is there's really great ones, but also not so good ones. The intonation can be questionable on the less good ones, since there's more variance due to the old-fashioned manufacturing techniques. My old Selmer Radio Improved sounded great, but the action left a lot to be desired - it was very loose. Maybe not the best choice to learn on, but back when I started you kind of got what you were given.
I found the biggest difference when I tried out student horns for a kid I was teaching was in the way it resonated/sang - or rather didn't. They felt fine to play, but they sounded a bit muffled by comparison to a better sax.
