Hey, so this is a bit of a random observation. My cat loves the Melodica, well specfically a low A and C note. Shes not too bothered by any other instruments (I live with 3 musicians so no shortage of different types of groove going on somewhere) Shes 12 and generally keeps herself to herself but has become more affectionate in recent years. Whenever I play and hold an A or C (lower on the keys) she rolls around and sings along and rubs up against me and has an almost thunderous purr, will literally jump up from sleeping on the other side of the room if I'm playing it and will come be all friskey. My partner has a theory that it is mimicing a purr to her? As cats purr by air moving across vibrating muscles? Seen a few things on the internet about some pets loving certain sounds/instruments and some that ate certain sounds. Just wondered if anyone else had any similar experiences.
Hello there!
I've been playing guitars, keyboards, drums for a long time. Recently, I wanted to try out woodwinds.
So, around two months ago, I picked up some recorders: tenor, alto, soprano. Really loved the experience. Those are quite easy to start learning, but with practice, become very expressive and precise. Moreover, recorders even have three octaves range, and they are some of the quietest woodwinds, which is great for practicing in the apartment.
But there is much more to woodwinds than just recorders and flutes. Reed instruments are much more widely used, and recorders alone definitely can't replace them. So, now I'm thinking of starting learning something with a reed.
The most limiting thing for me is that my only practice space is my apartment. Indefinitely-long lockdown here crosses out practicing in any other building, and it being winter and cold now crosses out practicing anywhere outside for quite some time.
Around 85 dBA is probably the loudest I feel comfortable practicing at home. For reference, I measured that speech is around 65-75 dBA, an acoustic guitar is about 65-80 dBA, recorders are 70-85 dBA.
So, even though I like sax, it is probably way too loud, and there are no cheap ways to mute them effectively. The clarinet is told to be much quieter, but I don't know how much it is quieter. And it sounds a little bit too smooth for my liking (although it likely mostly depends on the player, e.g., the same way how classic and jazz sax sound so different, idk).
After some research, I tried out a Xaphoon. It's not too loud, doesn't outright position itself as a toy, and I got it pretty cheap. It sounds to me like a mix of saxophone, clarinet~~, and kazoo~~ (depending on the player). Wide fingerings are not a problem since I have good stretch from playing other instruments. Out of the box, it came with a 2.5 tenor sax reed, which is usually told to be way too thick for a first-time reed instrument player (and nevermind that Xaphoon also requires significantly more pressure to produce sound than sax).
So, I watched tons of applicable regular sax tutorials and did my first several hours of practice. I learned to consistently produce long stable notes in the lower register, to do some tonguing, and to play lower C-A notes in tune. Hence, so far, it doesn't seem like there would be tons of problems with breathing or embouchure strength if I would want to try other instruments.
But Xaphoon still appears to be quite limited compared t
... keep reading on reddit ➡I was about to respond to an archived thread. But I can't. 3 Years ago, a redditor asked r/Clarinet about some chalumeau options. The inquiry involved some options found online:
- Cantabile X-20
- Jupiter Saxonette
- nuvo DooD
- Yamaha Venova
- Hanson Chalumeau
- Tupian Chalumeau
- Saxaflute (Erik the Flutemaker)
I realize some of these are not proper chalumeau, although they do share some basics - single reed and largely simple fingering. A number of these don't seem to be in production any more. Are there others out there that are decent?
I own a couple of these, and am always looking for a new addition to my collections. Here's my experience with a couple.
Maui Xafoon / Bamboo Sax - I have one of the original handmade bamboo ones, don't recall if it's Bb or C. Very finnicky fingering, soft reed, loose embouchure, low pressure, and very flexible intonation. I find it hard to hit notes in tune, and end up making a lot of adjustments as I play, lipping up and down. The one-piece design limits options, as you can not change to a different mouthpiece. Can anyone compare the original with the plastic version? I did notice there are a lot of knock-offs of this. I would guess when the owner started contract manufacturing them in plastic, the factory started making their own and selling them without giving him credit.
Yamaha Venova - I have both a soprano and an alto. Nice to be able to choose a mouthpiece. Fun playing an instrument with a mouthpiece that costs twice as much or more. The alto works superbly with a good mouthpiece. The keys take some adjustment coming from a sax and clarinet background. Having clarinet chops helps with handling open tone-holes. Soprano has some odd fingering choices with a plug for choosing which recorder-style fingerings you want to use. I definitely like playing the alto better than the soprano. Not a true chalumeau - you get octaves!
Hanson Chalumeau - Mine is in Bb. As far as I know, these are no longer in production. Might be able to find one on the secondary market, or contact the company to see if they would consider making one, in one really wants one. I have one, this is awesome for developing clarinet embouchure. Bring your own mouthpiece, and ability to change this as you wish. The body is INDESTRUCTABLE! Very sturdy. Fingerings are not difficult, but are unforgiving, with odd ovalized tone-holes. A little off the tone-holes, and it won't come out right.
Of those that remain, I would be most interested in the Ju
... keep reading on reddit ➡
I'm struggling to find the answer to this question. I've traced some instruments with uncertain history to them like the Turkish Mey which belongs to a family of very old instruments with large double reeds. I'm sure there are older things out there that I just didn't find. It's hard finding the history on double reed instruments.
Anyone know the answer?
https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/prs-guitars-paul-reed-smith-technology/
According to a new report from Guitar World, Smith co-founded another company called Digital Harmonic in 2015, which specializes in revealing hidden data in images through brute force mathematical scoring and adjusting of pixel values based on neighborhood relationships. The company’s technological advancements have impressively earned the attention of professionals within the aerospace, national defense, auto manufacturing, and even astronomy fields.
The primary musical use for Smith’s technology is to pick out individual instruments from a multi-track recording, but one can also use it to enhance images by removing fog from a blurry image, or enhance nighttime shots and x-rays.
Hey everyone! I play Bassoon and have for 8 years, but when I got to high school marching band, they made me learn another instrument. I chose tenor saxophone, most of the double reed players in my area do. Can I ask what the policy for y'all's double reed players are? Do you guys have any? What do they march?
The title says it all!
Looking to buy a diplica, can't find one anywhere.
