tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51967347647323193972024-02-07T06:52:00.595-06:00Saxtastic SaxophoneSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-11658266549769767562011-11-16T14:03:00.001-06:002011-11-16T20:13:05.018-06:00Review: Phil Barone Soprano Sax
Hey everyone! Now that the fall semester is almost over, classes are starting to ease up (that is, until finals week). I have finally gotten into the "groove of things" and have finally found a way to have some free time. I haven't posted a review in a while, so I wanted to write a quick review over my Phil Barone Soprano. Now, most of you know that the products I review are sent to me; Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-75793768859757281382011-11-15T18:08:00.001-06:002011-11-15T18:10:33.754-06:00Have you Liked Us on Facebook Yet?
Hey you! If you are reading this article, then you must be connected to the Internet! That means that you can go and like our page on Facebook! There will be some sweet giveaways in the near future if we reach 100 fans, so GO GO GO!!! Invite your friends too! Link Here
SaraSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-14618020902420680442011-11-14T11:29:00.001-06:002011-11-14T11:44:17.625-06:00It's Been a Long Time, Old Friend...
Hello Blog World!
If you have been following this site, you may have noticed that I have not posted since August. Well, I'm back and wanted to post to let y'all know that I'm still here. Last year, I applied for a special program offered by my state to gain an extra edge in math and science. In this program, you enroll in college two years early, take all college courses, live like a college Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-61256555897543773472011-08-11T20:32:00.000-05:002011-08-11T20:32:17.043-05:00Rhythm Sight Reading Trainer ReviewedHey guys! Sorry for the long hiatus; I have been very busy preparing for college and playing saxophone. When I purchased my iPad 2 back in March, I searched the App Store for great music-related apps that would help me with my saxophone playing. One app that caught my eye was the Rhythm Sight Reading Trainer. I wrote about this about previously, but I have decided to give an in-depth review of Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-57781604606875459182011-06-21T21:01:00.002-05:002011-06-21T21:01:40.522-05:00Are YOU Ready???High school students, are you ready for solo and ensemble contest for your respective state? I know I am! Solo and Ensemble Contest may be eight or nine months away, but I have already chosen my piece! I decided that I will attempt (keyword is attempt) Improvisation et Caprice by Eugene Bozza. Seeing I have only been playing two years, this will be a great piece to work on my vibrato and Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-46786659522841932332011-05-26T18:18:00.002-05:002011-05-26T19:15:21.534-05:00The Difference: A ThoughtAfter researching soprano saxophones for a while, I have come up with a conclusion regarding the differences between Asian made "cheapo" saxes and the "high quality" pro saxes (think Selmer Paris, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, etc.). Please keep in mind that this is just the opinion of a saxophone-playing student not the meaning of life, and I own an Asian made "cheapo" and "high quality" pro sax.
If Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-7081792799153113532011-05-24T08:34:00.000-05:002011-05-24T08:34:19.550-05:00Mouthpiece Spotlight: Theo Wanne's Brahma
The second mouthpiece in the, "Mouthpiece Spotlight," is Theo Wanne's Brahma mouthpiece. This mouthpiece is the other tenor sax mouthpiece offered in the Performance line for those on a budget.
The Brahma is described as having medium brightness and is like a vintage Otto Link with improved projection, sound, and vintage hard rubber. Because it is part of the Performance Line, there are lessSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-71891878280948413222011-05-15T14:00:00.000-05:002011-05-15T14:00:33.655-05:00Mouthpiece Spotlight: Theo Wanne's Datta
Hey guys! I'm starting a new series called the, "Mouthpiece Spotlight." This series will showcase mouthpieces from different brands on my website. That way, you can come to one place to find out about a new mouthpiece you may want to buy.
The first mouthpiece in the, "Mouthpiece Spotlight," is Theo Wanne's Datta. The Datta is only available for the tenor sax and is part of Theo Wanne's Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-45403456806428785862011-05-14T16:32:00.001-05:002011-05-14T16:34:01.664-05:00A cool iPad app for musicians and studentsHey guys!
I recently found this cool app for the iPad/iPhone/iPod touch called the Rhythm Sight Reading Trainer. It cost $2.99, but I think it's worth it. This app is jam packed with tons of exercises plus a feature to randomly generate rhythms. There is a built in metronome that you set to a tempo. Then you try to tap along to the beat. At the end, it gives you feedback and a percent correct Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-31097782901398208012011-04-09T19:31:00.005-05:002011-04-09T19:52:12.766-05:00Runyon Custom Soprano Sax Mouthpiece ReviewAfter receiving a soprano saxophone as a gift for Christmas, I have been searching for the perfect beginner mouthpiece for it. I originally purchased a Bari soprano sax piece which played well, but gave the saxophone an "airy" tone with a Vandoren strength 2.5 reed. I decided to try a Runyon Custom, a mouthpiece that has received many positive reviews. The nice people at Runyon kindly sent me a Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-14542945791959830972011-04-09T17:41:00.001-05:002011-04-10T13:18:10.124-05:00The Vibratosax, aka the future of student/marching saxophonesIn late 2010/early 2011, Vibrato Co. released their highly anticipated saxophone known as the Vibratosax. For those of you unfamiliar with this product, the Vibratosax is the first polycarbonate saxophone available on market.
The Vibratosax is being compared to the Grafton saxophone because of the white plastic body look. Unlike the Grafton, the Vibratosax features a body made out of ABS and Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-589628473955928772011-04-03T18:52:00.001-05:002011-04-09T19:55:39.259-05:00UIL Contest, New iPad, and other Random TopicsHey guys,
After being MIA for a long time, I have finally returned to my blog! School has been overwhelming this entire semester and haw given me little time to breath. Luckily, we are in the last six weeks, so my workload will be much lighter (I hope). Last week was the first time I had free time, so I've been playing my sax (my Charlie Parker Omnibook arrived recently) and my new iPad.
Yup, Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-71388705627689491652011-03-01T21:29:00.000-06:002011-03-01T21:29:29.689-06:00Why the Long Absence?I'm sure that many of my dedicated subscribers have been wondering why there has been a period without any blog posts. Have I lost internet connection? Did I quit saxophone? Did I abandon my website? Fortunately, the answer to all of those questions are, "No." I have been spending countless hours of the past few weeks on a big Physics project. The goal of this project is to build a Rube Goldberg Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-89209669455876337032010-12-26T20:52:00.000-06:002011-04-09T19:48:55.717-05:00Post Christmas Present ReviewI hope everyone is having a great holiday! This may be a day late, but I wanted to share with you some of the awesome gifts my dad got my for Christmas.
First of all, he purchased me a Legacy soprano saxophone. Unfortunately, it was damaged in transit due to no protection whatsoever, so we had to send it back. However, my dad, being the awesome dad he is, bought me a Vienna by Woodwind soprano Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-67184797123147462882010-11-20T15:59:00.004-06:002011-04-09T19:56:35.855-05:00Aquilasax Alto Saxophone ReviewThese days, there are tons of saxophone brands, there are the eBay saxophones for $199.99 and free shipping that fall apart in one week and the better known brands like Selmer Paris and Yamaha. I was recently sent an Asian made horn from the company Aquilasax.com. Do Aquilasax saxophones stand up to the well established brands, or do they fall at par with the bad eBay saxes?
Specs:
Imitation Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-51421400693917469312010-11-06T15:45:00.000-05:002010-11-06T15:45:20.073-05:00Who Wants a Free Gift Certificate? Winner!Watch the video below to see if you won! Thanks for everyone who entered (I had 40 entries!!!).
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-79789829875046400022010-10-13T19:57:00.001-05:002011-04-09T19:57:06.088-05:00BA Sling ReviewFirst Impressions: Many saxophonists play for prolonged hours because of concerts, gigs or just practicing. I know that even after an hour of playing or marching, I get a stiff neck. Most people would say that you should use a harness, but they are constricting and can look silly with an alto. Well this long time problem has now been solved by the BA Sling, the harness-neckstrap-all-in-one!
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-63708360442430010152010-10-11T20:44:00.000-05:002010-10-11T20:44:43.263-05:00Practice your Sight Reading!These days, you can find everything on the Internet. While searching, I stumbled across the site PracticeSightReading.com. This great site does what is in it's name, it helps you practice your sight reading. Well, to a certain extent. This site helps you with the rhythm aspect of sight reading. Using the green bar at the top of the page, you can choose a different meter (time signature), then Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-23499112073384990282010-10-11T09:28:00.000-05:002010-10-11T09:28:51.849-05:00Pre-UIL Success!As you may or may not know, I am in my high school's marching band. Yesterday, I was at Pre-UIL, a marching competition to prepare us for UIL Region marching contest. At Pre-UIL, we competed against 15 other bands. From all the 16 bands, they chose 6 to advance to finals. Our band was lucky enough to advance to finals. At finals, we played our guts out and ended up winning Grand Champion! Below Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-16995484323876063922010-10-02T11:13:00.003-05:002011-04-09T19:57:54.948-05:00Which type of metronome should I buy?Below is an article courtesy of howtopractice.com on purchasing a metronome, the musician's best friend.
In practise rooms around the world a strange "tick, tick, tick" can be heard. Open the door and you will find curious little boxes producing a rhythmic click with vexed musicians trailing in their wake. These curious boxes are of course metronomes, but why do we as musicians need them andSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-19548360114772088272010-10-02T10:54:00.000-05:002010-10-02T10:54:47.095-05:00Texas All-State Etudes 2010 HelpFor all of the Texas high school students who are working on the All-State Etudes for this year, here is a great FREE practice kit from James Barger for Alto, Tenor, and Bari. It features midi recordings at different tempos, tuning notes, and other practice tools. Download the kit here.
Good luck practicing!Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-87947507479809580192010-09-19T10:48:00.001-05:002011-04-09T19:58:18.382-05:00Forestone 2nd Generation Synthetic Reed ReviewForestone Reeds is a great synthetic reed company that combines the traditional cane with a more modern synthetic. If you have read my previous review on the original Forestone Reeds, you would have seen that these are great pro-quality synthetic reeds. Well Forestone has come out with the 2nd generation of their amazing synthetics. Check out this updated review to see what has been improved.
Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-74315467652888951872010-08-29T19:34:00.001-05:002011-11-17T09:16:09.730-06:00The Chromatic Sax by Jim Schmidt
In the world of saxophones, new technology doesn't come often. We might get something like a high g key on the alto or some new neck design that is supposed to radically change your sound, but what about a totally new fingering system? Well, Jim Schmidt did just that by inventing a tenor saxophone that implements an easier fingering system. Since the saxophone is based around the concept where Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-2076468758345381282010-08-21T22:00:00.002-05:002011-04-09T19:59:12.928-05:00*CLOSED* Who wants a free Gift Certificate? (Giveaway)You might remember that I recently reviewed Theo Wanne's Enlightened ligature. Well, if you would like one at a cheaper rate or want to purchase any other Theo Wanne product, then you will want to enter this giveaway! The nice people at TheoWanne.com have decided to sponsor a $25 gift certificate giveaway! So how can you win?
1. Comment on this post with the correct answer to this question (2 Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196734764732319397.post-45742401326850641092010-08-16T14:11:00.001-05:002011-04-09T19:59:33.335-05:00Flavoreeds ReviewHave you ever popped that reed in your mouth wishing it tasted like something other than cane? Do you want an easy way to tell when your reeds need to be replaced? Do you need some incentive for young beginners to practice? If you answered, "Yes," to any of the above questions, you may want to read this review and see if Flavoreeds are for you.
First Impressions: Flavoreeds makes flavored reeds Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08185839436454546945noreply@blogger.com3