Viewer discretion is advised. (Well, not really, unless you have issues with horn players and their saliva!).
As many of you know, I've started a YouTube channel called "BEATBoX SAX" (you can visit it here) where I've begun to post music videos and tutorials featuring me using various percussive effects and techniques while playing the sax. It's been a lot of fun hearing feedback from friends and complete strangers from all over. I've also been getting a lot of questions from sax players asking how I practice this stuff and how long it takes to learn (hence the weekly "Tutorial Tuesdays" I've started).
Today in this blog however, I want to mention one aspect of my practicing that isn't so glamorous to talk about: spit.
Yeah, that's right. I play a wind instrument, and that involves a lot of air (and yes, sometimes a bit of moisture from my mouth) flying through the horn. Saxophonists aren't known for their saliva as much as trumpet and trombone players, but as one could maybe imagine, my beatbox style sometimes might involve a bit more than normal.
One quick note, however, is that a lot of the moisture in the horn is actually condensation from the warm air passing through a colder instrument. In fact, a past student of mine mentioned being at a master class where the tuba teacher actually flicked the moisture from his spit valve on the audience! Now, it may be just me, but that seems a bit extreme! Yeah, it might be mostly condensation, but hey, it's probably called a "spit valve" for a reason!
So since some of my various techniques and more experimental ways of playing might involve more of this moisture, I've come up with a simple solution for keeping my practice room... uh... more dry.
Let's call it Derek Brown's patented "Practice Room Protector."
But ok, maybe it's not patented. And maybe it's actually just the back of a Cheerios box I put around the neck of my horn. And it probably looks a bit ridiculous when I practice with it. But hey, it works for me.
And as you can see in the picture below, the one-word message it contains isn't the worst thing I could be staring at for hours.
Until next time,
Derek
As many of you know, I've started a YouTube channel called "BEATBoX SAX" (you can visit it here) where I've begun to post music videos and tutorials featuring me using various percussive effects and techniques while playing the sax. It's been a lot of fun hearing feedback from friends and complete strangers from all over. I've also been getting a lot of questions from sax players asking how I practice this stuff and how long it takes to learn (hence the weekly "Tutorial Tuesdays" I've started).
Today in this blog however, I want to mention one aspect of my practicing that isn't so glamorous to talk about: spit.
Yeah, that's right. I play a wind instrument, and that involves a lot of air (and yes, sometimes a bit of moisture from my mouth) flying through the horn. Saxophonists aren't known for their saliva as much as trumpet and trombone players, but as one could maybe imagine, my beatbox style sometimes might involve a bit more than normal.
One quick note, however, is that a lot of the moisture in the horn is actually condensation from the warm air passing through a colder instrument. In fact, a past student of mine mentioned being at a master class where the tuba teacher actually flicked the moisture from his spit valve on the audience! Now, it may be just me, but that seems a bit extreme! Yeah, it might be mostly condensation, but hey, it's probably called a "spit valve" for a reason!
So since some of my various techniques and more experimental ways of playing might involve more of this moisture, I've come up with a simple solution for keeping my practice room... uh... more dry.
Let's call it Derek Brown's patented "Practice Room Protector."
But ok, maybe it's not patented. And maybe it's actually just the back of a Cheerios box I put around the neck of my horn. And it probably looks a bit ridiculous when I practice with it. But hey, it works for me.
And as you can see in the picture below, the one-word message it contains isn't the worst thing I could be staring at for hours.
Until next time,Derek