Daily care and maintenance of your instrument is very important to how well your instrument performs. Watch this quick video below for a few, quick tips on caring for your saxophone.
You can find more care and maintenance videos for saxophone by clicking here.
The WGI Percussion World Championships are this weekend and we have our top 5 reasons why you should go. But before we get to that, maybe you’ve never heard of WGI and are wondering what this is all about?
From their website: “WGI Sport of the Arts is the world’s premier organization producing indoor color guard, percussion, and wind ensemble competitions. As a non-profit youth organization, WGI serves as the leading governing body of the winter guard and indoor percussion activities. It is called the Sport of the Arts because it brings music to life through performance in a competitive format. Now entering its 38th year in 2015, the sport continues to evolve and grow. There were more than 36,000 participants at the regional level, and more than 12,000 participants at the Sport of the Arts World Championships this past April.”
If you would attend this weekend, you would see the percussion section or “drumlines” of a marching band performing indoors. These show aren’t just thrown together. Hundreds, if not thousands of hours are spent designing, building, rehearsing and competing over several months.
Indiana is one of the premier states when it comes to competitive percussion ensembles. The Indiana Percussion Association just recently held their State Prelims and State Finals competitions where over 100 groups competed in both the concert and movement categories! You can view those results on the IPA website.
As you might have guessed, Indiana will be well represented this weekend in Dayton, Ohio at the WGI Percussion World Championships with several groups competing in various classes.
With that said, here are our top 5 reasons on why you should attend.
1. The Performances Are Incredible
The massive amounts of time, care, preparation, rehearsals and talent all lead to performances that will simply blow you away. Even if you don’t know a lot about the activity, the entertainment value alone is well worth the ticket price. I remember saying out loud the first time I attended IPA or WGI – “These are high school kids?!”
Avon High School Indoor Percussion at the 2014 WGI World Championships.
2. It’s Not Far
WGI Percussion World Championships are held in Dayton, Ohio. Which is only a couple of hours from Indianapolis. You could head over, watch performances and drive back all in one day. We feel the best day to go to get the most bang for your time is Friday.
3. Don’t Miss The United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps Percussion Section
The United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps have partnered with WGI for the 2015 season.“The Commandant’s Own” percussion section will appear in exhibition during the Saturday night World Cass Finals event on April 11th.
4. The Expo
The WGI Expo will have vendors of all kinds showcasing the latest in percussion trends. You’ll be able to see up close some of the equipment and gear that the ensembles use during their performances. There are also t-shirts, DVDs, sticks, mallets and more available for purchase.
5. You’ll Be Supporting The Arts
WGI is known as the Sport of the Arts. Their high-energy events use competition as a means to encourage the highest standard of excellence. Participants learn the process of working at something for an extended period of time and see their efforts pay off on a national stage. And since they’re a non-profit youth organization, the money you spend with WGI gets put back in the student community. Over the years WGI has awarded over $500,000 in academic scholarships to students from competing units.
To learn more about schedules, venues, ticket sales and more, visit the WGI Percussion page on their website.
If you go, let us know what you think on our Facebook page! Enjoy!
One of the most important things we can do as musicians is practice. The more time we spend playing our instrument on our own, the better we will become. The problem is that instruments, especially brass instruments, are hard to play quietly so it makes it even more difficult to find that winning formula of time, place, and the ability to practice.
Yamaha is always developing ways to make playing easier from the advancements they make with their instruments to a full line of accessories to keep those instruments playing well, so it should come as no surprise that they have upgraded their Silent Brass offerings to make practicing that much easier.
First off, the Silent Brass System is a practice tool that incorporates a mute, headphones and a control unit. When the player puts the mute into the bell of the horn, they can play unnoticed by most people as loud as they want. They have control of the volume and all of the sound goes into the headphones, so they can literally practice anywhere.
The updated Silent Brass System, takes what was a good practice tool and made it even better. The mute is smaller, so in most cases, it can be stored in the bell when the instrument is put away, so there is no need for a larger case with more storage, this also makes it more convenient to take it with you. It is also vented so that it is more ‘free blowing” so there is not as much resistance.
The control module utilizes “Brass Resonance Modeling” This is unique to Yamaha. It helps to reproduce the clear sound of playing without the sound of a mute. In the player’s ears, it sounds like their instrument; it does not have the “muted” sound that most practice mutes have. And the beauty is that you do not have to worry about how loud it is, as one you can hear it.
Come in today and try one out, you will be amazed at how good they sound.
From time to time we get string instruments in with a complaint about a buzzing sound or vibration. Sometimes a buzz is a simple matter to correct. Sometimes it can be a long process of elimination that proves very frustrating. There are some simple causes and corrections that need to be considered before anything is taken apart.
Some simple causes are loose fine tuners, fingerboard position tape, the chinrest vibrating against the tailpiece, unsecured chinrest tightening screws, unsecured string sleeves, low nut notches, objects inside the instrument, defective or fraying strings, open seams, and glue or varnish in f holes. With cellos and basses the endpin rod will cause a buzz when it is not secured or even when it is not pulled out.
It is often a combination of the above problems, which leads to a process of elimination that can take time. This can be quite frustrating when the answer is simple but elusive. Sometimes it is a judgment call if or when a string that looks fine is actually false or has loose winding. It is a bit of relaxed humor in our shop that the bass bar is sometimes considered first when it is almost never the bass bar causing the buzzing.
Stopping a buzz is almost always simple. Always check the simple things first. If it proves elusive, our shop is happy to help.
Reed players are always looking for the perfect sound. They have that sound in their head and they just need to go find it. There are many factors that are in play when the musician is searching for it. One of the most important pieces in that musical equation is the reed. One of the most popular brands, worldwide, that players from beginner to professional rely on is Vandoren.
Vandoren is known for making a very consistent reed, so, as a player, you know that you are going to get a good reed each time you open the box. They have quite a few different options and cuts, which makes it that much easier to find the “perfect fit.” This week we are going to focus on the different styles of saxophone reeds that we stock and the features of them.
| Vandoren Traditional – This is the standard blue box. This reed has the thinnest tip and the thickest heart of the sax reeds. This provides the player with crisp articulation with a full, dark sound. |
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| Vandoren V12 – This reed has a thicker heel and are cut on a longer palette than the traditional reeds. The longer palette means that more of the reed is vibrating which results in a deeper, richer sound. It also has a slightly thicker tip than the Traditional cut reeds giving more body to the attack of the notes being played. |
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| Vandoren Java (Green) – The Java reed has a thicker tip and more flexible palette than the Traditional reed allowing for greater vibration. This added flexibility gives the reed a bright sound with immediate response. |
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| Vandoren Java (Red) – The Java Red is very similar to the Green, but it is a filed reed. This makes the reed slightly more flexible for the player giving them a full, rich sound with an extremely precise attack. |
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| Vandoren V16 – This reed was designed for players that wanted the Java reed with more “wood”. It has a thicker heart than the Java (thinner than Traditional) which provides the player with a strong attack with a deep, rich sound. |
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| Vandoren ZZ – This reed was designed by taking the heart, spine and rounded tip of the V16 and putting it with the flexible palette of the Java. It gives the player a rich, colorful sound with quicker response. The ZZ provides an immediate response without sacrificing the brightness and tone quality that is needed for playing Jazz. |
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If you have any questions about clarinet reeds, please contact us via email or give us a call at 1-800-382-1099.
Shoot and Save
For the past few years we’ve held an event that not only saves you money on great instruments and supplies, but it’s also a lot of fun! We call it our Music Madness Sale and it happens in coordination with the college basketball tournament that begins about this same time.
From March 19th through the 21st you’ll be able to come in to the store for some great savings. You’ll receive a scratch-off game “ticket”. Scratch off your ticket to reveal your discount. Then, if you’d like, shoot a basketball to possibly double your savings! Each family gets a warm-up shot, and then you let the real thing fly. The savings range from 5% – 20% off of our already low prices. If you’re in the market for an instrument, now’s the time to come in to scratch, shoot and save!
Two great ways to save! Shoot for extra savings or take advantage of our 12 Months Same-As-Cash offer.
12 Months Same-As-Cash
Rather have financing options instead of a discount? During the sale you can chose to finance your purchase for 12 months with No Interest. Just one more reason to stop in and see us during our Music Madness Sale March 19th through the 21st!
*Rules of the Game:
**Offers cannot be combined. Some restrictions apply. Good on purchases $399 and up. See store for details.
If you’re the kind that likes to see what scences didn’t make our video above, then you might get a giggle out of this short clip.
There are many problems with rotary valves. Maintaining them requires skills in tying knots, gentle tapping with special hammers, not to mention all those little screws and bumpers. Then after they are completely apart, they must be cleaned off all the dirt and debris on the valves and inside the casings. Lubricating and returning them to their proper casing and reassembling are the next hurdles.
This first picture here shows valves from an instrument that the valves were barely working on. You can see the oxidation and staining on the valves from lack of lubrication turning them almost black. Prolonged lack of lubrication along with dirt and debris caused this build up inside the casings and prevented the rotors from turning smoothly. Sometimes it is so bad we have to forcibly, but gently, drive the valves out of the casings. We then have to clean the valves and the body of the instrument in our ultrasonic cleaner to get them back to new condition.
In the second picture you can see the valves after they have been cleaned just before they are re-installed in the instrument. Proper lubrication will keep your valves looking this way and prevent sluggish action due to oxidation and build-up. Even when you instrument is not being used for prolonged times it is very important to keep lubrication on the valves, and slides, to keep them from freezing up.
In the Repair Shop we use Hetman’s Oils. They are a synthetic oil that lasts much longer and therefore does not need to be re-applied as often as petroleum based oils which dry out faster.
If you have any questions about our blogs or need more specific information please don’t hesitate to contact us here in the Repair Shop.
Reed players are always looking for the perfect sound. They have that sound in their head and they just need to go find it. There are many factors that are in play when the musician is searching for it. One of the most important pieces in that musical equation is the reed. One of the most popular brands, worldwide, that players from beginner to professional rely on is Vandoren.
Vandoren is known for making a very consistent reed, so, as a player, you know that you are going to get a good reed each time you open the box. They have quite a few different options and cuts, which makes it that much easier to find the “perfect fit.” This week we are going to focus on the different styles of clarinet reeds that we stock and the features of them.
| Vandoren Traditional– This is the standard blue box. These reeds are the most widely played reeds in the work. They are suitable for all styles of music. They are known for their excellent response in all registers. |
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| Vandoren V12– These reeds are manufactured from reed tubes that have the same diameter as the cane used for Alto Sax reeds. This causes them to have a thicker heal and are cut on a longer palette. The longer palette means that more of the reed is vibrating which results in a deeper, richer sound. It also has a slightly thicker tip than the Traditional cut reeds giving more body to the attack of the notes being played. |
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Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic– This style is designed from a thicker cane with a heel taper very similar to German Style reeds. The tone from this reed is rich and centered. It has a pure sound with quick response throughout all of the registers. |
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| Vandoren V21– This is the newest reed from Vandoren. This reed takes the shape of the 56 Rue Lepic and the profile of the V12 and puts them together. This combination makes all registers of the clarinet more accessible with a warm tone. This also makes the clarinet play more responsive. Lastly, it is the perfect reed for performances that require the player to play large interval leaps while still keeping and even and rich tone. |
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If you have any questions about clarinet reeds, please contact us via email or give us a call at 1-800-382-1099.