12 Moons Solo Project Day 119
Date: 04/29/2013
Instrument: Tenor saxophone
Location: Home studio in Clinton, WA (Whidbey Island)
Notes:
Yesterday I explored the wide angles possible through embouchure vibratto. Today I decided to continue the theme of pliable fingerings by creating unbroken bends within a given range. The interval distance is approximately a major third, from a middle octave B to a D#. I begin the piece with an initial presentation of the full bend, and during the improvisation I decided to end each melodic phrase on the top most pitch with a fade into silence.
During the improvisation I progressively began increasing my level of action, which included adding internal upward and downward bends. The piece begins with a tongue articulation on only the first pitch. As the improvisation evolved I began breaking the consistency of air flow with tongue interruptions, first with single articulations and then with multiple flutter tonging articulations.
The improvisation uses a single fingering with three alterations that contribute to the bend.
The fingering system: Low Bb fingering, including the octave key. The begin the upward bend, I added the Palm Eb key, then the High F# key, and the finally the Fork F key.
-Neil
The image “The Rose” accompanying today’s post is the spinning vortex of Saturn’s North polar storm, a photo released today by NASA.