Have you played my music lately?
I would love to know of your recent or upcoming performances.
Please let me know in the comments below.
Name of concert
Piece performed
County, city & venue
Date of performance
-
Hey
i recently played black and blue at the forbes eisteddfod and gained a first place. when i got up on the stage i was incredibly nervous because i had never performed it yet, but after the performance i was so exhilarated and pumped. it felt like i had just run a marathon. though i did stuff up the altissimo G in the second last linenot many people noticed. tomorrow is my 8th grade sax exam so wish me luck.
Carlp.s. though some people i know dont really believe the piece is challenging i find it incredibly hard. Black and blue would have to be the funnest piece i have played for years. thanks for a brilliant piece.
-
Thanks for playing my piece Carl – you aren’t the first to miss the high G – I’m sure that you will get it tomorrow!
Barry
-
Hey
This year I’m playing foreign for my yr 11 recital. Its an awesome piece and I’m having a heap of fun playing it. At the end of last term I played it for a competition my school ran and got some really good feedback from my teachers.
Thanks for such an awesome piece
Sophie -
Hi Sophie,
I am pleased to hear that you are playing one of my pieces for your recital! This is a tough piece for year 11 – well done. This is one of my earliest works and I hope that the altissimo section has been fun to learn!
Barry
-
Hi Barry
I heard someone play your piece “Beat me” yesterday. It was awesome! I really love your piece and i am going to have a presentation about it tomorrow
I am not ready to play that piece myself yet since there is a lot of tricky effects.
Now I am listening to your pieces all the time and… yeh…I LOVE THEM
Thanks for being a great composer and a great saxophonist.Jonni
-
Hi Jonni,
Glad you liked ‘Beat Me’. It is getting played very frequently now – which I am pleased about! If you are not up for this piece, perhaps you would like to try out one my others. Let me know.
All the best,
Barry
-
-
I am working up my Senior Recital for my Bachelors in Performance at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, USA. Date is TBD but will be around February. I am playing Ku Ku to contrast my program of the Larsson Concerto, the Heiden Sonata, the Hindemith Konzertstuck, and Holly Roller by Libby Larsen. It’s seems to be a great piece to change color with.
-
Hi Ben,
It is great to know my music is getting played with in such company as Larsson and co. It will certainly provide some extra contrast in your program and maybe even a laugh or two.
regards,
Barry
-
-
Hello Barry.
I played Black and Blue for my VCE Music exam. I did really well. Alot better than when you heard it earlier on in the year. But one of my classmates gave me a cold. So I couldnt get out the Altissimo. But it sounded great otherwise. And Janine C will want me to say hello
-
Hi Andrew,
Good work on the exam, I’m sure that it went well. Don’t worry about the altissimo, we practise to perfection and hope for the best!
regards,
Barry
-
-
Hi barry
Last year I played in the solo championships at bankstown, I gained a first with black and blue and was deemed the state champion!
With the altissimo, I could never get it happening during practice, but when it came to the day, I got it perfect for the first time! Nerves I guess settled me in.
I go to barker college in hornsby, and have recently discovered that Reed Music publishes music for Brendan Collins! My composition teacher in fact. Figures!
regards, Lachlan-
Hi Lachlan,
The Black & Blue state champion – great work! Everyone should play better on the day – we must exceed our abilities when it really matters.
Brendan Collins has some great music and be sure to have a look at his sax quartets – they are very catchy.
regards,
Barry
-
-
Hi Barry
I’m just learning Beat Me for my year 12 solo performance next year and I’m having trouble getting the mutiphonics to speak. I can get the first one that appears (A,B and F#) but the others just dont want to come out.
Is there any alternate fingerings that can be used?
Also, what does c1 on the fingering chart mean?Lastly, with slap tounge is there any tips to get it sounding as good as you do it?
Beat Me has to be one of the coolest peices in the world and I cant wait to get all the slap tounge and mutiphonics happening. Thank you for writing it.
Regards
Matt-
Hi Matt,
Thanks for playing my piece!
The fingerings should all work, so although there are alternatives, I would suggest a slight adjustment of your mouth first. Trying playing a little more relaxed, or tighter and see what happens. Try more or less mouthpiece, try louder or softer, keep trying things until you get the sound to speak to your satisfaction. Once you get it to sound, you will find that it will continue to work with your normal embouchure with a bit of practice.
C1, means Palm Key 1, ie the high D key. Each palm keys is numbered C1 – D, C2 Eb etc.
Slap tonguing can take some time. The easiest one to start with is the reverse slap the one that starts with air and ends with the tongue on the reed. Nearly everyone can do that straight off. The normal slap, try reverse slap backwards – this is the one that can take time. All the best with it.
regards,
Barry
-
-
For my certificate of performance i’m going to play your arrangement of Czardas and i was wondering if you any tips or tricks for the staccato semiquavers in the faster sections. For my 8th grade i got a B+ thanx for the encouragement with black and blue.
-
Hi Carl, Double tonguing would really help here, especially at this tempo. T-K-T-K works well but get started early as it can take some time to master!
All the best with your performance,
Barry
-
-
Hi!
I am going to be playing Saggitarius for my Grade 6 AMEB Exam this year. I absolutely love it!
Keep up the good work!
~ryan
-
Play well Ryan! Thanks for choosing my piece.
-
-
Hi Barry,
I have performed Gorge at UNI for a concert and it went very well, it really helped me to work on my tone and it has stretched my dynamic range. I have really enjoyed playing it! I am thinking of using it in a classroom situation to teach and create a few composition activities from it. I am curious about what inspired this piece?
Belinda
-
Hi Belinda,
I am glad that it went well! This piece came to me while I was on a house boat a few years ago. I was sitting on the roof playing my saxophone as we went through a narrow gorge and I loved the different echoes that were bouncing around as I played. This inspired me to recreate the echos using just the dynamics of the saxophone.
regards,
Barry
-
-
Hello Barry Cockroft!
I`m from Germany and I`m doing my bachelorat the moment. I`m Playing together with a russian pianist and she showed me the piece black an blue.
I played it once at our concert in the “kleinen kirche” at the marketplace at karlsruhe. I like it and the audience was stunning. I was very glad to get the high notes, especially at the end ( the d).
My teacher also likes the piece very much, therefore I`m going to play it at my next test in june.
I get more and more interested in multiphonics through the piece and I have to say, that you have managed it with humor and knowledge.Best wishes, Sabine Holzinger
-
Thanks Sabine for playing my piece. Good work getting the ending, a lot of people miss the high notes!
regards, Barry
-
-
Hi,
In two weeks time i will be playing Black and Blue for one of my assessments for music. I love to play it, Though it takes a beating to my lungs. I love the story behind it. But i am also doing a viva voce on Black and Blue and i cant find when you were born ANYWHERE haha. And did someone influence you to compose within this genre? Because i have a feeling I will fail otherwise. Because my music teacher hates me. haha
I performed Black and Blue and i thought i did well and she didnt say one word. and My friends said i was good and it looked like it took alot out of me which it did. I have only been playing saxophone for four years and Black and Blue needs alot of gut behind it haha.
So if i could please get your birth date and whether you have someone who influenced you to compose in the genres you do.
Thanks
Jenna
-
Hi Jenna, Glad to hear that you are going well with my piece -thanks for playing it. If you really want to give a good impression, work hard but don’t let anyone know it! You will find my dates here.
All the best, Barry
-
24 comments
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link: http://barrysax.com/performance-register/trackback/