![]() “The differences will be recognizable to musicians, which in turn will be recognizable to an audience,” he said. The company is experimenting with building the instrument with different, more evenly resonant materials, situating the tone holes in slightly different locations and changing their diameters. Yamaha, for which Potts is an artist-clinician, is one instrument manufacturer that is developing prototypes that attempt to redress these problems. “There are problems with the instrument acoustically which have not yet been solved,” Potts said. “Easy? It’s the most difficult wind (instrument) to play artistically,” he said, citing difficulties in creating a legato line, pitch or intonation problems and the actual mechanism for voicing notes. Potts scoffs at the instrument’s reputation for being easy to learn. “But whether they aspire to the commercial (music) world or not,” Potts said, “the majors learn the instrument correctly from the classical point of view.” Most of his students will chose between commercial music careers or teaching in college. He has been passing on the flame at Long Beach for the last 10 years, where he teaches an average of 13-15 saxophone majors yearly. “Now every major university (in the United States), and even state universities, all have instructors in sax,” Potts said. Potts came home to become saxophone instructor at his alma mater. The French and the Belgians had been partial to the instrument since it was invented in the early 1840s by Adolpe Sax, himself a Belgian, originally as a much-needed bridge between clarinets and the tenor brass section in military bands. A lot of the compositions written in the 1930s and ‘40s were written for him.” Mule was, Potts said, “the father of classical sax.” With diploma and sax in hand, Potts left for France to pursue further studies with Marcel Mule at the National Conservatory of Paris. “Later, they decided, ‘Yes, the sax is a legitimate instrument. So he turned to the bassoon and played in the university orchestra. Music authorities there did not consider the instrument respectable enough for a major, Potts said. “I was very much drawn to their lyrical, singing way of playing,” he said.īut he ran into obstacles when he wanted to major in the instrument at Cal State Long Beach. Potts confessed to a lifelong love affair with the instrument after being inspired by jazz artists such as Paul Desmond and Charlie Parker. ![]() “I think one reason the instrument is not making it in the classical world is (that) it should sound more vocal.” “My sound takes what I’ve learned as a classical musician and what I’ve learned from the commercial world. I say to them, ‘If that’s what you want, why not play the bass clarinet?’ Donald Sinta and Eugene Rousseau, for instance, play with a very dark sound that is woody in quality. “A lot of my colleagues are looking for dark tones. “We all know each other, but we don’t agree on what the instrument should sound like,” Potts said. He said the division accentuates the problem of achieving classical status. The world of classical sax players is a small but divided one, Potts said. We play Mozart like the Guarneri String Quartet would play him. But when we do, we try to be authentic in our approach and to play within that style or context. “The repertory is limited,” Potts admitted, “though there are a lot of works by French composers, and present-day composers are writing more. ![]() All the music was written for saxophone, except for two transcriptions: Grieg’s piano piece “Erotik,” and Reidling’s “Johnny,” originally written for the flute. They have been downloaded more than 405254 times.His album, entitled “Leo Potts Saxophone,” includes recent music by Paule Maurice, Sayaka Akiyama, Jack Hayes and Reidling, performed by Potts on soprano and alto saxophones and Reidling on piano. These fees go towards hosting fees for the website.īelow are over 146 transcriptions. As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission. ![]() Notice: All of the album links within this article are associate links. Please let us know if you would like to submit one of your own transcriptions. ![]() They have not been checked for accuracy and definitely may contain errors. Also we would like to add that you will learn a great deal more if you transcribe these solos yourself. You MAY NOT sell or reproduce these transcriptions. Please use these for your educational benefit only. ![]()
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