Range and Age

alcapwny · Regular Member Joined: 02 Apr 2012 Posts: 31

I'm a junior in high school and although I think my range is pretty good, I don't think it's adequate for my age. I have a useable range of up to a G, but sometimes when I get tired towards the end of gigs it drops to around a D. I just got back from the Swing Central high school jazz competition in Savannah, GA and I was shocked to hear that I was one of the better lead players range wise. Do you guys think that I'm where I need to be for a high school lead player, keeping in mind that I have high self-expectations?

INTJ · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:15 am Post subject:

Yes. A playable High G is excellent at most any age.
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alcapwny · Regular Member Joined: 02 Apr 2012 Posts: 31

So if I choose to attempt to play in college I should be set range wise?

INTJ · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 11:50 am Post subject:

We always want to be working to improve our range, along with endurance, tone, intonation, accuracy, flexibility, and most importantly, musicianship. You just are a step ahead of your peers in terms of range. However, there will be college freshmen with a strong range past High G. Those players are your competiton, so keep working on everything.
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zackh411 · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 4:22 pm Post subject:

cheiden · Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 4:34 pm Post subject:

A lot of the people I run into who talk about being able to play up to F and G can only do so some of the time and not reliably or musically. The majority of people I play with are actually only reliable up to the 1st C, maybe D above the staff and even that gets dicey at the end of a hard blow. If you've got a solid D that you can play reliably and musically you're doing alright. And by musically I mean in tune with a variety of articulations and at a variety of dynamics. If you're good for the ocassional E, F or G that'll come in handy.
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jiarby · Heavyweight Member Joined: 08 Jul 2011 Posts: 1188

Having a solid high G is probably as much range as you need. You can make alot of money playing well up to high G. For every studio gig Wayne Bergeron gets there is another guy there getting paid to play the 2nd book.

High G is where the music gods begin to separate the men from the boys.
A bazillion guys can melt paint with a High G.
A much smaller percentage can actually PLAY musically with that range.

Then the High A REALLY weeds out a big chunk of the wannabees. Lots of guys have great G's but sound like a broken power steering pump on a high A. Many posers can play strong A's but the BIG BOYS can play fluidly up and down a passage that crosses the F-G-A threshold. (like the lick in O Holy Night)

Then the Bb weeds out most of the rest of the riff raff.

Some of the guys get back in the game with the DHC, but they can't really play it on command... it's a parlor trick.

Play Clarke #2 exercises. Play them slowly, focusing on control, intonation and evenness of the transition between notes. Make them sound musical. These go up AND down the range.
Start on Bb (goes up to high F), finish with the Bb-D-F-highBb arpeggio
Then B to F#, finish with B-D#-F#-HighB
Then High C to G, same finish: C-E-G-DHC
How do you sound? Is any of it musical?

Do the Colin Lip Flexibilities exercises (that go up to High A).
I'll bet that most guys that think they can play a High G can't do the Colin Exercise for High G (there are 3: a, b, & c) as they are written so that the intervals are clean, even, fluid and musical up AND back down.

When you are one of those guys then you "got game"

Yamahaguy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 3992

^^ Yes...what he said! ^^

PhxHorn · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:25 am Post subject: Re: Range and Age

Craig Swartz · Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:47 am Post subject:

Larry Smithee · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Nov 2001 Posts: 4399

alcapwny · Regular Member Joined: 02 Apr 2012 Posts: 31

Thanks for the replies guys. I do take lessons and endurance and range are both things I'm still working on. When I say "set" I don't mean that I'm going to stop improving. That was a misunderstanding.

BarryS · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 11:15 am Post subject:

If you go to one of the top universities in your state, your gonna hear cream of the crop players. Some will be improv nutz some will be wailin double c. You just need to find your own mojo. If you are the stand out guy now in high school and everyone wishes they played like you..and you have a fist full of state medals from your classical recitals. You'll do fine. After university is a whole different animal..
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PhxHorn · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:17 am Post subject:

jiarby · Heavyweight Member Joined: 08 Jul 2011 Posts: 1188

alcapwny · Regular Member Joined: 02 Apr 2012 Posts: 31

That's interesting to think about. I don't think I'll decide to make music my career, but in that off chance it's nice to know these things.

BarryS · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 6:30 am Post subject:

Phxhorn, Nice. If I would have read your post while in high school I would have quit! Thats like saying a high school quaterback should "judge himself" against an NFL quarterback. Yes you should listen transcribe and aspire to the professional level. 1st chair does mean something. Lead in the top jazz group at your university means something. And it does translate to the "real world." Getting to the professional level is a process and you do have to be the best at each level. No disrespect but I would take the top 24 year old university performance major graduate all day long over the so called 40-50 year old pros, that probably did not major in music and in my experience;
90% of them are hacks and neverbeens. A guy named Maynard filled his bands with those university..."does not translate to the real world players" and if memory serves me..did pretty good. If you did'nt major in Jazz Studies or music performance.... You should'nt even have responded to this kids post..I really think with the sad state that this countrys music education programs are in we should be encouraging any and all interested. I fear it won't be to long and there won't be anyone to pass the tourch..no one to continue the song..no one to speak the language...Jazz will become like an ancient cave wall painting that nobody can figure out.....So lets encourage not discourage the next generation and be the best you can be at every level!

PS. I knew reading Cap't Kirk's posts would rub off eventually...sorry start the flames..
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PhxHorn · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:02 pm Post subject:

BarryS · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:32 pm Post subject:

Wow! I'm done. Yes MF's players probably were 1st chair in high school and then at university. It all goes together. And if you think university graduates dont sight read or know many songs.....again wow!! Some of us chose to make music our life and some of us have chosen other careers and majors....again unless you were a music major at YOUR university and have dedicated YOUR life to this pursuit...I relinquish myself from this discussion...
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PhxHorn · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 3:33 pm Post subject:

The moral of the story is: don't be complacent because you're first chair in a school band. The bar keeps getting raised. You might be first chair in high school, but when you go to a festival or music camp, you'll hear players from other schools who might be way ahead of you. It can be a real eye-opener. It happens again in college, etc. So I think it's a mistake when the original poster says anything to the effect of "I'm set."