@administrator said in Proper Embouchure?:
I learned a simple method. Say "m" like your about to say "mickey mouse". Now keep your lips in that position. They should be a bit moist. Now put the mouthpiece to your lips without adjusting anything. Blow.
This. Don't micro-analyse.
If the valves stick, wash them, remove all of the previous oil, and reoil with a different oil.
There's not that much difference, practically speaking, in oils as some may want you to believe.
I have, for half a century, just put oil in my leadpipe and blown it through. Had many horns, never had sticky valves.
Matter of fact, for a couple of years, I used a mix of white kerosene and 3andOne oil.
No need to micro-analyse this. Just get an oil that works for you and fuhgeddaboudit.
Danke, Barliman. Love to but logistics and, particularly finances, preclude that. Love to see my old stomping grounds again, though (Otterberg. Pfalz).
Played there several times. Nobody ever accuse me of ending the gig in complete sobriety. 
(Although I still took care of business.)
Here:
Dale Proctor:
"Typically when a trumpet is new, it’s best to oil the valves frequently because of the tighter fit in the bore, and wiping them down before re-oiling is a good idea, too. After they wear in a bit, I don’t think they will need oiling quite as much, but oiling a little too much is better than not enough."
I periodically pour oil down my lead pipe and blow it through the horn. Then fuggetaboutit.
Been doing it this was for half a century.
Thank you. That just took 3:30 off the end of my life.
I have had three Committtees, all good horns. Better than other horns I've also had? No. And I kept exchanging them for different horns.
I suppose there are two factors. 1) how do you want to use it? 2) do you have "mad money"?
Anthony, if Committees were that much better than many other horns, why do you think most professionals do not play Committees?
". . . put together from odds and ends of failed oompah bands, with an average age of between 60 and 90, and fell apart . . . ".
Funny. I think I know that band.
Barliman, you don't know who Alison Balsom is?
https://www.alisonbalsom.com/
BTW, she did play in a Munich brass band.
I'm sure she might help if she can, but I would be patient. With her recording and touring schedule, I would think an inquiry might take some time to get an answer. Good luck.
Scientifically, I can't answer your question. But, practically, I oil my valves by putting oil into my leadpipe and blowing it through my horn and in half a century, I've never had a horn with red rot. This is in a range of horns from brand new to the turn of the 1900s.
As anyone used to reading my posts would know that I am a minimalist - I think there's way too much micro-analysing and over-thinking on things trumpet,
So, with that being said - I don't oil my valves individually. Maybe once a week, I blow some oil from my mouthpipe through the entire horn and out the bell. Been doing this since Jr. H.S. and that was a long time ago.
I do think, though, that the oil makes a difference, so use that judiciously. (And even speaking of minimalist oil, for several years my oil was a mixture of 3-in-One oil and White Kerosine. Fuggataboutit.)
Good luck with the Mendini. A lot of those Chinese woodwinds are good at first then start falling out of adjustment after a while and then begin a frustrating thing of never-ending adjustments. Keep an eye on that and maybe you'll have some luck with it.
Also, when you start playing, know that reeds can be frustrating and, what may seem difficult to get a sound out, may just be that your reed is too stiff. Conversely, if your reed is too soft, you may have trouble with high notes.
I played Saxes professionally for about two decades. I think you might have more sucess, if you're going to play trumpet and sax if, at least in the geginnings, if you play Trumpet first and then Sax. I think that sequence is a little easier on the chops.
I disagree that Alto is easier to play than Tenor. I played Soprano, Alto and Tenor. I would say that the higher you go in saxes, the more muscle power you need in your embouchure. Another diference is in hearing the tones in the horns' respective ranges.
Have you settled on a Sax? If not, you can get a lor of help at Sax on the Web (https://www.saxontheweb.net/).
The thing to remember that is paramount, is that Jazz/Blues is an aural art. You need to hear and internalize it, not read it.
Yes, reading books can be helpful. But until you get the feel in your ears, everything is just peripheral.
Listen to some Blues and Jazz music and sing along with it until a listener cannot tell that there are two performers. You have to, without an instrument, internalise the feel. When you do this, as a by-product, you pick up idiomatic articulations, phrasing and all the other elements of music. Then -
Learn the six-note Blues Scale and start playing simple blues with these notes. You'll discover that a basic Blues has only three chords and the Blues scale fits over it very easily. The Jamey Aebersold Play-Along, Nothin' But Blues, (Vol. 2) is one good starting point.
After you/ve doing all that, begin playing along with recordings. You can also start transcribing useful licks to practice. Miles' solo on So What from Kind of Blue is a good starting point for transcribing. While it's not a Delta Blues, it's simple enough to use to learn transcribing techniques.
You never know what you'll find in Prague.
Bill Clinton plays sax.
.
I don't see how there wouldn't be. In Germany, I conducted, at any given time, two city bands, a university band and a jazz band and played in another city concert band, jazz band and combos.
I lived near Kaiserslautern, Germany is a city of about 100,000 people. Prague has about 1.36 million people. Surely the opportunities are even better.
You'll find that in large cities there are sections of town, often going way back to when they were separate villages, that keep their identities and have their own musical groups. Furthermore, Prague certainly has surrounding villages that also have their musical groups.
Another thing you may find useful it that the people may look on you, at first at least, as something unique and show you more interest.
Man, if I had a dollar for every time I played that. My first pay gigs were dances and some combo jazz. But I started playing in a "Soul Band" in the mid-sixties with Soul Man, Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay, Mustang Sally etc. Great music and great fun. Enjoy.
{'ve been to the opera in both Vienna and Munchen and it doesn't get any better than that.
