music Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Mary Kit Caelsto

Progress on the Saxophone (Sax on Friday)

Apr 26, 2019 | music

Something clicked last week. I also put new batteries in my tuner and am pleased that I’m on pitch. I’m learning new notes and even, yes, making music. I did record a duet, though doing so without having my metronome on meant that it didn’t come out...

Reed Strength and Mouthpieces

Apr 24, 2019 | music

Last week during my vacation, I thought I’d try one of the Pete Fountain clarinet reeds, a 3.5 strength, which I’d played on before. Of course, I’d been playing on a 2.0 strength reed (one of my Chinese Ebay purchases), and so imagine my surprise...

Almost Making Music (Sax on Friday)

Apr 19, 2019 | music

B A G C These are the four notes that I know how to play on the saxophone. I’m thankful that the names of the notes on the staff are the same as for the clarinet, so I don’t have to relearn that part. The fingering is of course, way different, and...

It’s not like the clarinet (Sax on Friday)

Apr 12, 2019 | music

I haven’t been feeling well and I’ve been using that as an excuse not to practice. Makes sense anyway. Mother nature is messing with my sinuses and I have issues breathing right now, not to mention the general “fug” of fibromyalgia and the...

Two Dollar Clarinet Reeds: Do they even play?

Apr 3, 2019 | music

Over the last couple of months I’ll admit I’ve been on a bit of an eBay bender for cheap imported clarinet reeds. Part of it was that I was curious. Could you really play on a box of reeds that cost $2.86 and was shipped from China. What are those Chinese...

Composting Used Clarinet Reeds

Mar 26, 2019 | music

I’m disappointed in my D’Addario Reserve clarinet reeds. I’m glad I got a card with just some samples to try. I found the ends got very thin and they became super flexible and broke. I don’t think I’m hard on my reeds, and I only played...