Saxophone

I just played my first reed instrument! I'm up in Penrith for Christmas with Ella and her family. Her mother, Jilly, is a workshop leader, jazz musician, and all around cool lady. We've been having sing alongs with the piano and lots of harmonies (not so much me, I try to stay on the melody and that is hard enough with everyone else wandering off to different parts of the chord) and today, because there is a surplus of instruments lying around the house, I got to try out the tenor saxophone!

For Christmas Ella, who just got back from New York, bought everyone these ridiculous adult-sized footy pajamas. So please envision me in this giant fleece monstrosity, covered in rubber ducklings, trying desperately to play the saxophone....

The air kept shooting up through my top lip and I couldn't see where my fingers were going and my whole head buzzed and goodness that was fun! Jilly got out her accordion, and once I figured out how to play 3 notes semi consistently, we had a little jam around G.

Turns out that you can make quite a nice vibrato by giggling uncontrollably.