Windstorm

This is a piece with a long history.  I started writing it as a sophomore or junior theory project back around 1998 while I was a student at Indiana University.  We had to write a composition in the style of another composer, and I chose to write in the style of Berlioz's requiem.  However, I was only ever happy with some of the ideas, not the piece as a whole.  By my last year or so at IU, I had already started reworking the piece.  I scrapped the original accompaniment and added the harp line that you hear today.  I even played it on a recital to celebrate my wife's graduation.  One of her friends from the dorm played the harp part, and I recruited another to play a very simple drum line that had not yet matured into what it is currently.  By 2001, I bought a modest recording rig running Cubase VST 32, Wavelab 3, and Gigastudio.  With GigaHarp and some sounds from my Casio keyboard, I was able to get one step closer to my vision.  I still have the recording somewhere, but it sounds so thin and amateur compared to this.  By 2010 and thanks to my job as an Army Musician, I was able to afford a computer powerful enough to run LA Scoring Strings, Storm Drum 2, and other sample libraries that were a huge improvement over what I had previously.  I reworked Windstorm yet again, adding orchestra, an improved drum track, and I rerecorded the sax part with an AEA R84/TRP combination.  The result was so much better, that I was finally starting to be content.  I can't tell you how many mixes I did, though.  It took a couple more years of tweaking here and there before I finally decided to put it to rest.  Fortunately, by that point we had been living in Alaska for a couple years and collected some great pictures.  The slide show contains pictures taken by my wife and myself.  Some were just with my iPad.  The scenery is of Fairbanks, Anchorage, Denali, and Sitka.  I really think they suite the mood of the piece, and I hope you like it too.  I still think about tweaking things sometimes, maybe recording the sax part again, but I've learned that I need to keep moving forward.  There are many new projects to do.  Whenever I watch this, I miss Alaska.  It was a state that I never wanted to visit, but now that I have lived there, I wish I could go back.

Bozza's Aria

This is one of my favorite pieces and one of the most beautiful ever written for the saxophone. Not everyone knows that Bozza was inspired by Bach's Organ Pastorale BWV 590. You can see the connections in the score below.

I think one should be careful not to play the Aria too slow. I like the tempo I have chosen, but I would not go any faster. There are times when I would even prefer a slightly slower tempo than on my videos.

Control at soft dynamics can be difficult. Careful wind control and tonal balance are important. One must take great care not to drift sharp when soft or when playing all the middle Ds.

I sequenced the piano part in two stages. For stage one, I entered the score into Notion for iPad, which generated a midi file. I then imported the midi file into Reaper on my desktop computer, where I fine tuned the part. I was able to shape both the tempo and dynamics exactly to my taste. The part was played by East West Pianos Steinway. Reaper generated a 24bit audio file, which I imported into Auria on my iPad. I then overdubbed the saxophone, mixed, and added some convolution reverb. There was no editing. The recordings you hear are one complete take. The only problem is that I could not decide if I liked my Larry Teal or my C* better, so I posted them both. If nothing else, you can hear a good comparison of the two mouthpieces this way.

I hope you enjoy these recordings!

Modern Larry Teal:

Selmer C*:

The Ferling Project

Back in January, 2014,  I decided it was time to do something to contribute to the greater good of sax playing.  So, I began my Ferling project.  I have always loved the Ferling etudes since first beginning my studies of them about 20 years ago.  The slow etudes are especially dear to me.  Beautiful miniatures, they have helped me to refine my tone, dynamic control and phrasing more than almost any other pieces of music.  I have even performed a few of them, and the audience reaction was good.  I decided to record all of the odd numbered etudes from the Marcel Mule edition and post them on YouTube for the benefit, hopefully, of all.

At this point in time, there are quite a few editions of W. Ferling's original 48 etudes.  If IMSLP has served me well, there were no metronome markings in the original.  Many oboists, however, use the Andraud edition, which does have metronome markings.  The Marcel Mule edition has quite different metronome markings from the Andraud.  Most of the slow etudes are marked at quarter = 72, which according to Dr. Eugene Rousseau, was Mule's favorite tempo for practicing vibrato.  Mule also composed several additional etudes that cover all of the enharmonic keys up to C# and Cb.  These are mostly very well done and almost indistinguishable in style from Ferling's.  Dr. Rousseau has recently published his own edition of the slow etudes.

This is notable because he includes fingering suggestions for each etude.  He suggests a tempo of quarter = 80 for each etude, the speed he prefers to practice vibrato.  In both cases, Mule and Rousseau, the vibrato should be four undulations per beat.  As a saxophonist choosing your first version, I recommend the Mule edition because there is more music there, and the editorials are more appropriate for saxophone than the Andraud.  However, if possible I would also get the Rousseau edition just to have his fingering suggestions.  Keep in mind, though, that Rousseau only included the slow etudes.

 In my own journey with these etudes, I have approached them many different ways.  Initially, it was a matter of learning the pieces, the notes, rhythms, ornaments, and phrasing.  But as the years progressed I was able to go beyond most of the technical aspects.  I found, at one time, that the most useful way to play them was without any vibrato at all.  When I did this, I discovered how little I was actually doing with the phrasing.  Be careful not to let vibrato become a musical crutch.  It is a color with which we can shape our music, an ornament of the tone.  The videos presented below (on YouTube by searching "Colin Lippy") represent my current thoughts on these pieces.  While definitely inspired by Dr. Rousseau's instruction and the Mule edition, I no longer have much interest in one man's metronome markings.  Rather, I am interesting in capturing the spirit of the music as best I can and in my own interpretation.  They are no longer etudes for me but miniature works of art.  I recorded them in a complete take with no editing or effects.  The goal was to present them as realistically as possible, much as they are often played, in practice rooms or private lessons.   I hope you enjoy these videos and find them useful in your own journey.

UPDATE: Be sure to check out Part 2: The Fast Ones.

Ferling 1

Ferling 3

Ferling 5

Ferling 7

Ferling 9

Ferling 11

Ferling 13

Ferling 15

Ferling 17

Ferling 19

Ferling 21

Ferling 23

Ferling 25

Ferling 27

Ferling 29

Ferling 31

Ferling 33

Ferling 35

Ferling 37

Ferling 39

Ferling 41

Ferling 43

Ferling 45

Mule 47

Ferling 47/Mule 51

Mule 49

Mule 53

Mule 55

Mule 57

Mule 59

Welcome!

There it is!... the source of my misery and frustration... but also of joy, beauty, peace, and inspiration.

I am both its slave and its master, its addict and caretaker. Fundamentally a machine, it has taught me humility and patience, but it serves as the voice of my heart, the vehicle for the wordless language of my soul.

Growing up in the tradition of Marcel Mule as passed on to me by Eugene Rousseau, I have been a student of the saxophone for 27 years and counting. I am a teacher, performer, scholar, and recording artist. I have had a wide range of experiences that continue to challenge my beliefs and perceptions, and which I pray will lead to even a modest sum of wisdom. It is my goal, through this blog, to share some of this with you, to pass on what I have learned (said in the voice of Yoda). As such, I plan to offer up my experience and philosophies on the saxophone and music in general with the full knowledge that there are often many other "correct" answers. Your mileage may vary, and to me, that is one of the greatest beauties of music, that you and I can have different opinions and still both be right. It is when we insist on one right answer that a music will start to die. That being said, I hope to provide some very useful tools to aid you in your growth as a saxophonist, and I hope this blog will be a useful addition to your life.