Honestly Critiquing Myself
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- I think it's very fun to hear someone recall what they were thinking in real time and what they learned afterwards. That is what I tried to do here.
I performed the Glazunov Concerto in E flat (Eb) for Alto Saxophone for the East Carolina University (ECU) Concerto Competition in 2018, and performed it with the orchestra in 2019. Though it was a great experience, it certainly wasn't the performance of a lifetime. In this video, I describe why that is.
This video is much longer than what I'd normally make. I expect this to get much less views than normal, but that is okay. I've been meaning to make this video for a while. I'm glad I finally did it. But wow, no wonder why I kept putting it off; this took forever to edit. Now, once again, my sleep schedule is ruined. :D :D
By the way... if you watched the whole thing, could you include that in your comment? I'm very curious if anyone actually watches every minute of my long-style videos!
There’s always that one fun part in every song that you just love to play
This video in a nutshell: "I've won, but at what cost?"
“my son” pog mom moment
You’re good at the saxophone.
Rubik's Cube Master Are you referencing my terribly awkward video of me meeting Braxton Cook? LOL
@@Saxologic yes
Better sax taught me gear, scott paddock taught me improv, and this guy reminds me why I love the instrument
Dead on
If you haven’t already, also watch some Dr. Wally, Dave pollack, and Mcgill sax school!
Something about a great classical piece that just makes you wanna cough. I don’t know why?
Cause it's drrrrrrrry. Lol I'm jk.
does this mean we get the full Spain performance now...
we need that
Still waiting for that shit
WHERE IS IT?
Bruh and i was hear dying of nervousness from my 1 min sax solo i had.
You are your own worse critique, be proud of how well you did 👏👏
I’m laughing my ass off over here while you critique yourself 😂 cuz you’re critiques are valid but I’m just sitting here entranced
Wow. It doesn't even sound like a sax. I normally don't enjoy alto sax but you're one of the few players who make it shine
Bruno Neureiter Thank you Bruno. You are a good man.
I feel like alto and soprano really shine more classically too bad they aren't recognized often in the classical scene.
Dude, who are you to criticize this dude, he's got a proper hairdo and wears a suit and most importantly, he's got a Saxophone and plays it too.
You just got a red curtain or whatever. Your singing does not compare well to his playing or whatever. Jk...
:-) Congrats on graduating. I watched the whole video, or whatever.
oVErtHetArGEt Haha nice comment. I had even more singing in the video but it was so atrocious I had to cut it out. And thanks for watching the whole thing man I appreciate it!
@@Saxologic Love your videos, entertaining and very educational as well. Your singing is fine but that dude can play. ;-)
I remember preparing a classical piece that was to be played in front of the entire school, and seeing this reminds me of how critical I could be of myself over the smallest things. Sometimes musicians need to learn to accept that the audience still loves the performance despite the nit picky details. This piece sounds great! Accept it!
I watched the whole video. I see anyone playing a saxophone, whether it's you, Dave, or Carlos, and I'm sitting here like, "I need to practice..." 😂
That was a distinguished walk! (you looked good!!!) congratulations❤️❤️❤️
Haha the lankiest of lanky walks. Thank you
Thank you for posting this commentary, watched it all. Nice insight into the decisions a performer has to make when interpreting a piece. I love your magnificent strong notes in the upper register, just overall an amazing beautiful sound across the horn.
Another great video Nathan! I love to see musicians not just focusing on the negative! I know us artist can jump straight to the worst of something instead of focusing on the positive!
Thanks man! I am glad there is an audience for this type of stuff
Love a bit of glaz! Sounds great, top C at the end is ace!
Congrats on graduating my dude, and I don’t know what your talking about, your performance was amazing! Well for a beginner alto sax player like me.
Great job on this piece. I love seeing someone eat a nice slice of humble pie for a change. If only the entire population of the trumpet players could learn from this..............
Yo this is an excellent version of Glazunov! Vibrato super impressive :D Enjoying your videos keep it up
Love the format of the video, dude! Watching and listening to oneself takes some getting used to and can definitely be difficult. Back in the day, it was something I resisted at all costs and it is definitely one of the things that kept me from being at the level I needed to study music in college. After coming back to my saxophone after a 10+ year hiatus, I don't intend on making that mistake again. I know I'm late to this party, but thank you for posting this. I am envious of younger players growing up in today's digital environment (in a good way), saxophone playing content creators like yourself are a goldmine of knowledge and inspiration -it definitely would have helped me stay on my game in the early-2000s when I was a high-school player looking for direction. Its a great wide world of information out here, and I am loving it! Keep on posting!
Man, I couldn't memorize such a piece! Respect!
My favorite piece to play 😍🫶
AWESOME JOB!!!!!!!!
Me minutes after practicing Glazunov: lol concerto competition? what if Nathan played Glazunov concerto that would be crazy.
Me when I hear the orchestra play the beginning of Glazunov concerto: : )
Watched the whole thing.... Still surprised you used the term "octatonic scale" as a jazz musician instead of calling it the "diminished scale"
Teddy DiSanti Haha that’s what I normally hear classical musicians call it - octatonic or symmetrical.
What’s even weirder is in classical lots of contemporary composers have made many of their own octatonic scales (8 notes) so it makes even LESS sense for us to refer to it as THE octatonic scale. (The coolest octatonic tonic scale I can think of is made by stacking neutral seconds on top of each other, perfectly dividing the octave into eight notes)
Saxologic I thought they were separate?? Octatonic is W H W H W H W H where as diminished is H W H W H W H W
@@jaycewav funny you mention that
My jazz teacher calls WH the diminished scale, and the HW the Octatonic. Meanwhile when researching scales I found them named WH fully diminished scale, and HW dominant diminished
@@LowReedExpert1 In jazz context, it is indeed mostly called Diminished (WH) and Dominant Diminished (HW). They are just two transpositions of these. You can however come up with more octatonic scales. Messiaen made up a series of scales called modes of limited transposition. Interesting stuff.
I watch all minutes of your long-style videos.... and also read the description ;)
The Silent Player Well played ;) haha i appreciate it man!
What a sound. I'm usually not into classic music, but you got my attention. Congrats and best luck in your career as a top-notch musician. And I watched all of it, and it broke my sleep schedule.
I am honored man. Thanks!
Nathan, I am thrilled that you posted this. I've lost the recording of myself performing this piece. Though you don't play it exactly as I did, your walkthrough commentary of your performance will give my friend an idea of the kind of intensity that existed for me in my quest for that elusive mutual friend of ours... Musical Perfection (otherwise known as Going For the Goosebumps).
By the way, your musicality shines through this performance in several, several places. Your hesitation at the ends of a few of the phrases really added to the drama of the piece. (The question marks of the piece, so to speak. "Hey audience, there's something cool coming up...") It was really fun watching you react to your playing because I, too, love the bits that you point out as your favourites. Perhaps my favourite favourite (??) is when you take advantage of the opportunities to let those low, slow, round notes creep mischievously toward a run to the top! What a great piece and a much greater performance than you give yourself credit for. Bravo!
What a kind comment. Thank you man, that means a lot :) thanks for watching the whole thing. You are a good man!
THAT WAS SPECTACULAR!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!
I didn’t expect to hear the Glazunov in this video but I’m glad I did! I’m working on it right now for solo and ensemble junior year of highschool.
I’m a senior in high school and I’ve been trying to play this peice for a year now and I finally today got it and to know that one of my favorite like saxophone TH-camrs played it is crazy to me
This probably is my favorite recording of this piece, great job! Also congrats on graduating!
TheOgSaxophonist 286 Check our Bartok Dus’s. He did my favorite recording. Flawless! And thanks man
@@Saxologic No problem thanks for the recommendation
I watched the whole thing, it was super interesting to see you analyze videos
Sweet!! And thank you!
I watched the whole video and even though the performance wasn't perfect it was still stupid good don't be too hard on yourself
I'm a Blues, Jazz and Big Band fan. It's wonderful to hear what experts and specialist at ones craft think of their own performances. I'm also glad that you strive for that perfection because I truly enjoy the end product of the efforts. 🎷
Man, even if I want to attend med school when I get to college, just seeing this kind of stuff makes me want to keep working with music even after high school. You did great man and even if there's always room for improvement, you have such potential in music man! Keep doing what you do because I really wish I can eventually see your name everywhere and see your TH-cam channel get a blue check mark.
You’re too kind! I appreciate it. And oooh, a blue check mark? Honestly I can’t even imagine myself being adequate enough to be as sleek and professional as those blue check mark guys. I’ve got a long way to go.
@Aiden W It's just that I've always wanted to be a Doctor my whole life. I love music, but my main priority is to help people around the world. Something like Doctors Without Borders.
I hope you enjoyed it man cause you killed it. Unless you're mistake is blatant and obvious a non musician would never recognize it. Play with confidence, and remember that nervousness and excitement are the same feeling the difference is perceived. You're infinitly better than me 😂.
You're going to be a legend. 4 questions: Were you always so good at the saxophone when you first began was it your first instrument? How many hours did you put into when you first began? Do you balance other interests/academic subjects in your life or do you just grind most of what you have into perfecting the art of the sax?
1) I always got first chair in my 6th grade school band almost every time, but I still certainly sounded pretty bad. So, idk what you would count that. I have some old videos of me playing when I was little and it was pretty terrifying. Maybe I could do a reaction video to those!
2) Hmm right when I first began, not very many. But I started going on the grind at like year 3. But I was very on and off in terms of consistency. I remember one summer of high school, I didn’t even touch my saxophone. I don’t recommend that lol. Whenever I touched my saxophone though, it was always with purpose. I had such an innocent mindset. I didn’t really practice to get better, I just really wanted to play the songs I liked. I didn’t have a private teacher till college. College is when I got most serious.
3+4) I have many other interests, but most of them are pretty useless. I am a quirky man. I play a LOT of Smash Brothers, I can solve a Rubik’s Cube pretty fast, I know a few juggling tricks, I used to draw 4-6 hours a day, I can animate pretty decently, etc. I practice sax a lot but really, I am not that impressive. The real freaks are guys like Ryan Devlin. We are the same age yet he is miles ahead of me. He practices the sax a LOT LOT.
Saxologic Thanks for responding! I’m sure lots of us would like to see those older videos so we can know how far behind we actually are lol. ‘Ppreciate the reccomendation as well as tenor newbie.
Nathan, I am 65 years old and have only been practicing the alto saxophone for 2 years. My first time actually playing any instrument, but felt the need to pursue a childhood dream. My instructor told me that if you make a mistake when performing just keep playing because most or the majority of the people listening will not
realized you made a mistake. If you did not provide the commentary, I would have thought it was a perfect performance. Thanks for sharing it and inspiring me to keep practicing. Btw, I am a Pirate as well. ECU -- 2006 (third career move).
Rmm...even the Conductor used a score, you memorized your parts. Are you a cyborg ?
Congratulations my brotha. Shit I’m about to be a Freshman at Poly High... and I’m really passionate about playing the piano! Hope you’re safe with this Covid-bs.😂 Quarantine has been hard for many of us lately...
Sasuke Uchiha Thanks man, stay safe!
Definitely watched the whole thing. I’m so impressed with the performance despite the mess ups that you believe took away from the piece. Bad things will happen, but it’s always good to critique yourself so you’re super brave to have put yourself out there like this. I’m actually going to attempt Caprice in form of Waltz by Paul Bonneau this year. I’m nervous and excited all the same as it’s my Senior year of high school. Might do something like this myself, not necessarily recording it but who knows... still you’re an inspiration to me for doing something like this. It’s truly impressive and brave.
"I've established my presence. Lets play the piece now." Captures art of performance soooo well.
I watched the whole video and read the whole description box! I like how you are confident enough to reveal the things you did "right" and the things you did "wrong". I like your channel, I'm inspired! Definitely subscribing.
AYYYYY SHOUT OUT FROM NEW BERN, MY NC FAM! Congrats on your graduation, many blessings.
Not boring just beautiful!
Like you, I also had the opportunity in my young college life (Moravian 1975), to not only perform, but to arrange this concerto (by hand - no computer) for band (not orchestra) and over a very short Jan term (yes, one month) and then perform in public (Bethlehem Rose Garden). Congrats on being chosen to do this, but to also have the courage to self-critique it to the world. By sharing, you do a great service to all by showing that we grow and learn through our efforts, imperfect as they sometimes can be. Hope alumnus Chris Bullock (Snarky Puppy) gives you a shout-out! I also want to thank you mom for her effort to make this possible!
Wow that’s awesome! Could I watch/listen to it somewhere? And I appreciate the kind comment, thank you a lot!!!
@@Saxologic nobody that I know recorded my performance, but I still have the hand written score and parts! I never scanned it or converted to Finale, which is what I use now to write and arrange when I have time. It was a ton of work that I still appreciate being challenged to do. Glad you're representing the next generation.
Congrats on Graduating! I’m a freshman in High school and I’m thinking about going to music school (my dream school would be the Manhattan School of music) my biggest question is “How much theory do you need to know (if any) to get into music school?”
As a current sophomore in high school I have been wondering this a lot too.
You should take a music theory class if your school offers it. If you're a performance or ed major, you don't really need to have AP theory under your belt. If you're considering majoring in theory, composition or jazz you should be as strong with theory as you can. There's also a surplus of great music theory videos on TH-cam that you can learn from.
That school is a pretty ambitious one! Some of the best players in the world attend there. Just learn bits of theory everyday while you’re still so young. Learning theory should be exciting! It will accumulate greatly by your senior year of high school. If you wait till the year you apply to colleges to finally start buckling down on theory, you’re gonna have a stressful time cramming it all in, and that might harm your love for music by making it seem like a chore.
Saxologic ok. Thanks for the tips!
That's really cool Abedin, im a freshman too and want to go to Manhattan school of music also, what instrument do you play?
Hey just wanted to share some stuff I’ve been digging. If you’re looking for another solo to transcribe, here’s some ideas (different difficulties AKA not all chris potter😂) 1.motet, yellowjackets 2.if your looking to hate your tenor chops, of course “hold it” chris potter 3.for one of the best trumpet solos I have aver heard/transcribed please listen to “the collector” -de raad van toezicht. Your life will be changed. The rhythmic feel they have and the way they shift through time feels is beyond compare. Alright man goodluck and happy playing.
Man, I feel you. I won my school's concerto competition with Henri Tomasi's Saxophone concerto, and looking back at it, I looked back at it and didn't enjoy it. And then I performed it at my senior recital, and felt only marginally better about that. I feel like the best performances I've had with that piece have been scale juries. XD
Yes sirrr it is a critical world inside the mind of a musician.
I watched the whole performance. I really enjoyed it! I love your classical tone. Your vibrato is subtle but powerful. kudos!!!
I was watching this video while working on an essay and when I heard him say “Yea, Nathan” I jumped because my name is Nathan as well
Yooo I was learning this piece a bit ago! Nice
Very interesting to see you do this. I'm exactly the same way in terms of critiquing myself but watching this video has reminded me that people who don't play the instrument you do will not notice a lot of the small errors that you yourself notice as you play. Thanks.
Also, I know it was a while ago and you admired the conductor but you can't let anyone like that push you around. As the soloist, whether or not the conductor likes the way you play, you should be the one to dictate the tempo he conducts at and he should be following you, not the other way round.
Ahhh ok, thanks for the tip! I’ll keep in mind if this opportunity ever comes again.
*sigh* Our timing didn’t line up. NAfME Concert Band Auditions we’re due last night, and it was excerpts from the Galzunov :( Not your fault though. Great video!
Hi from Brazil!!!! Brazilian are great people!!! best regards!!
Very interesting stuff. If anyone is interesting in studying this piece I would recommend John Edward Kelly’s recording on TH-cam or possibly even Andreas Van Zoelen’s recording despite how old it is
Channing Shows Have you heard Bartok Dus’s version? To me that is hands-down the best version, especially considering most people read the version with the original cadenza
Saxologic I haven’t yet, I’ll have to. I know John Edward Kelly plays Rascher’s cadenza and most people play the normal one, I’ll have to check that out
I’m going to play this piece pretty soon and watching this made me sweat with nervousness.
As soon as the Glazunov opening started playing I started freakin'
Also, you sound just like the performance by Joseph Lulloff
ECU, Greenville NC. I lived and worked there for 14 years at VOA. My daughters still live there. I saw Spyro Gyra and the Yellow Jackets in this auditorium. You sound great!
Legendary
Vincent Tran Tryna play Smash Bro’s sometime tonight again? ( ͡o ͜ʖ ͡o)
7:52 you just scared the everliving shit out of me
Everybody there has sheet music except for you and you're criticizing yourself??? What you did was simply amazing!!!
Im not sure what you mean but hes the soloist he has to know his music
That was a solid Glazunov performance. Congrats.
Dallassax! You are a master 🙏🏽 Thank you!!
Saxologic Chris Bullock and I shared an office at UNT. He taught undergrad jazz lessons, I taught classical.
dallassax That’s incredible.
Dude I’m a classical pianist and every time I perform in front of people and make a mistake that was obvious to me, it somehow becomes oblivious to the listeners and I just stand there in complete confusion as I’m being complimented :)
Love this concerto! as a first year sax @ uni, this is super cool to hear, especially cos one of the honours students is playing this concerto so i've seen a couple of masterclasses on it :) Loved the momentum in the cadenza, definitely watched till the end. There's not really much classical sax stuff on youtube, thanks for doing this!
Tash I appreciate this insightful comment! Have fun in uni!!
Damn....graduated, huh? Congratz man.
You make me laugh 4realb and I watched less than a minute 😂
I apreciate that and this situation shows me how much experience you have in bouth styles jazz and classical music. Thank GOD we have peopple like you in the world.
props to you i can’t even listen to myself play i literally cringe
Interesting that you say the conductor was quite “intimidating”, because his conducting style with such a small orchestra and with a soloist next to him is actually quite distracting and a bit ill-advised for the context, so you did very well not to be distracted
Im in the orch...he always conducts like that lol.
Thanks so much for this. I am listening to this and writing in my music what to do, or what is happening. I play bari, so it is a little harder to do a lot of this, but it is so fun.
The 13 people that disliked the vid so far are definitely trumpet players lol great vid Nathan keep up the great work
I know the Glazunov fairly well, and if you hadn't pointed out the memory slip/improv, I'm not sure I would have noticed much. You did a great job covering and I'm sure nearly everyone watching live thought that's how it was supposed to go. Your other self-critiques are valid but really minor and not something I would have noticed while listening. Great job! You have a great channel btw. Wish it were around about 25 years ago when I was learning sax in school. Would have motivated me to take it more seriously!
The "Hype man" dabs at 7:01 and 7:03. xD
dude. the moment you started playing, my jaw literally dropped. you made that the saxophone sing - it's incredible. holy shit. i hope i can play like that some day.
I appreciate it :’(((
I watched this nice video completely, it was nice and fun... But I wonder, how many people have seen it too. Until the end
Watched it to the end! Since I'm not an "insider" I wouldn't have noticed any mistakes if you weren't commenting. Sounded good to me!
Bruh really do be critiquing the way he walks
Wow I look back at the replay and critique the way I stay netural with Pokémon Trainer 😐😐can we play again later
John Coltrane Hahahah sure
I wish you nothing but the financially best
Lohvissimo!
My brother the glazunov saxophone concerto is technically and musically difficult. That’s why it is one of many pieces chosen for auditions. That’s just as a solo. You played it with the orchestra “in tune, in time, with few noticeable mishaps.” Had you not pointed a couple out I would have not known you did them.
Dale Underwood’s recording is exceptional and comparing to this world renown player you have accomplished and performed a hard piece well. Congrats. BTW Dale Underwood aka: Master Chief Underwood of the US Navy Concert Band in Wash. DC
Big Oof at 15:55! Hearing that octave leap come out with no bounce feels like a sin. Great performance, I’m glad you didn’t do the stretching on the G# and D# at 5
Man, you sound great!
hey well done! but also huge shout out to the orchestra! those string parts are HARD they did a great job!
I'm always thinking...I could do better, but when is it better...we are out own judges...and we take it really hard on ourselves...i just started to have fun..and just learn from my mistakes..
Bro I clicked on this video and I was like “sounds interesting” and then you started playing Glazunov concerto and I squealed😂😂
Don’t fool yourself
If you don’t already know?
You’re a Great Saxophonist!!!
Watched every last minute of it !
Thats a solid Glazunov!
This was so good that I felt compelled to quit the Sax 😂, jkjk unless...
Rylee Grimes Never quit >:(
watched the whole video, good stuff. I record myself playing all the time, it helps me point out my weak spots so i can work on em and get a little better. right now im working on altered pentatonics
I’m playing the glazunouv for my next solo ensemble, any tips? Btw, great video ;)
Blazing Star look up Bartok Dus’s vid
Hopefully mom won't report him for copyright infringement 😂
Humble yet brilliant
"I don't know if you noticed"...nope! it was all fine for me. :) When it comes to live playing, the audience has no clue if you did a mistake or not. And...mistakes will happen. Great job!
I hate playing glazunov, but it’s an essential classical saxophone piece
Yeah! I feel like the first time you play it, it's an absolute banger, but after that, it's so overplayed! Only because of our absolutely tragically small repertoire BUT there are still so many incredible concertos that aren't played nearly as much! The Decruck! The Tomasi! superb pieces that need more love :)
Lydia very true
very cool, also I watched the whole thing
Intravia I appreciate it!!
new vid nice background!!
COMPLIMENTI BELLISSIMO SUONO LEGATO E STACCATO EVVIVA IL SASSOFONO EVVIVA LA MUSICA