questions about C Melody Sax
Sherry Katz
I have a C Melody - a silver King from the early 1920s. I got it for an
incredibly cheap price from ebay ($255). It's in great condition -
repadded, original finish, no dents, gold wash in bell.
To me it sounds more like a Tenor than an Alto. The original mouthpiece
gives it more of a woody sound - more like my clarinet - the Woodwind and
Brasswind C melody mouthpiece makes it sound more like a Tenor sax.
What's it good for? Well, I think the original purpose of these things was
to play melodies written in C without the need to transpose for home
musicians who weren't that great musically. And that's exactly what I use
it for. My roommate plays piano and we have stacks and stacks of music
books written in the key of C. Especially for playing around and sight
reading the stuff its a lot easier just to pull out the sax in the key of C
than to transpose from the key of Eb from Alto sax.
C Melodies get a bad rap for (a) having bad intonation and (b) a stuffy
sound. The FAQ on buying a sax says they are all junk and only the Conn
straight necked ones are any good and even most of those are junk. IMHO
this is wrong. My King does require some lipping up or down of notes when I
switch to the woodwind mouthpiece, but its nothing that's hard to compensate
for. It also does sound a bit stuffy with the original mouthpiece which is
greatly aided by switching to a harder reed. Older mouthpieces tend to be
more closed which requires a harder reed.
The sound of my C melody is actually pretty unique and if I were performing
as a musician I'd probably find a way to work it in occasionally. I think C
melody saxes unfairly have a bad name, probably because they were a craze
with non musicians for a period of time, and like other saxes there were
some good ones and some junky ones. If you look at classifieds and
auctions, you can find C melodies pretty easily for under $500 and even
under $300. Often in models that their tenor and alto counterparts are
selling for hundreds more.
If you like to sight read vocal music with the sax or if you like to play
klezmer or certain types of folk music a C melody is a great sax to own and
lots of fun. If you are reading off of sax charts or playing by ear, or
playing in a standard rock or jazz or blues group or playing classical then
there isn't much call for one.
Sherry
Jandube wrote in message
<199807060127...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>
>
>Where does this saxophone fall on the range of saxes -- i.e., between tenor
and
>alto, between alto and soprano, or higher than a soprano? Second, is it
>practical for anything these days or just good for sort of goofing around,
if
>you know what I mean? Does it have unique sort of sound, or is it closer
to a
>alto? to a soprano? why "MELODY" sax in the name, anyway?
>
>Duby
Jandube
Andy Harman
On 6 Jul 1998 01:27:57 GMT, jan...@aol.com (Jandube) wrote:
>Where does this saxophone fall on the range of saxes
It's a C tenor, one full tone higher than a normal Bb tenor. So it's
between tenor and alto, but closer to the tenor by a half tone.
>practical for anything these days or just good for sort of goofing around, if
>you know what I mean?
No reason you can't play it, but I doubt if there are many bands
looking for a C-melody player :) The last C-melody was made in 1930 I
think.
>why "MELODY" sax in the name, anyway?
As in, playing the melody of a song written for piano in the key of C.
Andy
Visit the Prototype Modelers Group Web Page at http://w3.one.net/~aharman/index.html
Sorry I must resort to anti-spam practice, reply to aharman at one (spelled out) dot net
Paul Lindemeyer
Andy Harman wrote:
>
> On 6 Jul 1998 01:27:57 GMT, jan...@aol.com (Jandube) wrote:
>
> >Where does this saxophone fall on the range of saxes
>
> It's a C tenor, one full tone higher than a normal Bb tenor. So it's
> between tenor and alto, but closer to the tenor by a half tone.
I find it closer to alto in timbre (because of its slender bore), while
closer to tenor in pitch.
> >practical for anything these days or just good for sort of goofing around, if
> >you know what I mean?
>
> No reason you can't play it, but I doubt if there are many bands
> looking for a C-melody player :) The last C-melody was made in 1930 I
> think.
Billy True, inventor of the "One-Man Saxophone Band", used 2 Conn
C-melodies made specially for him in 1936! And a 6M alto, too. All in
artist finish burnished gold. (See _Sax Journal_, Sept/Oct '97.)
But other than that, my 239k (1930) is about the last. <satisfied smirk>
--
Paul Lindemeyer <pau...@cyburban.com>
CELEBRATING THE SAXOPHONE: The Book
100 YEARS FROM TODAY: The Record
C.G. CONN Saxophones "Choice of the Artist"
Fred Becker
It falls between the alto and the tenor. Closer to the tenor the. Tenor is
a second lower, the alto a minor third higher. "Melody" just a name. No
musical meaning.
and
>alto, between alto and soprano, or higher than a soprano? Second, is it
if
to a
>
>Duby
Fred Becker
Bernard Savoie
Sherry Katz wrote:
>
> What's it good for? Well, I think the original purpose of these things was
> to play melodies written in C without the need to transpose for home
> musicians who weren't that great musically.
Actually, the C melody is the tenor saxophone in a family of C-F saxes
that Adolphe Sax created along with the better known Bb-Eb family. Sax
created the C-F family to perform with symphonic orchestra's and the
Eb-Bb to play with wind bands.
The Bb-Eb family became the norm simply because the saxophone became a
usual instrument in windband but it did not do so in the symphony.
>
> C Melodies get a bad rap for (a) having bad intonation and (b) a stuffy
> sound.
After the saxophone craze in the 1920's, instrument company's did not
see a market for further development of the C Melody sax, and so we are
left with vintage horns which have not followed the general tendancy of
a brighter and higher pitched sound that we find in the modern
saxophone.
For this reason, the tone of the instrument makes it a distinctive voice
which can be interesting but is difficult to integrate in a modern
context.
Bernard Savoie
Opus 102 Music Publisher
Kiser Residence
A C Melody sax is equivalent to a C tenor, since its pitch is a whole step
higher than a Bb tenor. A Eb alto is a whole step and a half higher. This
means that it is closer in sound to a tenor than an alto. The C Melody sax
was popular in the 20's and 30's because once a beginner had mastered the
fingering, he could play directly from sheet music without transposition.
Thus the C Melody name. I have been told that they were popular at this
time in churches because they could play from the hymn book, and those who
could read the F (bass) clef could comprise a quartet playing in four part
harmony. The only jazz musician who played C Melody to my knowledge was
Frankie Traumbauer.
There have been many experiments with saxes of different pitches during its
history. I have seen a Mezzo Soprano in F and a Soprano in C. The C Soprano
would work fine in a band playing the oboe parts.
The saxophone was invented primarily as a band instrument which accounts for
the Bb and Eb pitches. For some reason it never took hold in the symphony
orchestra although some parts were written for it to fine effect, for
instance in Ravel's orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition.
To my knowledge, there are no orchestral or band parts written for a C
Melody Sax. I have one and played it some in a dance combo, but found that
the regular Bb tenor worked better, because most popular music is written in
keys grateful to it. I played for a time with a hillbilly group who played a
lot in the keys of E, G, and A. This put the Bb tenor in unfamiliar key
territory. A C Melody would have worked better, but I did not have one at
that time.
For someone who wants just to start playing, a C Melody would be OK since
they can still be bought at a good price, and reeds are available.
John Delaney
differences that the woodwind & brass mouthpiece give it. Mine came with
an Alto mouthpiece and it very much sounds like a stuffy tenor. However,
I have really enjoyed playing it with a folk band I am in. I understand
that Bill Street also makes mouthpieces for it, and anyone who can
describe the characteristics of his work would be appreciated.
In article <6nqtgp$n...@dfw-ixnews5.ix.netcom.com>, slk...@ix.netcom.com
says...
David Brown and Barbara Solomon
>
> I also own a King C Melody from the same era. Can you tell me the
> differences that the woodwind & brass mouthpiece give it. Mine came with
> an Alto mouthpiece and it very much sounds like a stuffy tenor. However,
> I have really enjoyed playing it with a folk band I am in. I understand
> that Bill Street also makes mouthpieces for it, and anyone who can
> describe the characteristics of his work would be appreciated.
I have a Bill Street, and although I can't say what blank he used, it
works very well on my Buescher C tenor. It's black plastic, slightly
smaller than most plastic Bb tenor mouthpieces, and compared to the
original Buescher 20's mpc., it has a smaller chamber, sort of
straight walls, and a noticeably higher baffle. It has a much more
modern tenor tone, and does play a bit sharper than the original, but
it's decently in tune.
David
Sherry Katz
Tenor Sax sound. However, it also affects the intonation and I have to lip
certain notes sharper to get it in tune. In part this is because the cork
doesn't fit well so I have to shim it. If I were to decide to use the
Woodwind and Brasswind mouthpiece full time I'd put on a thicker piece of
cork.
Sherry
John Delaney wrote in message ...
lec...@unicom.net
jdel...@ix.netcom.com (John Delaney) wrote:
> I also own a King C Melody from the same era. Can you tell me the
> differences that the woodwind & brass mouthpiece give it. Mine came with
> an Alto mouthpiece and it very much sounds like a stuffy tenor. However,
> I have really enjoyed playing it with a folk band I am in. I understand
> that Bill Street also makes mouthpieces for it, and anyone who can
> describe the characteristics of his work would be appreciated.
I've got both a Buescher True Tone and a Conn C melody. I bought one of the
Bill Street pieces about a year ago from Francis Perry (who advertises in the
classifieds at the back of Saxophone Journal). The one I bought has a number
6 facing which would more-or-less correspond to, say, a Link 6 or similar
_moderately_ open facing. It gives either of the horns a nice full sound,
possibly more tenor-like than with the older mouthpieces. I'm extremely happy
with the result. I have also tried both horns with the vintage C melody
mouthpieces found in the cases (in both instances, Conn "eagle" mouthpieces,
nearly identical numbers with enormous chambers and very narrow tips).
Someone pointed out that the original mouthpieces work well with rather hard
reeds, so I tried them with Vandoren #4's. I may experiment with that more in
the future; the sound still lacks projection (which the Street piece amply
supplies) but with a very rich, full, dark tone and perhaps more of the
"alto-like" quality that Paul Lindemeyer described in an earlier post,
(attributing it to the narrower bore).
Incidentally, Francis is great to work with; I ordered my mouthpiece through
conventional mail and had it in my hands in under a week.
--David Lechner
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Craig Dickson
>I've got both a Buescher True Tone and a Conn C melody. I bought one of the
>Bill Street pieces about a year ago from Francis Perry (who advertises in the
>classifieds at the back of Saxophone Journal). The one I bought has a number
>6 facing which would more-or-less correspond to, say, a Link 6 or similar
>_moderately_ open facing. It gives either of the horns a nice full sound,
>possibly more tenor-like than with the older mouthpieces. I'm extremely happy
>with the result. I have also tried both horns with the vintage C melody
>mouthpieces found in the cases (in both instances, Conn "eagle" mouthpieces,
>nearly identical numbers with enormous chambers and very narrow tips).
>Someone pointed out that the original mouthpieces work well with rather hard
>reeds, so I tried them with Vandoren #4's. I may experiment with that more in
>the future; the sound still lacks projection (which the Street piece amply
>supplies) but with a very rich, full, dark tone and perhaps more of the
>"alto-like" quality that Paul Lindemeyer described in an earlier post,
>(attributing it to the narrower bore).
The sound may "lack projection", but another way to put it would be that it
fits in better with an orchestral woodwind section than does a modern
saxophone sound. This is an intentional quality of the original saxophone
mouthpiece design, as I understand it; the large, round chamber and low,
concave baffle soften and darken the tone considerably.
Craig
Matthew William Damick
: It falls between the alto and the tenor. Closer to the tenor the. Tenor is
: a second lower, the alto a minor third higher. "Melody" just a name. No
: musical meaning.
I believe it was referred to as a melody sax b/c it was intended, in
part, to play melody right the page of piano/vocal music w/o any
transposition.
--
| Chemically | H A Z - M A T T | Live! From ThighMaster Central! |
| Engineered | /_\ /_\ | mwda...@eos.ncsu.edu |
| For Your | O | mwda...@unity.ncsu.edu |
| Protection | /_\ | Better Living Through MR Fluids |
lec...@unicom.net
c...@best.com (Craig Dickson) wrote:
> David Lechner <lec...@unicom.net> wrote:
[snip]
> The sound may "lack projection", but another way to put it would be that it
> fits in better with an orchestral woodwind section than does a modern
> saxophone sound. This is an intentional quality of the original saxophone
> mouthpiece design, as I understand it; the large, round chamber and low,
> concave baffle soften and darken the tone considerably.
>
> Craig
Good response! You must be a "the glass is half FULL" sort of person ;{)
I hadn't thought of it from this angle, but of course you're right that
this is another way of viewing the situation. Other than volume, the other
non-modern aspect of the sound -- the thin, wavery tone -- seems to disappear
with the use of appropriately harder reeds leaving a nice, rich tone, as I
mentioned in the earlier posting.
--David
WilkinTodd
also has Jenkins Music Company, Kansas City Missouri engraved beneath it. Does
anyone know anything about this horn? I found another hanging on the wall of a
local bar, asked the owner, and he let me have it. Only the neck and mouthpiece
were salvagable, but the neck blows much more 'freely.' I found an old Dukoff
clear plastic D10 mouthpiece and filed out the baffle with a round chainsaw
file. It plays great, though a bit less projection than my other horns. I've
been using it with the Boulevard Big Band here in Kansas City. If you're ever
in town, stop by. Tram's grandson still lives here, and has some amazing
unreleased recordings.
Todd Wilkinson