LO 2: Undertaken new challenges and developed new skills
I came across a really huge obstacle to playing the saxophone being the squeaking sound. Yes! every time I play the saxophone I have to produce a squeaking sound and this frustrates me at times. I started getting that squeaking sound after changing my mouthpiece but I am not completely sure if that was the major reason behind it. To remedy that squeaking sound, I started being careful and studied why my saxophone squeaked. I considered my embouchure, mouthpiece, reed, and even the saxophone itself as the reason could be mechanical. After inspecting all of those and starting to become more conscious of how I play the saxophone, I still did not figure out what the problem might be. The squeaking sound is something I am currently working diligently on now because I noticed I would not get anywhere with music if I continued to produce it. Having explored the possible reasons as to why I made a squeaking sound gave me the opportunity to develop my critical and analytical skills and transformed me into a more meticulous person. I will be able to use skills like these in other areas of my life that will require problem-solving. The more I played the saxophone, the closer I got to spot the source of the squeaking sound. For example, I squeaked a lot in the beginning but with constant practice, it got better and better so hopefully, in no time I will be able to solve this problem. My saxophone teacher kept motivating me to work hard while being patient with myself at the same time and also gave me a little bit of comfort when he told me that he also used to make the squeaking sound and even worse than that and that it will get better with time.
The following are pictures of some practice sound exercises I employed in my battle against the squeaking sound.
