30 minute intro

on the way to buying the bundy alto sax, i was shaking a little. 'this is about to be real!' i thought.

i met ben at the denver diner, where i asked him brief questions about why he was selling the sax. he said that his mom has been diagnosed with cancer, and that he is saving up to pay for his truck and then move out to be with and take care of her. i thought that was precious, and wanted to share so that you could be praying for ben's mother.

oh, the ride home was glorious. i got a phone call from mom as i was nearing the bowman's house (where i'm house sitting). i took care of the dog and rabbit first. that is after all, what i'm getting paid to do. besides, i had to let the mouthpiece soak in antibacterial soap before i could even touch it--to be on the safe side.
and so.. naive sharayah began assembling her very own $200 saxophone.. only to realize she didn't know how. haha. returning to first person, i retreated to youtube to answer all of my questions. and after one broken reed (oops), it was ready for action!

i made a sound on my first try! (take that middle school band teacher!) granted, i couldn't make a sound after that, but i decided to learn proper finger placement first any way. i realized there is more i need to invest in, such as a neck strap, and s'more reeds. i've already bought a cleaning kit and a basic how-to book (that includes dvds) from the local music and arts store, but i also need to replace one of the pads, which i hear is not too expensive.

then of course, i had to try to make the sound again. it's been so long since i've had to make an embouchoure for an instrument. i forgot how tense the mouth muscles have to be. and on top of all this, i've never played a reed instrument before. perseverence is key, and i did make the sound again! i felt so powerful--like the time i had made fire for the first time while camping (also for the first time) at the end of high school. 'LOOK AT ME! I CAN MAKE SOUND!' (pound the chest)

any way, i practiced holding the note for awhile. up to a ten count. then learned my first official note--D. 30 minutes is a long time when learning an instrument without any instruction!