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How do I get rid of Sax player?

#45
If he's a friend, why doesn't he play some rhythm guitar to help fill out the sound? Go ahead and tell him his sax playing isn't working for the genre, but be compassionate. Friends are hard to find, and if there is a will, there is a way to make it work.. IMO..

P.S. In another few months or years, he might wind up being a better songwriter than all of you. Give fate a chance to play itself out.. ;)
 
#46
There's been a lot written since I posted and I agree with most of it. To be honest I didn't notice he was out of tune, possibly because the note choices were off anyway...

Unfortunately for your mate it takes a shedload of practice to be good enough to jam with you guys on sax. He needs all his parts written out. He plays like he can read, so that might be a challenge for you guys to write out what you'd like to be hearing, and stick to your arrangements.

Be kind and make it simple and you can keep your friend in the band on his instrument of choice. It's pretty easy. If you can get onto the school's gear they probably have a midi keyboard and a computer with garageband or something on it that will print out beautiful music that you tapped into it and edited until it was right.

If he can't read then he has to quit/ play rhythm guitar/ keys / manage, find gigs / sell T shirts.
 
#47
It sounds like you, or somebody else in the band, or all of you, will need to work with him to come up with parts for him to play. He does seem to just be flailing out there. I think the sax could work in that band, if he was playing the right stuff at the right time.

If the rest of you don't have the time, inclination, or knowledge to come up with sax arrangements for the songs, then as somebody said above, he needs to be told he's not ready.

Guitar, bass, and drums are largely oral traditions and part of learning to play them (for many people, anyway) involves feeling how things go together. But horns are usually learned in a much more structured way, with "Here's your part, all written out in musical notation. Play THIS." My perception is there's less emphasis put on feeling out melodies and playing by ear or playing something you hear in your head, especially in a "school band" setting, which seems to be where most people learn to play horns initially. So your sax playing friend is trying to adapt to a different paradigm, playing in a rock band. It takes some getting used to. But, there needs to be a minimal level of musical understanding and musical sense for it to ever work. Tough to tell from that video where he is with that, but, the sooner you determine that, the less time will be wasted.
 
#48
Took a listen of the video.

I suggest you record the band at rehearsal w/o the sax player.

Then play the recording back at a low volume and have him play his part(s).

Seems to me there's no real "part" that he's playing. IMO, he might add to the band if he had written parts.

As is, his background "jamming" really doesn't fit in with your music.
 
#51
tobiasaurusrex said:
Listen to some X-Ray Spex ("The Day the World Turned Day-Glo", "Identity", "I Am a Poseur", "Germ Fee Adolescent"), listen to the Flesh Eaters ("See You in the Boneyard", "Wedding Dice", "River of Fever", "Divine Horseman"). They both pulled off an overdriven sound with a saxophonist, and rode above their genres for it.

One of the key things is that he needs to know this isn't stream of consciousness jazz, and that he needs a solid, tight role. Usually the sax doesn't play during the lyrics, other than distinct flourishes that relate to chord changes, or a riff by the guitar/bass. In "Wedding Dice", the sax doesn't even play except the break/mind warp moment.

Your problem is not that you have a saxamaphone in your band, it's that you have a musician who doesn't actually know what he's going to be playing at any point of the song, and he's wandering around trying to find his role... while you're on stage.

If you do manage to work a role out for him, or even just try in a conscious manner, you'll all grow as musicians and learn stuff you didn't know was there.
Click to expand...

This
 
#53
It's not his fault he is off the mark with you guys. He just doesn't have the tools.

Intonation aside, as I haven't reviewed the video, he can probably play the right notes if he knows what they are in advance, sheet music being the fastest way to make that happen.
 
#54
just pull a ben folds on the guy:

everybody quit the band, then reform a month later without him using a different band name.
 
#57
the best thing about being a bass player is you can always find another band...

it's hard to judge the complete band dynamic off that one video

but it doesn't look like you guys are having any fun at all

I writhe around on stage, my rhythm guitarist does power poses,
while our good looking lead singer ham's it up, there's a drummer somewhere too

do the guitarists play different parts? or do they always mirror eachother?

I'd rather hear two guitars weaving, or one guitar cranked really loud

the sax guy needs to hold back more,
and only play during intros chorus and outros
not all the way through, it's not a solo, it's not jazz

so fire your sax guy
fire the non singing guitarist if he's not contributing
write 30-50 original songs with the new line up
or join another band :D

goodluck
 
#58
Put novacain or some other numbing agent on his mouth piece and reed when he's not looking. He won't be able to play and you can have another reason to fire him after that.

Just be honest, he's your friend and deserves your honesty. Tell him he can be head roadie as a consulation prize.
 

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