A home, a haven, an ambivalent feeling of tranquility and fervor, a feeling of complete control yet complete vulnerability—all are feelings the saxophone kindles within me. Learning to play the saxophone was learning to speak a new language. I played my first notes on the saxophone my freshman year and since then the saxophone has become part of my identity; a place for me to truly be free and express whatever it is I wish to. There are no boundaries to the stories I can tell. I instantly fell in love with the idea through jazz improvisation. The idea was simple; speak your mind. Whatever it is you feel, you simply speak it through your instrument and regardless of whether or not someone could play, they could understand and feel exactly what …show more content…
As a freshman, new to both the sax and band, I learned auditions would take place. The other saxophonist already played in the high school band and many had played in middle school. In order to make up for lost time I practiced everyday for two hours. I was ecstatic with the progress I was making but I still could not perform at the level at which the other saxophonist’s played. My teacher gave me the options to either play an instrument I had previously played or leave the band at the end of the semester. If it had been any other instrument I may have been willing to quit, but the saxophone was different. I had a newfound love for the instrument and was not ready to give it up so easily, so I decided to join the jazz band. Even though I was not the best, I kept playing for my own enrichment and the choice led me to discovering a new passion. For the ten years I had played music, it had always been given to me as notes on a paper, but Jazz introduced the concept of being given a blank page that I could fill with any note I wanted to do. Improvisation was amazing to me because it allowed me to express myself in a way I never could before. I fell in love with the freedom of the genre and was now practicing more than ever. I was playing in the mornings, during school, and after school every single day. …show more content…
A thirty second solo was all the time I had to encapsulate all the skills I acquired from my time spent practicing. Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” plays in the background in an auditorium of 500 people all encompassed by the darkness of the auditorium; the music slows and softens. Now the only sound in the auditorium is the drummer and piano playing the iconic “Take Five” background. The spotlight turns on and there I stood. Thirty seconds was all the time I had to explain what I had experienced these past couple of months. What followed, not even I expected… I received a standing ovation from the entire audience and was told by my teacher that my solo was one of the best he had ever heard. The story I told was one of pride, elegance, triumph, and bliss. What I said to the audience was that no matter what you pursue in life, there are always going to be people ahead of you, but once you accept this fact and only worry about being the best that you can be, that is when you will truly be successful and progress in life. I have applied this mindset to all facets of my life and I continue to become more and more successful in everything that I do. I now approach unfamiliar and new experiences with both a genuine passion and sense of comfort, knowing that no matter the circumstance, I will be able to overcome any challenge that I face. I had advanced from telling a sentence to telling a