Success Beyond The Score

As most of you know, I am predominantly a sax player. I am also a pianist, a vocalist, and someone who dabbles in music production. Each of these "identities" as a musician require a different instrument —yes, the voice and music production software are also instruments. We know that, in order to do our job, we must take care of them, but many times, we are so busy that we end up neglecting them.

For example, a few months ago this year, I started noticing that some of the keys of my saxophone were sort of sticky. They answered slower than usual, and it made playing a bit awkward. Although I decided that the issue was above my basic maintenance knowledge, and that I should take my saxophone to a repair shop to get it solved, I thought it would be something small and simple. Imagine my surprise when they discovered that five pads, which are a leather-type material piece sitting under the cup of each key, were so worn out that they needed to be replaced!

One quote that stung in the wall...

Nowadays, the making of both woodwind and brass instruments is considered an endangered craft by the Heritage Crafts Association. If something goes wrong with your instrument, there are very few places where you can take it in order to get it back on track. When Millicent's trusted sax repairer retired seven years ago, she was faced with the gravity of this problem, struggling so much to find a reliable replacement that she decided to learn how to do it herself. She signed up for a sax repair and maintenance workshop offered by Cambridge Woodwind Makers, which was extremely useful and gave her a new perspective. She talked at length about her experience in this blog entry, and also on her YouTube channel.

While she eventually found a new trusted sax repairer, Millicent didn't completely leave this knowledge aside. As a busy gigging musician, she doesn't always have the chance to take her saxophones to the shop if something breaks, and knowing how to do quick fixes can be a lifesaver w...