how come prince has never learned to play the sax ?

cuz, truthfully, to see those BEAUTIFUL lips wrapped around a sax would make any woman fall on her knees


no, seriously, why hasnt he ?

One of the best days of my life... http://prince.org/msg/100/291111


love is a gift

an artist with no fans is really just a man with a hobby....

Thats a good question. I have never really thought about it. I think he would be really good @ playing it. But who knows maybe he can play the sax & is just waiting 2 suprise us (since we have never seen him play it) & play it on one of his future albums.

i think he does know a bit of it

it's been discussed before but someone had once said (as in someone who worked with him) that he didnt have the proper emboucher 2 play sax

maybe it has something to do with protecting his voice ?

One of the best days of my life... http://prince.org/msg/100/291111


love is a gift

an artist with no fans is really just a man with a hobby....

Different people just have different skills. I play piano and sax but i'm having a real tough time learning the guitar, it really is just a completely different instrument

jacktheimprovident said:

Different people just have different skills. I play piano and sax but i'm having a real tough time learning the guitar, it really is just a completely different instrument

One of the best days of my life... http://prince.org/msg/100/291111


love is a gift

an artist with no fans is really just a man with a hobby....

I think the sax would be too big for him!

Before one of the Musicology shows I went to this summer, a chick sitting next to us tried to convince me that she went to a Prince show once where he was playing sax. I tried to convince her that she must have been hallucinating, but she was just absolutely sure she saw it, so eventually I just had to smile and nod and say "that's neat".

Anxiety said:

Before one of the Musicology shows I went to this summer, a chick sitting next to us tried to convince me that she went to a Prince show once where he was playing sax. I tried to convince her that she must have been hallucinating, but she was just absolutely sure she saw it, so eventually I just had to smile and nod and say "that's neat".

SammiJ said:

Moonwalkbjrain said:

I don't know if he could play. One sour note and he's grape juice.

If memory serves me right Candy once mentioned that she heard a tape of Prince playing the sax, and I also remember the sax being mentioned in one of his earliest interviews from his high school days. There was also a brief mention of a saxophone lying around in Prince and Andre Cymone´s room in one of the Prince bios.All this still doesn´t say anything though.But who knows, I wouldn´t be surprised to hear that he´s quite good for a non-saxophone player.

I might be wrong but I remember hearing that there's footage of Prince trying to play sax on some outtakes from the Mountains video.

Like I said I might be wrong.

He doesn't "blow". And he has nothing 2 do with the word "blowing" (If U know what mean.)

SammiJ said:

Anxiety said:

Before one of the Musicology shows I went to this summer, a chick sitting next to us tried to convince me that she went to a Prince show once where he was playing sax. I tried to convince her that she must have been hallucinating, but she was just absolutely sure she saw it, so eventually I just had to smile and nod and say "that's neat".

lol you're 2nice!

Where to begin???
because there's Candy and Eric and Kathy and ...most reason of all because there's Maceo!!!

Rebeka said:

One of the best days of my life... http://prince.org/msg/100/291111


love is a gift

an artist with no fans is really just a man with a hobby....

yeah but if it was just looks: well then we could all go back to lipsynching!!!

LOL

he played a lil bit of sax in his high school days, and i don't think he's played it since, except for joking around in the "Face Down" video after some fans said they'd like to see him play sax

My brother says he saw him play sax at a concert in the early days, along with the bass and the drums that night. ... It's hard for me to believe he would confuse a Prince with any others, but I guess it's possible.

It's hard enough to be a multi-instrumentalist with guitar, piano, bass, and drums. Adding the wind instruments too would be quite a feat.

A friend of mine is a professional music teacher. He can play piano, but not to a concert level, and specializes in ALL the wind instruments. The only one he cannot play is the trumpet because his lips cannot form themselves correctly in order to play the notes.

Part of playing an instrument is knowing enough about music and the other part is being able to physically make that knowledge come out in your instrument of choice.

I've always thought Prince didn't play any wind instruments, 'cause you can't do that and sing at the same time.

Some people tell me I've got great legs...

SammiJ said:

"Always blessings, never losses......"

Ya te dije....no manches guey!!!!!

I'm a guy!!!!

Sowhat said:

He prefers the skin flute.

Although it is a very old article it may answer your question.(Interesting Read)

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL (1976)



-----


(What follows is a transcript of Prince's very first interview. It appeared in his high school newspaper on February 16, 1976. It is accompanied by a picture of a young afro-clad Prince sitting at a piano.)



-----


Nelson Finds It "Hard To Become Known"


"I play with Grand Central Corporation. I've been playing with them for two years," Prince Nelson, senior at Central, said. Prince started playing piano at age seven and guitar when he got out of eighth grade.


Prince was born in Minneapolis. When asked, he said, "I was born here, unfortunately." Why? "I think it is very hard for a band to make it in this state, even if they're good. Mainly because there aren't any big record companies or studios in this state. I really feel that if we would have lived in Los Angeles or New York or some other big city, we would have gotten over by now."


He likes Central a great deal, because his music teachers let him work on his own. He now is working with Mr. Bickham, a music teacher at Central, but has been working with Mrs. Doepkes.


He plays several instruments, such as guitar, bass, all keyboards, and drums. He also sings sometimes, which he picked up recently. He played saxophone in seventh grade but gave it up. He regrets he did. He quit playing sax when school ended one summer. He never had time to practice sax anymore when he went back to school. He does not play in the school band. Why? "I really don't have time to make the concerts."


Prince has a brother that goes to Central whose name is Duane Nelson, who is more athletically enthusiastic. He plays on the basketball team and played on the football team. Duane is also a senior.


Prince plays by ear. "I've had about two lessons, but they didn't help much. I think you'll always be able to do what your ear tells you, so just think how great you'd be with lessons also," he said.


"I advise anyone who wants to learn guitar to get a teacher unless they are very musically inclined. One should learn all their scales too. That is very important," he continued.


Prince would also like to say that his band is in the process of recording an album containing songs they have composed. It should be released during the early part of the summer.


"Eventually I would like to go to college and start lessons again when I'm much older."

pumpkin71 thanks 4 posting. Love that kid!

Honestly, I bet he CAN play....

Sax is QUITE easy to play and Prince's skills definately give more than enough proof he can do whatever he wants ON whate ver he wants.

My theory is this... He's too "cool" to be SEEN playing sax.
It just doesn't fit in his "look".

Trust me, if he wanted to play, he could.

(And the embouchure thing don't fly... Anyone can build a proper embouchure over time.)


T

I played sax for 15 years or so, and I can say that it is NOT easy to play, and I was one of the best -- whoever challenged me lost, every time! It takes awhile to get your mouth, lips, and tongue just right, and if you don't play for a few months, it takes awhile to get back where you left off. Also, to keep from hitting the wrong notes, going octave, or making all kinds of awful noises, you have to learn how to blow just right -- this includes adjusting your mouth muscles and tongue just right as well. Also, it's very easy to go flat or sharp, and there's different things you need to know to adjust the difference. And we haven't even talked about the reeds, their different thicknesses, keeping them wet but not too wet, and avoid tearing them while blowing -- not to mention how to blow (staccatos, legatos, trills, etc). It takes a lot of work to maintain one's skills on the sax. This is why I now stick mainly to playing keys.

edit: oh yeah... next to guitar, sax is the coolest thing to play! what u talkin' 'bout?!
[Edited 11/15/04 20:34pm]

I saw an interview a while back when prince was asked if he played sax. He said yes, but Eric Leeds plays like he always wanted to.