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By eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor
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The E-flat alto saxophone and the B-flat tenor saxophone are the most common instruments in the sax family for beginners. The alto sax is a bit smaller in size and often the one chosen by younger students due to its ease of transport. Here are a few steps to learn to play the saxophone.
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Comments
Anonymous said
on 4/19/2008 When you finish a song or warm up, don't use your tongue to press against the reed, this makes the ending of your song end on a bad note. Instead, on the final count of the note take a quick breath in without pausing between the exhale and inhale of air. This will provide a far better tone and sound quality.
Anonymous said
on 4/19/2008 Producing a good tone while playing the notes below a low D can be tough...try this and you'll see better results. Holding each note 2 counts begin on a low F; Slur down the chromatic scale stopping at the first note that gives you trouble. First just focus on slurring down to that note successfully. When you can finally slur down to that note, in the same breath, hold/sustain that note for 2-4 counts and then, also in the same breath, tongue the note 4 more times with a legato (connecting) articulation. Repeat this process, beginning on the low F and move down through all of the remaining lower register notes to low Bb. Recap: Just remember once you get the difficult note to sound, hold it, then in the same breath legato tongue 4 more times.
Anonymous said
on 3/8/2006 Try this: Get a straw and a cup filled with water. Fill your mouth with water and blow it out horizontally through the straw. Do this until you can easily keep a steady stream of water. This should help beginners hold a steady note without wavering, and should also teach them to control their breath.
Anonymous said
on 3/8/2006 When you just start on the saxophone, keep the main body of the instrument tilted to the right side of your body so it is touching the outside of your right thigh. Many people that you see playing play with the instrument between their legs, which is fine for them, but when you are just starting. It is better for your musically related posture to have it to the side.
As you get ready to play, make sure that your neck strap is high (or low) enough. If you are playing the alto saxophone you want the neck/mouthpiece combination to enter your mouth at a right angle (straight on), pointed straight back at your throat. On the tenor sax the mouthpiece enters straight in (but not the neck because of the curve).
When you start, it never sounds pretty. Don't worry about keeping the horn in tune because that is going to take a lot of practice before you get the proper muscle control in your mouth area. That's why beginning bands sound so out of tune. The director also knows that it's not the biggest problem at the moment and that it will fix itself (mostly) over time.
-Do not make a line on the cork where the mouthpiece is that stands for the "in tune" position. Every reed is different, so that will change the tuning, and the location of the reed on the mouthpiece (how far forward, back, to the side) also changes the tuning of the instrument. Once you assemble your instrument enough times you will instinctively place the mouthpiece in the same position, but don't specifically think "if I put it here, I will be in tune!"
Finally, don't try to rush the learning process. Knowing how to read music previous to picking up the saxophone helps a great deal, but is not required. Once you have the strength in the mouth for the saxophone and the knowledge of notation, it will be much easier to pick up another woodwind instrument to learn.
I started on the saxophone in fifth grade - 8 years ago - and learned the oboe, clarinet, and English horn during my high school years.
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 If you've never played a reed instrument before, then it is important to make sure that you get a soft reed. Some brands sell soft, medium and hard reeds, but others, like Rico and Rico Royal (which I recommend for beginners), sell reeds with numbers that indicated a certain hardness. A beginning player will probably do best on a number 2 reed. I found this really good advice when I began to play the alto saxophone.