is saxophone meant 4 girls???

[avalava09]

I asked this professional musician dude in his 50s the other day, and he said you have to be built for saxophone. I really want to play it! Is there anything I can do? :?

[bloontz]

That's not true at all, that guy was without a clue.

[deblcooper]

The guy was trying to get to you and make himself feel superior. Maybe he knows you are better then him and wants to cut you down. How old is this kid?

From now on you know any time use in his company is a waste.

I am a petite woman who has huge lungs who has been playing for over .. well, probably longer than his age!

[Jbroad572]

I asked this guy the other day, and he said you have to be built for saxophone. I really want to play it! Is there anything I can do? :?
Don't listen to him!!! :evil:
The sax is meant for any and everyone who desires to play it. If anything, if you play a nice smooth romantic ballad, then yea it can definitely be for the ladies... ;)

If you want, play the sax and be great at it. Don't let anyone tell you can't do it, if anything they are jealous or insecure and don't want you to be good at something, that can possibly one day make you famous and great.
Watch the people you hang around with, too much weight and/or negativity can bring you down and you don't want those type of people in your life, trust me.

[avalava09]

he was actually a professional musician in his 50s

[Jbroad572]

he was actually a professional musician in his 50s
And what instruments does he play?

What kind of music do you like? Jazz? Look at all the famous popular saxophonists. Mention that to him and watch his response. Mention Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Gene Ammons, Stan Getz... list can go on and on. I would not respect him as a musician if he can not respect all instruments and all music.


Just my .02

[Altoman5]

I agree...don't listen to this guy, avalava09. Get yourself a good sax, a great teacher and WORK HARD :). Think of playing the sax a challenge you can overcome. As for me, I never considered myself as musically inclined. I know I have to work twice as hard to get good. But I've always loved a challenge and I never cared what anyone else said about my playing. (Except constructive criticisms & praises) As long as you have your parents & friends support, you can do anything.

Finally, everyone here on this forum supports everybody, including you. :)

[Sigmund451]

Just because he was a professional musician doesnt necessarly mean he has brain 1. It just means he makes his living playing an instrument. Doing so does not automatically endow one with deep wisdom. There are young fools but there are plenty of old fools. I think you found one.

[Doremifaman]

The guy has probably never met Candy Dufler or Sue Terry. In my opinion, if one has a pair of lips, a pair of lungs, a functional diaphram and has two legs as opposed to four, then one can certainly play the sax. Hey, from the way I put it, even a chimpanzee can play, too, if you have the patience to train him with your horn. :D I won't recommend a gorrilla, though, as he will easily bend your keys!

Speaking of being built for the saxophone. If I got this correct, David Sanborn started playing the alto because he had polio in his younger days. So, what does it mean by being built for the saxophone. FYI, the drummer from Def Leppard plays with one hand (seriously) due to amputation.

Forget what others tell you. You've got to just go and do it if you want it bad enough.

Good luck!

[Jbroad572]

I misread the post. I now see that avalava is a female.... :oops:

So, let me repost my thoughts.
He's still telling you wrong. There is a lady by the name of retromom who is making great progress. She started in February. Here some clips of Angella Christie (http://www.angellachristie.com/indexx.html)

Her tone is beautiful.
Don't let him discourage you whatsoever. Anyone can play the sax. There setups that are easy to blow and there are some that are more difficult. You can start off easy and upgrade your equipment as you progress. How old are you by the way? I would suggest finding a local teacher that would be glad to take you on as a student.
That's my corrected .02 ;)

[Mick Scott]

He is clearly misinformed, although I guess you are clearly getting that vibe by now.

I've heard many discourage kids from playing tenor, giving them an alto instead based on not being "built" for it. Perhaps this is what he meant if you have small hands or something. I was playing tenor very young and had no probs though.

[gary]

avalava - here are two good role models. Check their sites out. www.candydulfer.nl and http://www.tinekepostma.com
If you don't know Candy, she is internationally known as a superb funk, pop player. Tineke Postma is not as well known as Candy but she is likely as good a player. She is making her artistic choice as a straight-ahead jazz player.

Check out "Diva", a big band "manned" (sorry) entirely with women. The International Association for Jazz Educartion (IAJE) has a program named "Sisters in Jazz" that highlights and tours some very fine women sax players.

After thinking again on your first post, I had a similar reaction as Mick. Is is possible that he was referring to your physical size, size of hands ie, and not your sex?

At any rate, there's a very fine saxophonist who's body is bent and who is wheelchair bound and he is a professional sax player. Unless you are more handicapped than he, you can play the sax.

Don't worry about what might've been said. Listen to Candy and Tineke and dream of playing like them. You can do it. And you can do it just for fun, too, if professionalism isn't your goal. I wish you were just up the street. I would love to give you your first lesson. :)

[deblcooper]

Is this man your potential sax teacher? He may be concern about your stature and not intenting to be derogatory. Yet, I always question someone when they make comments about size or age (too old to learn, to young to be any good)

I was 8 when I started so I haven't been playing as long as he is old, just over 35 years. I'm 5'2" (158cm) and have small hands. Thankfully no one told me that when I was 8. When I was 17, the band I was with made a record (yes, those were the good old days.)

But then, it would have make me even more determined to play. Now I don't play the bari but have a good friend who's nickname is Shorty who does. She's 4'10 (147cm).

Try to do what you want. Find a different teacher if you can. If not, ask him why he said that and negotiate!

[Vortex]

Bottom line: Absolutely no gender issue here.

Small hands - There are many models of horns that cater to those with smaller hands.

Physical stature - Improved neck straps are making it less stressful to play the larger horns (tenor, bari, etc)

Lung power - Women often have more powerful abdominal muscles than men, giving them greater diaphragm control. I, for one, will testify that my girlfriend has greater lung capacity than I do: she doesn't play any winds and is not a runner!

Action - The action of the keys on any given horn can be lightened to make it easier to play.

Sounds like things are in the ladies' favor! And of course, who wouldn't like to see a naked lady playing a Naked Lady?

[avalava09]

THANKS FOR EVERTHING GUYS AND GIRLS! I won't forget you when I'm out playing on stage! by the way, I'm a 14 year old girl... :D :)

[bloontz]

Go for it! My ten year old son started playing sax when he was 8, he's not very physically fit but hasn't had any trouble playing alto or tenor in the school band. His band instructor is an sax player and "she" doesn't seem to have had any problems learning the sax.

[kcp]

Ah... don't worry about it. From experience I can tell you that people often say things without knowing what they are talking about. Sometimes they just talk for the sake of talking or just talk to try to be interesting. Most of it is out of simple ignorance.

I was told that I couldn't play tenor sax because I'm "too small"... heck, not only I play tenor but I also play baritone now. How many times I've been told "Wow, a girl who plays saxophone, how unusual"... well that depends of your entourage and how far you've looked. Among others, Candy Dulfer comes to mind but as you can see there are several others that have been named in this thread.

Personally, I formed a sax quartet in wich 3 out of 4 saxophonists are women. We have a substitute saxophonist on alto (a 5th player)... also a woman. It wasn't even hard to find them. To be honnest, I never intended to find female players for this quartet, it just happened that way - If my quartet had different players, it would sound different yes, because each player is unique and sounds different. But not because of gender.

I also think that perhaps the myth of "Female saxophonist are rare" needs to be re-evaluated. Tell that guy to go out a little more 8-)

[Clarinophonist]

Small hands, get a soprano as well eh :)

Girls sometimes are better at sax, they tend to play less agressivley i find which is a plus in some styles. Id never diss a femalse sax player after i was ripped silly on more than 1 occasion.

Clari

[jazzbluescat]

I asked this professional musician dude in his 50s the other day, and he said you have to be built for saxophone. I really want to play it! Is there anything I can do? :?

So, you took this as a sexist remark, I gather? If I'd been in your shoes I probably would've agreed with him. And gone on to explain that it takes 85% desire and that I am "built" that way.

[singlereed]

' course its not for girlz. Get yourself a flute!

Only kidding.....like many areas of music, many - if not most - of the most committed young players are women. Go for it, there are some female great role models on sax. In the UK, many of the best players are women - trailblazers like Barbara Thompson (although retired due to ill health), The Fairer Sax, newer players like Kintamarni, Lara James, Sarah Field, Sarah Markham, Ingrid Laubrock... the list goes on and I am sure the same is true around the world.