Reverse Doubler?

[777Brad]

Welcome me. First post here, guys.

What I mean by reverse doubling is that I am actually a trumpet player & I want to play tenor. I questioned whether to place this post in the beginner section, but I would have missed out on hearing from guys who also play trumpet too.

Let me tell a little about myself. I have played trumpet for about 35 years. Attended Berklee & then did a hitch in the Army Band. I have wanted to play tenor for years, & I'm at a point in my life that I finally think it might be time.

What I'd like is hear from people who are fairly experienced trumpet players to give me some ideas, tips, suggestions of what to look for on tenor. Anything relevant would be welcomed.

Thanks for all you ideas.

Brad

[Tom Goodrick]

Welcome.

Go for it. You will find it comes much easier than the trumpet did though that was many years ago. You trumpet chops put you well ahead of the normal beginner. This means that advice sax players would give to a normal beginner will not be much help. See my note below on trumpet/sax compatibility because there are a few issues but you can beat most of them most of the time.

But I do have some advice so you can avoid one big problem I encountered when doing the same thing. Don't go out and buy a cheap student horn like you would do when starting a trumpet. On trumpet the quality of the horn is not a real big deal. On a sax it is a very big deal and can mean you won't be able to play some notes. You may pick up some bad habits trying to compensate for a poor horn. Read the stuff here on the different brands of saxes. But be prepared to spend close to $2000. When I got back into playing sax a few years ago, I decided I wanted the same quality in tenor I had in the trumpet and trombone. I bought a Yanagisawa for about $2600 on the internet from a reputable dealer. I have not been disappointed. I also know that, if I needed to, I could sell it quickly for enough that I would not lose much. To that extent it is an investment rather than an expenditure.

Start with a fingering chart. I bought several good books on the sax, some easy-level music, some sax theory and technique."The Art Of Saxophone Playing" by Larry teal is highly recommended. As you probably know, you can read the same music on sax as on trumpet. But for tenor the voicing is normally best when up a fifth. Soprano sax is voiced as for trumpet but that's a different story. Do the tenor first. Get several low-cost Rico reeds in strengths of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5. get a couple of mothpieces such as a 5 and 6 of some common type such as a hardrubber Otto Link or Meyer. Runyon Customs area also good in the sizes 5 to 7. You don't want to go wild at first with too many different things but you do want to allow for some variety of things to try until you find what you like. Ligatures are also significant. A Rovner Light, Dark or EVO-5 in the tenor HR size can be helpful because they will focus your sound making it easier to fine tune your chops.

From the trumpet, you have breath control and strength in your lips. on the sax your lips are used mainly to seal around the mouthpiece and reed but also to put slight pressure on the reed.

I found it much more suitable to tongue the sax the same way I tongue the trumpet - making a "to" motion with my tongue combined with a burst of breath. This gives me better articulation than many sax players who use the tongue to tap the reed or hold it still until the note starts.

Have fun. You'll find the sax can be much more expressive than the trumpet.

[edoguy]

having both instruments in the same key is a good thing

[777Brad]

Thanks guys, and thanks for that information, Tom. I have also read that other thread that you have & it too was very informative.

What I'm really hoping is that I will learn to improvise on sax relatively quickly, being able to play by ear. I don't think much about changes when playing trumpet it would be an adjustment to have to think about that on sax.

Brad

[Tom Goodrick]

Just listen carefully to the type of music you want to play.

[777Brad]

I'm not sure that I understand.

I like 'Trane, so I've listened to tons of 'Trane & Miles.

Who do you like for tenor players?

Brad

[mikwat1]

I doubled from the Trombone, my bigest problem was coordinating both hands and not using my mouth to change the notes. I also had trouble learning treble clef, but you should not worry about that.

[777Brad]

So the horn changes the notes solely based on you pressing down the appropriate keys? That would feel weird. No wonder sax players can play so fast!

Thanks,
Brad

[mitchell]

ha, i reverse double too. I started on flute, then i got tenor, then trombone then clarinet. :P