Any advice for the beginner?

[hellas]

Dear all,

I just started to learn alto sax and would like to know whether my equipments are appropriate or not. :roll:

"Grand" Alto Sax
"Yamaha" 4C mouthpiece
"B G" mouthpiece cushions
"Vandoren" 2 reed



Lots of thx.

[singlereed]

Never heard of that make of sax. I assume it's a Taiwanese made student horn, it should do the job if it is properly adjusted. The rest of the gear is fine.

[Anji]

That allows you to practice EVERY day will be just fine.

Don't get caught up in the "My horn could be better" nonsense.

It's the practice time that makes great players.

[hellas]

Many thx for yours advices :D

BTW, I'm now practising the long tones everyday (now can only play 10 sec :cry: ). How can I produce a longer tone without changing keys? I also used a tuner to check for my accuracy.

[deblcooper]

Don't worry about your setup unless it doesn't flow right....

then wait a day or two... perhaps it was just a bad day...

but only then, check that everything is working..

If you feel good playing with what you have, feel it. Enjoy it.

Play your heart out.

Keep practicing.

deb

[Vortex]

Sounds fine for starting, as you get better you might want to get a better mouthpiece (you'll find it's a huge factor in how you can play) like a S80 C*, Vandoren V5, or something along that line. I've played the Yamaha 4C's and really don't like them, try out a Morgan Protone which is very good for a student mpc, and well-priced too. Ralph Morgan hand-finishes all his mouthpieces.

When you say "mouthpiece cushions" do you mean ligature? The BG's are very nice ligatures. If you mean a bite-plate for the top teeth, I'd recommend against that unless you have a hard time keeping your teeth steady, have a crystal/metal/wood or other mpc whose material would be damaged by teeth gauges, or if you have dental issues. But if you've already put it on your mpc just leave it on, it won't hurt anything, it's just pretty unnecessary.

Use a higher-strength reed if you can, and try a bunch of different kinds to get a feel for each of them. If you ask me, Vandorens are a fairly hard-cut reed, I'd suggest at least a 2.5-3.0 with a 4C. When in doubt, opt for the softer reeds.