Search Results for ‘beginner’

I'm a middle school band teacher. I'm also a sax player and have knowledge of mouthpieces. I'm toying with the idea of purchasing mouthpieces for my entire jazz ensemble sax section. It would be an investment, as I would purchase around 10. So I need to be wise about it. I think SYOS is the...

Parents have often asked me to recommend a new beginner with a new saxophone with what brand and model. I give them the basic rundown of the pros & cons of various, after trying to find out the reason the student has chosen the sax, what the Parent is willing to invest, and have they discussed...

I am 68 years old and I am often transported/inspired by the saxophone. Not sure why really but there it is. Must of my career has been in development on the African continent in remote locations so learning to play sax was not practical. I've recently retired back to Canada and would like to...

I've only been playing for a week, but I'm having trouble getting a consistent high tone out of my octave key, and some times it just straight up doesn't work. In order to get it to work I have to bite a bit on the reed, which I don't think I should have to do. By biting on the reed and...

I want to start playing the saxophone (I’m 13 years old). From what i heard the alto sax is easier for beginners but a tenor is also possible if you have big enough hands. I prefer the sound of the tenor but I don’t know if i can start on it right now. What do you think?

There is a very good music school i want to get into this year, so i want to make progress as fast as possible (I’m a complete beginner). The only requirements to get into the school is good control of the instrument (tone and such) and an ability to improvise. I have a musical background (i...

Hey all, I'm a high school rookie. I've been playing alto sax for a few weeks now, and the school band starts in a few weeks. I want to join, but I don't have the endurance to play long pieces one after another. Whenever I practice for a few minutes, my lips get really numb, so much so that I...

Hey everyone! Hope you're all good! I've just started this new series of videos on my teaching website. It's all about how to help your child improve their sense of rhythm with some basic movement exercises. Although these videos are aimed at parents, the exercises are useful at any level to...

Hello! I was wondering if I could get some help from seasoned saxophone veterans! I'm trying to pick my first real sax, and I've narrowed it down to a few options. I'm going into marching band as an alto sax and some of the models I have narrowed it down to are the YAS-480, YAS-26, YAS-300AD...

Hi, maybe this is something other sax players have encountered whilst learning to play so I thought I'd post. I'm a beginner learning since last September so about 7 months, before I began learning I didn't have a musical bone in my body and learning sax is my first instrument. I have a really...

Jeff Coffin (Bela Fleck, DMB), Tia Fuller (Berklee Prof, Beyonce, Esperanza Spalding) and Kirk Whalum (Whitney Houston, smooth jazz legend) are giving a Zoom chat on tone this Thursday at 1pm EST. Jack Finucane from The Boston Sax Shop will also be there to talk about mouthpieces and gear...

As I have started to teach beginning private lessons (most of my previous lesson students when I was in college/gigging were adults learning or high school students), I have noticed that basically every student has the same mouthpiece- a Yamaha 4C. I guess about 15 years ago when I started...

Hi folks. I'm struggling to learn with just a book so I've been considering a subscription to Tonestro. Does anyone have any experience of this app? Is it any good for a complete beginner who can just about do a scale and basic tune? In an ideal world I'd like to use a real life human teacher...

I'm in high school, and it's my first year playing the sax. That might be why. I got a new mouthpiece (Rico alto 3c) and ligature (Rovner dark 1rl). I'm having more issues than I used to, and I can make low notes with a rolled lower lip. The problem is, when I use the lower lip embouchure, my...

hi all i have a conn chuberry alto and looking to peak in to tenor land. what would you suggest to get from similarly vintage instruments? (that does not require a bank heist) im still a beginner, based in EU :)

Yo so I recently bought my first horn - a Martin Magna Tenor. I've had it overhauled and repadded so it's in top playing condition. Now I've gotta learn to play the thing. So far I've learnt to play the C Major scale and that's it. I already play guitar, bass drums and keys so I've got some...