[nevets19]

I played alto and tenor as a kid. I am now starting to play again. Last year I rented an alto and it went fairly well except for mouth/jaw/cheeks fatigue. I know I need to practice, practice, and then practice some more: long tones etc. But my question is whether the tenor might produce less tension and fatigue since the embouchure is supposed to be looser.
Any experience/perspective on this?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Canadiain]

Its a personal preference thing I suspect. I dont think there is much to choose between them, but I did find that for me a good mouthpiece with a larger tip and softer reed combo on either made life a lot easier. Tenor is a bit more relaxed I suppose, but not a lot.

I guess Im saying it could just be you need a better mouthpiece / reed combo to make playing alto easier. With a crappy camewithacheaphorn piece and / or the wrong reed it can be hard work on either, and the opposite is true when you have the right combination of reed and piece.

Good Luck

Practice practice practice also applies, but no point making life hard for yourself either

 

[Carl H.]

Tenor will weigh more and cause more strain on your neck. Get a good mouthpiece and match it with the right reed and just play.