[cvtorchia]

I want someones opinion,
I am considering the switch from Alto to Soprano... Ive been playing a soprano that my friend has and its a lot of fun, but in the three bands i play in i play alto, two of which are classical bands. The jazz one would be fine with me playing soprano, but i just wanted some opinions and experience. Thanks

 

[Dave Dolson]

Are we talking about high school, college, semi-pro, pro bands? Does the band use written music or is it an improv situation? Regardless, if you want to play soprano, buy one and play it. I sure wouldn't give up the alto, though. It isn't necessary to SWITCH, just ADD. DAVE

 

[jrvinson45]

+1 What Dave said.

 

[Flâneur]

+2 What Dave said.

 

[Atonal]

isn't necessary to SWITCH, just ADD. DAVE

Yes! Playing only soprano sax might be similar to a clarinet player who only wants to play Eb soprano clarinet. No such thing....too specialized.

 

[ThatSaxyGuy]

+3 what Dave said. Idk about your particular situation, but in my experience soprano sax parts are few and far between. So don't switch completely over to it, just work on it so you can cover the part when it shows up

 

[bruce bailey]

I agree with the above. I have played alto for 51 years and soprano for 49. Although almost all of my playing has been on alto, I really have enjoyed the soprano. Remember that in concert band/wind ensemble, there are a lot of soprano parts usually when there is only one alto part. Most Grainger has soprano as well as many of the old orchestra transcriptions. One problem may be that conductors hate soprano as it is usually played too loudly or out of tune. About half of the marches have a soprano part but it usually has been tossed or put in the rear of a folder along with Db pic. T-bone treble clef, Eb horn and other antique parts.
You can find cheap Asian sopranos but they are mostly for fun and don't have the intonation you will need. Find a used Vito (not the current ones) that would be a Yanangisa for under $1,000 or go a little higher for a nice vintage 20s horn. If you have the bucks, find a newish Yanagisawa. One problem adding a soprano to a jazz band is that if you are an alto player, you will need to learn your tunes in a different key or transpose.

 

[cvtorchia]

okay, thank you for the responses,
I am in high school bands, plus a jazz combo me and a few guys are thinking about putting together.
I think i might stay with alto for the concert band and marching band, but when it comes to jazz band i can transpose and improv pretty well.
Bruce,
MY friends father has an old maybe 30s soprano, and he may be selling it, maybe around $1300. I know i can play every note on it, even altissimo (sounds a bit rediculous going up a few notes ) im not sure the brand, i didnt check but it has an awesome sound.

 

[69193]

I agree with the above.

okay, thank you for the responses,
I am in high school bands, plus a jazz combo me and a few guys are thinking about putting together.
I think i might stay with alto for the concert band and marching band, but when it comes to jazz band i can transpose and improv pretty well.
Bruce,
MY friends father has an old maybe 30s soprano, and he may be selling it, maybe around $1300. I know i can play every note on it, even altissimo (sounds a bit rediculous going up a few notes ) im not sure the brand, i didnt check but it has an awesome sound.

Have it checked out by a tech before you commit to buy it.

Also...the market for vintage horns is a bit depressed at the moment. Depending on the make and model..he might THINK that it's worth $1,300...but reality may be that it's not. Do some research (this is a good place to do that). Run the serial number of that horn...it may be much newer than he's thinking.

 

[Dave Dolson]

In your situation, after you explained it more, my advice is offered with even more emphasis. If you are playing in a reading band, it won't do you any good to have a soprano when almost everything is written for alto. Yes, Bruce mentioned some music that has soprano parts. But most high school band teachers these days seem to be going for the most modern of charts and only occasionally do I hear soprano in them.

FWIW, I play improvised traditional jazz, so I take soprano, alto and clarinet to all my gigs and I freely switch among them as the mood strikes me (or sometimes as the tune requires by tradition; even then I can play another instrument - there are no rules). I am not tied to a charted performance. But if I were playing in a reading band, it would depend on the music provided to the ensemble. If you know there are no soprano parts to be played, then you could leave it home rather than to schlep it along adding more hassles. But by all means, buy a soprano - they are a kick.

About the old soprano you know about - write down the brand name and the serial number for us. We'll steer you right on that. Make sure it is a LOW PITCH horn, too. Conns and Bueschers from that era will most likely be marked that way or with a simple "L". This is CRITICAL. DAVE

 

[bruce bailey]

Sopranos tend to fall into two groups....vintage before 1930 and modern, mostly from the 60s and newer. There were very few made in the 1930-70 range, mostly Selmer and Buffet.

 

[Dave Dolson]

What Bruce said - I didn't want to get into the dating issues. I bought a new soprano when I was in the Army stationed in Germany in 1959. I had a choice between a Selmer and a Buffet. I foolishly chose the Buffet because it was a few dollars less. Oh my . . . DAVE

 

[cvtorchia]

So while im waiting for my friend to get back to me with the specifics, ive been looking at other sopranos for sale, and i ran across "Kenny G" brands, and i was wondering if they are good/bad/ or ugly

 

[Dave Dolson]

The Kenny G horns are Chinese but the ones I've played were fine instruments. What made them special was the involvement of noted repair-tech Rheuben Allen, who helped design the horns and distribute them.

The top model of the Kenny G soprano is a copy of the Selmer MKVI soprano. Except that the less-then-desireable palm keys of the Selmer design have been changed to the independent forked-style of palm keys typical of most saxophones. The ones I saw had Kenny G's name inscribed on the bell. This may or may not be a good thing on a horn with such a hefty price. While I consider Rheuben a friend and have used his great services for a long time, I thought the horns were over-priced. Still, they were good players.

I haven't seen much about them since I saw them at the NAMM show a few years ago, then saw an advertisement in SAXOPHONE JOURNAL a while back. For the money, I think you could do better, but if the MKVI style trips your trigger and the name Kenny G is important to you, spend away. DAVE

 

[cvtorchia]

hahahahaha thanks Dave, i couldnt find anything on them anywhere on the web except Kenny G himself endorsing it. Ive never played on a MKVI but i know someone who has an alto and a tenor and they absolutely adore them. And the name doesnt matter all that much to me, im not a "brandy" kind of player, I just play. Thanks again, and once i get the specifics of that soprano my friend has ill post them.

 

[Dave Dolson]

The MKVI soprano (and the previous Selmers from early on) are a different animal. Some love them and others . . . let's say they don't love them. I count myself among those who don't particularly like the VI soprano (but my VI alto is a killer). While the altos and tenors seem to enjoy wide-spread popularity, not so much with the VI sopranos. However, there are some players who truly adore them (Kenny G seems to, for one) and I have some personal friends who play the heck out of theirs. I now own an Asian-made clone of the VI soprano and it displays the playing characteristics of a real VI. Must be something in the overall design. DAVE