[shaney]

Hi,

Very intent on getting a sax, just an initial question.

For those of you with prior musical knowledge (say in keyboard/organ, possibly guitar) did you find learning the sax 'easy/ier' considering you don't need to worry about simultaneous bass/treble notation, chords, foot pedals etc...? Understandably, there's unique features to the sax so I don't mean the above in an offensive way.

Were you able teach yourself with your prior knowledge?

Is the fingering relatively natural to pick up?

Not expecting this to happen overnight. I have played organ/keyboard theory & prac for most of my life so thought it's time to try something different.

Look forward to some answers and I'm sure i'll have more questions to come.

Thanks.

 

[RootyTootoot]

In brief: reading is easier but tone production is a lot harder. Your previous knowledge won't help that much with the latter.

Good luck!

 

[wersax]

In brief: reading is easier but tone production is a lot harder. Your previous knowledge won't help that much with the latter.

Good luck!

Exactly. You make the sound and that takes some getting used to.

 

[old git]

Might be worth doing a bit of penny-whistling or keyless fluting as the fingering is similar. Took up tenor after following this path but using a Boehm between keyless and sax.
Very satisfying but expect days when it doesn't seem to go too well, the following day, it mainly works.
Go for it and enjoy.

 

[potiphar]

If an instrument's easier you just have to play more of it to be good at it. So it's probably hardest to be a virtuoso kazoo player.

 

[tjontheroad]

Chord, scale and music theory from other instruments is a big help to learning sax. OTOH, it can make you over confident because on the sax things like tone production, pitch control, correct breathing, altissimo and embouchure are much more difficult to master. Generally, guitarist and pianist (I play both) are not thinking as much in terms of how their instrument makes the sound it does. So they can spend the greatest amount time on things like finger technic, note selection and timing. On wind instruments, you have to consider a great deal more to get you sounding great.

 

[Mope]

The fingerings are very intuitive. The octave key helps in that most fingerings for two octaves are about the same. For the lowest notes you will use both pinkies and for the high notes you use your left palm. Yes, you can teach yourself, I did. There is plenty of info here, and other places on line and play along CDs and DVDs. You can get online lessons too.

 

[crazydaisydoo]

It depends on what style you want play. I have spent years improvising and transcribing by ear on the piano and guitar, so I have a good ear. This helps a lot if you want to play jazz. I played the flute as a kid, and have since always surprised my family by being able to pick up a recorder or penny whistle and getting a tune out straight away.

I have been playing sax for a year, and my tone is still developing, but others tell me I am way ahead of where I should be. So yes, knowing another instrument is a great advantage for improvising.

If I was trying to play legit, then I doubt I would be having the same success.

I would say focus very heavily on your tone early on, as you will soon be flying. Get off to a good start by getting some tuition, even if it is just a lesson on the correct way to handle your horn and develop an embouchure.

I played the sax for about 6 months 10 years ago, but gave up, frustrated. I took some bad advice about reeds and it really put me off, so just do what feels right for you, not what others tell you to do.

BTW, you will have something else to help you, the "knowledge" that success doesn't come over night and that you need to practice hard, and in the right way.

Good luck!

 

[Jon Turner]

I play flute, bassoon and bagpipes. I started the sop sax (my first endeavor with the sax family) about a year ago and find that the notes have a basic, logical progression to them. Did playing the other instruments help? Probably in all cases, "Yes", except for the bagpipes. They're trouble by themselves.
Jon

 

[ShedShark]

If the music is already in you it's just a matter of mastering a new delivery mechanism.

 

[shaney]

Hey, thanks for the responses. Have decided to go for it!

 

[ChuBerry47]

I played Piano. I would say, that it is really the most ergonomical handheld instrument, and is easy to pick up, as long as you really want to learn it.

 

[bigtiny]

Hi,

Very intent on getting a sax, just an initial question.

For those of you with prior musical knowledge (say in keyboard/organ, possibly guitar) did you find learning the sax 'easy/ier' considering you don't need to worry about simultaneous bass/treble notation, chords, foot pedals etc...? Understandably, there's unique features to the sax so I don't mean the above in an offensive way.

Were you able teach yourself with your prior knowledge?

Is the fingering relatively natural to pick up?

Not expecting this to happen overnight. I have played organ/keyboard theory & prac for most of my life so thought it's time to try something different.

Look forward to some answers and I'm sure i'll have more questions to come.

Thanks.

I played the trumpet. I was pretty much self-taught on trumpet, so I made it a point to get a teacher for sax. Interestingly, since I played the trumpet so long (at a pretty high level) and taught students, I don't really get the typical lessons. My teacher doesn't spend a whole lot of time telling me what to play -- I already know what to practice. He helps me with saxophone specific problems and advice.

I think my previous skills and experience as a horn player are probably influencing me in ways I'm not aware of. I've been playing for about 5 months, teacher says I'm at about a 2 year level, and I'm progressing rapidly.

I think this is for several reasons:

- I have a realistic expectation and understanding of what kind of work is necessary and how to go about that work
- I already posses an acute sense of intonation and even though sometimes I don't quite have enough control to play in tune, I'm ALWAYS aware of my intonation...I don't have learn what it means to be in or out of tune
- I quickly grasp the mechanics of the instrument, the embouchure, etc.
- I know to always strive for good sound, and again, I don't always acheive it, but I'm always aware of it

You get the picture....

bigtiny

 

[marton]

having come from violin myself, i was very pleasantly surprised at just how quickly i made progress with sax. it's just so much fun too. much much more satisfying than stringed instruments as far as i'm concerned - but i digress.

as has been stated before, i agree that intonation, and a consistent sound through the range of the saxophone is the hardest bit. just keep practicing and you'll get there.

 

[bertolotti]

I did not play another instrument before saxophone,but i had to play piano to do my studies,the piano is a tool,i had to have,tunes,theory,comp.etc.of course most everyone i know that plays horn spends a good deal of time at a chord instrument.

 

[Wonder woman]

I played both piano and flute prior to learning to play the saxophone. Learning any instrument, especially piano can be very helpful when learning to play the saxophone.

1. You'll be able to read the music and know the note names (one less thing to worry about when playing).
2. You'll have already worked on finger dexterity and strength (even if you were doing it without knowing!).
3. You'll have learned rhythms.

So basically what I'm saying is that learning another instrument before the saxophone makes it so that you will have already conquered the whole "reading music" thing.

Things that aren't learned beforehand (especially if you haven't played a wind instrument) are all about breathing and air, using your mouth, etc. These are things that appear easy from the outside but are harder to develop at first and can really challenge you later in your "saxophone lifetime".

 

[mjs10]

Hi,

Very intent on getting a sax, just an initial question.

For those of you with prior musical knowledge (say in keyboard/organ, possibly guitar) did you find learning the sax 'easy/ier' considering you don't need to worry about simultaneous bass/treble notation, chords, foot pedals etc...? Understandably, there's unique features to the sax so I don't mean the above in an offensive way.

Were you able teach yourself with your prior knowledge?

Is the fingering relatively natural to pick up?

Not expecting this to happen overnight. I have played organ/keyboard theory & prac for most of my life so thought it's time to try something different.

Look forward to some answers and I'm sure i'll have more questions to come.

Thanks.

Yes it definately helps if you play other musical instrument especially piano. I learnt piano and organ when i was kids for more than 15 years. It helps me alot with sight reading, chords progression, etc. Fingerings were the only one that made me strugle but with practice, things came into order.

I had sax tutor for like few months just to teach me how to do proper embouchure and some sax fingerings. Then I relied mostly on books (aebersold) and other books as well as practicing. But still having a tutor is a actually compulsary. There is a cost there but I think its worth it. I am looking for a sax tutor now as i always avoid having a tutor as thinking about the money but I feel like I dont know what else to do now, I mean to improve my current skill...I keep on practicing everyday but sometime If I have problems with something I dont know what to do...

 

[claxton]

I have played guitar for several years and have found my tenor sax experience to be really fun. First of all, only one note at a time! Boy, does that make things easier!

Many on this forum will recommend that you get a teacher. However, I have had some recent issues with my teacher. In particular, he indicated that I should play "softer" in in certain sections of music. I pointed out that I was playing tenor sax and that "softer" generally means "further away". He shook his head as though he didn't quite understand what I was saying.

Secondly, my teacher has started to make mention of "intonation". Again, I believe he is losing it. As I told him: "I press the buttons and I blow on the small end; the horn makes the tone. Deal with it." He rescheduled our next lesson and hasn't returned my calls, but he's probably OK.

Anyway, sax is fun until you start getting a little better. Not too long after you are enamored with this great big kazoo you find yourself snipping away at reeds in your basement while you wife yells stuff at you like "Are we making music here, or just stringing notes together???"

Have fun.

 

[ianhart]

Many on this forum will recommend that you get a teacher. However, I have had some recent issues with my teacher. In particular, he indicated that I should play "softer" in in certain sections of music. I pointed out that I was playing tenor sax and that "softer" generally means "further away". He shook his head as though he didn't quite understand what I was saying.

Secondly, my teacher has started to make mention of "intonation". Again, I believe he is losing it. As I told him: "I press the buttons and I blow on the small end; the horn makes the tone. Deal with it."

I hope that the above post is a joke...

Something that most beginners do have a hard time with is dynamics, they take practice. Just playing notes isn't enough, they have to sound appropriate. Intonation is also extremely important, especially if you want to play with somebody else, or with a group.

 

[AndyBlackard]

Sax-to-Guitar-back-to-sax

Hi,

Very intent on getting a sax, just an initial question.

For those of you with prior musical knowledge (say in keyboard/organ, possibly guitar) did you find learning the sax 'easy/ier' considering you don't need to worry about simultaneous bass/treble notation, chords, foot pedals etc...? Understandably, there's unique features to the sax so I don't mean the above in an offensive way.

Were you able teach yourself with your prior knowledge?

Is the fingering relatively natural to pick up?

Not expecting this to happen overnight. I have played organ/keyboard theory & prac for most of my life so thought it's time to try something different.

Look forward to some answers and I'm sure i'll have more questions to come.

Thanks.

Spanish flamenco guitar has to be one of the hardest types of music of all to play. But even though one has to play rhythm, harmony and melody at the same time with complex 12-count rhythms, there are specific visual patterns that you can use to conceptualize the music even if you do not always look at the fingerboard. That to me is the second biggest hardship of the sax (after tone production) - lack of visual cues. But even though I played guitar for 30 years, I picture the piano keyboard when I play sax. I took just enough piano lessons as a kid to help teach myself theory.

The fingering becomes second nature just like typing. Making a good tone is the biggest hurdle.