[JL]

Nothing at all wrong with sticking with just the bari. I love the sound of a baritone sax when played well! I've been strictly a tenor player for the past 20 years or so (played both tenor & alto before that, but mostly tenor). Even though I never got a bari, if I had to choose one horn other than the tenor, it would be the bari. And I don't think it would cost you any gigs. It might actually be a benefit, since there aren't that many bari players and you can certainly cover all styles, but especially jazz, blues, and R&B, on the bari.

Several years ago, I saw the great blues/jump blues guitarist Duke Robillard at Yoshi's and he had a fantastic sax player (I don't remember his name, unfortunately) in the band. On the first set, he played tenor. Then on the second set he switched to bari. He could really play the big horn! And the crowd definitely reacted favorably to it, me included. So yeah, go for it and stick with that horn.

 

[hnthere]

Have you ever seen Lisa Simpson play anything other than bari? If it's good enough for her it's good enough for anybody.

 

[1saxman]

'All the time i see on this forum cats who play tenor primarily, strongly double alto (sometimes those two are switched) and then tertiary-ily (I made that word up) soprano and bari.'

That's definitely me, but I don't give 'short-shrift' to any horn. I don't play any sax as a 'novelty' and if I don't have a sound on a horn, or if I couldn't take a gig on that horn only, I wouldn't mess with it at all - but that hasn't happened. Still, I'm a tenor man although I also really like sop, alto and bari. I also started on bari so it's always been a thing for me. I had one for a couple of years around 1968 but didn't get another one until 1998, and I've had one ever since.

 

[Tranechaser]

If you feel like you have to do something you don’t want to do to appease a bunch of people you don’t know on the internet, then I recommend you start drinking heavily.

 

[robbieg]

If it makes you feel better, a lot of people figure if you play bari you are just a bari player. While I play all the woodwinds and saxes, since I played bari for three years with Buddy Rich, that’s all I do!

Not only that but once people find out you play Bari and own a Bari, you get a lot of calls to play Bari.... even more so if you actually play it well.

When I started playing I came from bass clarinet as a young concert band kid into my first year of jazz playing bari. That was logically probably not a great move...

Honestly it isn't a bad move. I started out on Bass Clarinet as well and it has proved useful when I play Bari since Bass Clarinet is a common double for Bari Sax.

Anyway, if you are interested in Bari then play Bari. Don't worry about the other stuff.

 

[earlybabbitt]

No

 

[ZootTheSim]

No, not bad--but definitely badass.

 

[lostcircuits]

There is a local cat here, Kyle Cervantes, who plays nothing but bari. I always think of him as the best alto player on bari who I ever met. But he and his 12M ..

 

[lydian]

It can be bad. Anything that interferes with all aspects of your life in a negative way could be a mental illness. If all you care about is bari sax, then your relationships with friends and family, your health, your work or studies can all suffer.

On the flip side, many of the greatest artists and thinkers of all times were obsessive about their craft at least at times. While this obsession made them great, it often did negatively impact other parts of their lives. It’s best to have balance in your life.

 

[BigBen23]

There is never a lack of gig opportunities for a good bari player in really any genre now it's becoming very popular in live pop and funk. If you want to play classical sax I'd double on alto but hey if bari has your heart go for it.

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

All the time i see on this forum cats who play tenor primarily, strongly double alto (sometimes those two are switched) and then tertiary-ily (I made that word up) soprano and bari.
When I started playing I came from bass clarinet as a young concert band kid into my first year of jazz playing bari. That was logically probably not a great move but I clawed my ass up through an incredibly busted horn AND never even playing a saxophone before, to beating out the upperclassman in a chair test in a couple of months.
I’ve enjoyed every single second of playing the big horn and even at my lowest moments where I feel not good about myself I know I’m improving quite well in the grand scheme of things.
I have no want to play anything else. Even in my bass clarinet playing I just don’t really want to anymore. The biggest thing about playing multiple instruments for me is that you have to split up your time, and I hate that. I guess I feel very hyper fixated and laser focused. Is that okay? I know I’ll miss out on a lot of paying gigs when I’m older because I only offer one very specific saxophonic (I made that word up too) service, but does that make me a bad reedman? Is it supposed to be an integral part of the sax experience to play all the saxes, and even many other woodwinds?
Thanks for reading another essay, I love the barebones truth and community this website offers! : D

Just do it! You will be more proficient if you let those other horn go. I’m a multi-instrumentalist and it’s difficult to maintain 5 different instruments and word on vocal harmony and so much more.

 

[dexdex]

Cool ! I’ve been concentrating on bari for about 10 years, 3 bands in parallel, some people thought it was my main horn… which it was.
I’m back on more tenor these days, but still play the big horn in 1 band.
If it keeps you going, just do it. You won’t run out of gigs.

 

[cam95]

Play what you want to play, man. The bari sax is a unique instrument, and it's amazing in rock and funk music. I don't think I would completely abandon the other instruments. It just gives you more opportunity. My tenor playing helps my bari playing and vice versa, so it's not like playing multiple saxes makes my playing on one suffer.

 

[turf3]

Nothing "wrong" with specializing on baritone.

I've certainly had periods in my life where I played little else. I've always felt baritone was my real saxophone voice; and I could have specialized; but then someone would call me for a gig on tenor or alto and I couldn't stand to turn it down.

 

[SteveS]

I can tell when a sub shows up whether they can play bari or just own one.

Well, exactly! Many of us who "play 'em all" own a bari so we can take calls to play bari. And often, we'll take a call to play bari, hoping we'll do well enough to be asked back on alto or tenor. (Hey, just being honest here!) BUT, there are people around town KNOWN as "bari players." They seem juuuust a bit more comfortable on the horn, and that's important.

To @Urdaddoobie - It's perfectly cool to become that player known as a "bari player." But I'd highly recommend doubling competently on bass clarinet, and maybe flute. This would increase your chances of playing your bari even more often! I know you want to focus on bari, but I think this will be worth your time and effort. You'll find the better bands in your area usually insist on SOME doubling, even for the bari player. Good luck!

 

[JohnsonPowerSax]

How dare you do what makes you happiest. You should be ashamed of yourself. /s

 

[turf3]

Well, exactly! Many of us who "play 'em all" own a bari so we can take calls to play bari. And often, we'll take a call to play bari, hoping we'll do well enough to be asked back on alto or tenor. (Hey, just being honest here!) BUT, there are people around town KNOWN as "bari players." They seem juuuust a bit more comfortable on the horn, and that's important.

To @Urdaddoobie - It's perfectly cool to become that player known as a "bari player." But I'd highly recommend doubling competently on bass clarinet, and maybe flute. This would increase your chances of playing your bari even more often! I know you want to focus on bari, but I think this will be worth your time and effort. You'll find the better bands in your area usually insist on SOME doubling, even for the bari player. Good luck!

Don't forget soprano clarinet too.

With baritone sax, bass clarinet, soprano clarinet, flute, you're covering a lot of bases.

 

[Urdaddoobie]

If you feel like you have to do something you don’t want to do to appease a bunch of people you don’t know on the internet, then I recommend you start drinking heavily.

Minor here, is drinking fun 🤣🤣🤣. You’re kind of right though, I need to look to appease me if i plan to be pursue this professionally more than anyone else!

 

[Urdaddoobie]

There is a local cat here, Kyle Cervantes, who plays nothing but bari. I always think of him as the best alto player on bari who I ever met. But he and his 12M ..

That was hip! Thanks for letting me dig this. Gonna go see if I can find his gram now. I was just listening to that Ronnie cuber organ album “four” so that was a smooth transition

 

[saxobari]

Urdaddoobie
When i began my journey on saxophone,it started in High School,and on alto.
My music teacher switched me to baritone on my second year,,then right away,i was in the Senior band on baritone sax ,,best thing my music teacher did for me,,,.Never played anything else for years!
I love baritone sax,still do.
Just bought another bari a week ago,,and i just fell for the bari again!
And it has been many years since i ve played a bari,,at least 9 years,maybe more..
But it s nice to play other woodwind too!
I wish you the very best in the world of saxophones,,and if you love bari,,why not ,,just play it,,it s a beautiful instrument!
All the best
Saxobari