Pete Thomas

I don't mean which make, I mean which size - soprano, alto, tenor, baritone or any of the more extreme examples. I was prompted to think about this by one of the posts on the forum. Even though I play a lot of tenor and have done mostly throughout my career, I still feel more at home on the alto - my first instrument.



You often hear that animals that have the most difficult births are the ones that have the closest bonds with their offspring, maybe it's a bit like that with saxophone players. My first horn was a very painful acquisition. After falling in love with the sound of the saxophone, I saw a tattered old Grafton plastic alto in a shop window. It cost £12 10s 6d, far more than any honest 18 year old could afford back in the 70s, so of course I asked my mum. She said I could have the money provided I gave up smoking, so there you have it - dedication to the alto saxophone right from the start. An added bonus was that Grafton plastic alto was played by one of my main inspirations - Ornette Coleman

I have had many saxophones since then, altos, tenors, baritones even a sopranino. That first Grafton fell apart eventually and I've had many altos since - Selmers, Leblanc, Yamaha, Buescher, Conn - all of them great. But recently I came across a Grafton and just had to buy it for old time's sake.

So what should I start on?

When it comes down to a choice for a beginner, in some cases physical size is an issue - small children may have a problem with a baritone (But not Lisa!), and of course it's more expensive. Soprano is not always the best choice for beginners - it is actually harder to play in tune, it has less of the classic sexy saxophone sound to many people (exception being Kenny G but let's not go there).

So it's usually alto or tenor and there are two main things to think about: playing opportunities and (possibly more important) how you really really feel, ie which one touches you in you heart, soul or mind.

To be continued, but some comments at this stage would be useful...