Are there anyways to reduce the sound of saxophone?

[diamond]

so that I don't disturb anyone when I play. If I had a guitar, I might be able to do so by hit the strings lightly but with saxophone, I do not know. I did try to push a towel inside, lol

 

[mfox]

play softer, buy a sax mute bag, can't think of anything else

 

[peedee]

Diamond wrote:
so that I don't disturb anyone when I play. If I had a guitar, I might be able to do so by hit the strings lightly but with saxophone, I do not know. I did try to push a towel inside, lol

Go beginners section, "winding up the neighbours" by Peter Forshaw (me) and I think you will find all the info you need there.

 

[justin_chune]

Practice playing the sax quietly. I got back into playing in time to meet some old guys who had been playing in the dance band scene after the war. They told me that they used to have competitions to see who could play the sax the quietest. A softer reed might help with this.

When I started on sax my wife told me that she could hear me the moment she stepped off the bus. The bus stop is in the next street.

Nothing beats being able to play with a full sound. Check out your local community centres. You might find one that has a room you can use.

 

[thomsax]

You can buy or built a practice room. A part of your livingroom, a closet, in the cellar, attic .... .

Whisper Room, Morristown, Tennessee, USA are manufactoring sound isolation rooms.

Thomas

 

[Greywolf]

It's actually very difficult to mute a sax successfully. The old saying 'put a sock in it' is supposed to have come from trying to tone it down a bit. There are things like rings you can throw in the bell or usin a sock which does work but buggers up the low notes and it can affect the intonation.

The problem comes from the fact that a large proportion of the sound comes from the tone holes not just the bell, as in brass instruments.

There is a thing you can buy that you put the whole sax inside and you have holes to put your hands through. Looks bizarre, like some sort of musical stormtrooper from Star Wars.

If you have space probably the best thing would be to build a small sound insulated room within a room. The biggest cost would be the sound insulation material.

One way round it might be to negotiate with your neighbours the times you will play and try and stay within those times. Then they will at least know when it's going to stop.

 

[peter_fitton]

My teacher has me concentrating on playing much more quietly than I have previously. He's an ex-dance band type guy, like Justin's pals, and reckons that most sax beginners play far too loud.

If you concentrate on allowing less air into the instrument it's actually quite easy to play quietly. For me, tone and intonation suffers a bit but I imagine you learn how to adjust for this with practice.

Alternatively, try playing directly into a wardrobe full of clothes. It does make quite a difference, though might be awkward if you play from sheet music.

Peter