Introduction Can an absolute beginner join in please

[sharon]

Just want to say hi and introduce myself before I need any advice. I'm a 42 year old complete novice with a long (20+ years) held ambition to play the sax. Have finally taken the bull by the horns and have an alto on hire and will give myself 6 months to see if I like it.

Have only had it a month and I'm hooked. I started off not being able to read any music and never even played a recorder at school. At the moment I can play ooh loads of notes although the sharps and flats are a bit of a challenge. I'm not interested in playing with others which is a bit anti'social, I just like playing tunes - any tunes! Best fun I've had in ages.

Anyhow, I'm sure to have questions for all you old hands and any help will be gratefully received.

Cheers

Sharon

 

[griff136]

Hi Sharon and a warm welcome from sunny Devon

 

[Saxlicker]

Welcome aboard Sharon!

 

[delboy1961]

Hi Sharon,

 

[Bobby G]

Hi Sharon and welcome to the Breakfast Room from lovely Welwyn, Herts. As well as more experienced players there are plenty of newer players and late bloomers so you'll be fine. Have fun on that alto! Where are you?

Cheers, Bob

 

[mfox]

hi

 

[Pete Thomas]

Hi Sharon and welcome from cold, windy and rainy Texas.

 

[saxismyaxe]

Hi Sharon,

Welcome to the forums! 🙂

 

[sharon]

Thanks for the warm welcome chaps. I've lurked around a few forums and this one is always friendly and helpful.

Bobby G - I'm from very very warm and sunny swansea just near the gorgeous gower coast.

Delboy - Know what you mean about not putting it down - my housework standards have fallen considerably in the last month.

The most frustating thing to start is not being able to play for very long. I got around that by playing for around 15 minutes 3/4 times a day. But now with a following wind I can play productively for about an hour - although some days I can only make it whistle!

 

[Rogerb]

Welcome, Sharon, from very wet and windy Spain!

What is your 'set-up'?
(ie, sax make.. and alto or tenor...., mouthpiece, and the reeds you are using).

Knowing this might help the 'experts' (ie not me!) to advise you if you get 'stuck' 😀

 

[sharon]

Hi Roger thanks, that's a good idea. As I've said I've got this sax on hire from sax.co.uk (who seem pretty good) anyway - it's a Trevor James Classic alto with the Trevor James mouthpiece that came with it. BG Standard Ligature L12 I think and Rico Royal no. 2 reeds.

I must say I had always wanted to play the tenor as I love that "smokey" sound but given my size (5 foot nothing with small hands) I thought it might be best to start on an Alto. I'm enjoying it but the sound is a bit higher than I like and most of the music I've got is quite high.

As I've got it for 3 months initially I am sort of considering changing it for a tenor for another 3 months before I decide what I'll go with. Sounds a bit complicated I know but I want to be sure I've made the right decision before I buy anything. Are there any really short tenor sax players out there!

 

[Bobby G]

Hi Sharon. I can't specifically name any short tenorists, but I think you'll be fine with a tenor as a five-footer. My hands aren't big and a tenor is no problem. The right-hand touch-pieces are positioned in such a way that it's no more of a stretch than an alto - the main difference you'll notice is your hands are a bit further apart, but the spacings between fingers on alto and tenor are very similar really.

Other threads in the Breakfast Room deal with people's preferences and perceived differences between playing alto and tenor - I personally think if you can play one, it's not a massive adjustment to play the other.

Hire both 🙂

Cheers, Bob

 

[Dylan]

Hi Sharon

A big welcome to the Breakfast Room from a sunny London. I'd prefer to be on the Gower on a day like this!

Glad you are enjoying the sax so much - keep it up, it just gets better 🙂 I'll second Bob's comments about tenor sizes, you should have no problems. If you get a chance though, pop into your local musical emporium and ask to give one a whirl just to put your mind at rest.

The smallest tenor player I can think of is Johnny Griffin ("The Little Giant"). He seems to do OK :laugh:

D

 

[sharon]

Thanks Dylan and Bob.

You have reassured me about the size - I did think the keys might be a bit of a reach for a small hand. I'm seriously going to give it a try I think. The problem is there are no decent music shops near me I don't think but I'll have to look into it. Also I feel a bit self conscious because I'm a learner - but that's stoopid isn't it.

I was a bit worried about a tenor being very hard to blow. I've stuck at it with the alto and really come along much better than I could have hoped in a short time and that has really bolstered my confidence. NOT that I play brilliantly - I'm very slow but I feel I'm getting a good sound more consistently. I had a lot of trouble with low C but really stuck at blowing long notes and that seems to be working.

Oh by the way the alto is an e flat instrument and the tenor is b flat is that right? If so is the music that you can play arranged differently. I really know zero about music theory so if this is a stupid question I apologise in advance.

Thanks for all the good advice.

Sharon

 

[Bobby G]

An alto is in Eb, which means if you finger and blow the note C you are actually playing a concert pitch Eb, three semitones above C on a piano.

Similarly, on a tenor (a Bb sax) if you finger and blow C you are actually playing concert Bb, two semitones below C on a piano.

Therefore, if you are playing with a pianist, on an alto, in the key of C on the alto, the pianist will be playing in Eb, or the pianist will be playing in Bb if you are playing in C on a tenor.

Now, remembering the three semitones difference between concert pitch and the alto, your alto is pitched 3 semitones above concer pitch so for instance if the piano is playing in C you have to play alto in a key 3 semitones below C, which is A.

Again, tenor being pitched 2 semitones below concert pitch, if the piano is playing in C, you need to play tenor in the key 2 semitones above , which is D

These relationships between the notes and keys for the alto, piano & tenor apply across all notes and keys, e.g. alto G = piano Bb = tenor C; alto D = piano F = tenor G etc.

That's the confusing bit, now for the easy bit; if you are reading a tune for an alto sax, it is, if you like, a 'code' or 'map' of the relationships between the notes in the tune. Think of a really simple tune, for instance 3 Blind Mice. The first 3 notes, in the key of C, would be E D C. If you were reading this for an alto sax, you would be fingering and playing E D C on the alto. If you were playing the same tune on a tenor, you would finger and play the same three notes, E D C, but the pitch would be different. This would sound odd if you were playing with a piano, as you would be playing in the 'wrong' key relative to the piano, even though the relationships between the notes you are playing are the same.

On the other hand, if you were only ever going to play alone, you could read and play alto or tenor sax from music written for either instrument.

I hope that makes some kind of sense.

Cheers, Bob

 

[peter_fitton]

sharon wrote:


I was a bit worried about a tenor being very hard to blow. I've stuck at it with the alto and really come along much better than I could have hoped in a short time and that has really bolstered my confidence. NOT that I play brilliantly - I'm very slow but I feel I'm getting a good sound more consistently. I had a lot of trouble with low C but really stuck at blowing long notes and that seems to be working.

Sharon

There's a thread on this forum somewhere about the difference in blowing strength required for tenor and alto. I posted it because I was in the same position as you - started on alto but wanted to move to tenor.

Most people said that, if anything, the tenor was actually easier to blow than an alto. So I went and bought one and I have to say that I agree... there's less resistance on a tenor and IMO playing a tenor is less like hard work than an alto.

Mind you, the alto is certainly less of a stretch for those of us with small hands :cry:

Cheers

Peter

 

[sharon]

Bob: That post makes all the sense in the world! I feel a lightbulb switching on in my head. That's exactly what I've been confused about. I have a book of songs that are set out for both intruments and I find it easier to play some of them using the tenor arrangements because there are not so many high notes. I couldn't understand why but just thought it was my woeful inexperience. That also explains why one of my songbooks doesn't specify which saxophone it is for.

So really if I have a book of songs for Alto sax I can play them on a tenor and they'll just sound deeper. (I've no plans to play with a piano in the near future). Thanks for such clear instructions, I appreciate it.

Peter: Thanks for that - I really think I might give it a try. I found the alto much harder to blow to start with than I thought I would. I know it's because I wasn't used to it, but it would give me a headache (thankfully that's stopped) But I think it's because I was trying too hard. When I relaxed a bit I found it easier.

Thanks for your advice chaps - I'll decamp to the beginners section if I've got any more questions.

Sharon

 

[paul_turner]

Hi Sharon from another beginner of this year ,keep at it ,hardest thing is finding time when not going to disturb the boys sleep,i find plus doing shifts don't help.
But most of all enjoy it from PAUL in mid wales,aberaeron .

 

[sharon]

Hi Paul thanks for the welcome. I was up round your way recently, lovely lovely Cardigan Bay.

It is hard to fit in around the family. I try and have a tootle between finishing work at 1ish and school hometime - then another quick toot after tea or sometimes when I'm cooking.

When I'm very lucky I play without interuption but that's rare. As with most things, should have done it when I was young and had more time.

Sharon

 

[gordonc]

Hi Paul - Sharon
Like both of you I started only about four months ago too. Its highly addictive isn't it. Maybe we can all meet up for sympathy when the divorces come through !!

Reading about Aberaeron sure takes me back. One of my flatmates from Uni was from Aberaeron (guy called Aled Williams - younger brother Dewi) and I remember many long summers on the Welsh coast. Hitting the pubs - sleeping it off on the beach at Newquay. Cadging a lift on yachts as they sailed around the bay. Happy days.

All the best

Gordon