Saxophone beginners From Low C# To Low B

[Tommy Ng]

Hi,

I find it very difficult to slide my LH little finger to move from low C# to low b. Is there a way to adjust the two little finger keys to reduce the height difference?

cheers

 

[BigMartin]

I'd really like to know the answer to this, too. It varies a lot from one sax to another, thugh I've noticed that, unsurprisingly, it seems to be worse on the cheap ones in general.

 

[MandyH]

Do all saxes have rollers between these 2 keys (for the Left hand little finger)
I think the secret lies in sliding your finger over the rollers with just enough pressure to make the transition easy and open/ close the correct pads.
Just tried all of mine, and it seems quite straightforward, so maybe it is harder on different saxes?
You do need to aim the pressure on the tip of your little finger away from the sax, rather than towards the sax. Sort of parallel to the whole left little finger key cluster

It probably comes down to practice, practice, practice and familiarity with your own saxophone.

 

[Tommy Ng]

I have YTS32. It does have a roller. It might be because the spring is too stiff and also quite a big difference in levels. I think there is less problem with alto than tenor.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Hands and saxophones vary.

B to C# is an easy pull back because of the shape of fingers. The other way it's more like a hump back bridge. Lift and slide.

 

[jbtsax]

One of the issues could be the key travel. A low C# that opens too far or a low B that starts very open will cause the touchpiece to travel too far and be far below the adjacent key when trying to switch. Because there are so many key relationships at play, this adjustment is best done by an experienced tech. Setting key openings is often a compromise between ergonomics and note "venting" or timbre.

 

[Rob Pealing]

I have YTS32. It does have a roller. It might be because the spring is too stiff and also quite a big difference in levels. I think there is less problem with alto than tenor.

In the review on the cafe of the YAS280 @Ads mentioned that Yamaha factory settings are fairly stiff, I was having trouble till I took mine to a technician, he has made the whole sax much nicer to play. If yours is new and you are playing it straight out of the box as I was visit to a technician will probably help.