Introduction Hello from Sydney, Australia

[ElRocco]

Hello everyone,

My first Saxophone arrived today.
Getting my first lesson tomorrow.

I played the trumpet for many years during my teenage days, but never enjoyed it.
I always wanted to play the saxophone.
Now in my 40’s I decided to finally do it.

Bought this Yamaha TS-100 second hand from a dealer.

She seems to have had a rough life, but she just had a full service and full re-padding.
I emailed Yamaha with the serial number (002615) to find out how old she is.
I am told she was made in 1993.

I probably overpaid for it, but she is here now and I can finally learn to play it.

Still waiting for the music and sax stands to arrive and for my learners books as well.
Bought a few reeds and a reed case and swabs.

Probably going to find out from my teacher tomorrow that some of that wasn’t the right stuff and what else to get.

I’ll check back in after I had my lesson and some time to practice.

This is just a quick hello for now!
Looking forward to participating here and to learn from you all!

 

[Jeanette]

Welcome to the café and to sax have fun here

Jx

 

[AlexMichael502]

Beautiful horn!

 

[skeller047]

You did very well. That should be a good horn, and you will never outgrow the Larry Teal book. I’ve been playing for over 60 years and I still read it every year or two. It’s the bible 🙂

Enjoy your journey, and welcome!

 

[ElRocco]

thank you everyone! 😀

 

[ElRocco]

You did very well. That should be a good horn, and you will never outgrow the Larry Teal book. I’ve been playing for over 60 years and I still read it every year or two. It’s the bible 🙂

Enjoy your journey, and welcome!

Thank you. I studied the first 40 pages or so already. Now that the sax arrived and I am ready for my first lesson today, I feel a little prepared at least.

 

[ElRocco]

Checking in after my first lesson.

Day one, lesson 1 of my saxophone journey.

We spent the first half hour going over the saxophone, having the instrument explained to me and being shown how to attach a reed to the mouthpiece.
Then we spent some time on the correct posture, where the fingers go and some time trying to get a sound out of the mouthpiece.

My the end of the first lesson I was able to struggle through the first page in the photo.

Looking forward to practicing all the basic steps and slowly work my way through the rest of the lesson before I see my teacher again.

Practiced for another 45 minutes or so after the teacher left, but had to stop for today.

I had a scratchy husky voice for the rest of the day and my lips still felt a little tingly an hour later.

 

[mizmar]

Great stuff... But...

I had a scratchy husky voice for the rest of the day and my lips still felt a little tingly an hour later

Nothing should be that tense.

 

[ElRocco]

Great stuff... But...

Nothing should be that tense.

It’s day one. I need to get back to it fresh and relaxed tomorrow.

 

[ESJohn]

Good to have you aboard!

 

[ElRocco]

Good to have you aboard!

Thank you! Happy to be here

 

[Nuvogue Jazz]

Welcome to the Cafe, and enjoy every minute of learning

 

[Jeanette]

Checking in after my first lesson.

Day one, lesson 1 of my saxophone journey.

We spent the first half hour going over the saxophone, having the instrument explained to me and being shown how to attach a reed to the mouthpiece.
Then we spent some time on the correct posture, where the fingers go and some time trying to get a sound out of the mouthpiece.

My the end of the first lesson I was able to struggle through the first page in the photo.

Looking forward to practicing all the basic steps and slowly work my way through the rest of the lesson before I see my teacher again.

Practiced for another 45 minutes or so after the teacher left, but had to stop for today.

I had a scratchy husky voice for the rest of the day and my lips still felt a little tingly an hour later.

View attachment 26170View attachment 26171

I used that book

Jx

 

[skeller047]

Try to let your throat be relaxed when you blow. Support the air by keeping your belly firm while you exhale; this will help keeping the throat open. Everything else poised but relaxed. This will help with the husky voice.

Lip tingling is normal, just remember to use the muscles of your lips and not press against the reed with the jaw muscles. If your lower lip is sore, this could mean you are biting which is bad for both your lip and your tone. Our jaw muscles are much stronger than our lip muscles, so as you tire out you will have a tendency to compensate by biting.

Good job taking the plunge - please do keep us posted with your progress!

 

[eb424]

Hi welcome aboard enjoy the ride

 

[Pete Thomas]

Big welcome from me. It's useful to hear your lesson 1 experiences. In the past some members have kept lesson/practice diaries - please feel free to start a diary thread for something like that on our playing/practising subforum

 

[peedeeblues]

Welcome! You are on the right track. Brings back old memories of learning saxophone in Junior High back in the 60’s. Carnival of Venice is one song that sticks in my mind! Have fun with learning! It’s very good that you are starting with lessons.

 

[MikeMorrell]

A bit late (due to vacation) but a hearty welcome from me! Great that you have a teacher!
My 1st teacher (as @skeller047 notes) literally put his hands around my midriff and taught me 'breath support'.

First off, follow the directions of your teacher! He/She can see and listen to you and give you the very best feedback on how to improve!

I'm reminded of a short YouTube video I once watched on Sonny Rollins, a well-known tenor sax player. In the video his main point is 'forget about all the fancy stuff, just learn to play one (long) note as best you can.

View: https://youtu.be/1Q7k3E687vU?si=HZInxczEhPdXgH8z


These days, there are so many YouTube videos available that it's hard to pick the wheat from the chaff.
One of the many sax players that I would include in 'the wheat' is Harvey Pittel. Pittel has a series of YouTube videos that IMHO are worth watching. In particular I think he explains the 'mechanics' of relaxed playing slowly and clearly.