Introduction Hello to all :)

[EssexAlto]

Hi all, im Ken, am 38 and from Essex in the UK.
Im now embarking on a new musical journey after buying my first Alto saxophone last week.
Am not new to music altogether, i studied piano from the age af around 5yrs until i was 14 reaching grade 4 level with the ABRSM and whilst at secondary school learnt to play guitar after buying it from a relative.
Therefore am not new to reading music, rhythm and phrasing etc.
But, as far as the sax goes, am completely new, it took me an evening of watching some youtube vids for advice and a good hour or so to play just one note resulting in a sore bottom lip lol. A friend of my wife is going to give me a few lessons to get me up to speed as far as notation and basically where to find notes through the keys once i get a bit more comfortable with it, so until then....
Watch this space 👍

 

[wakyct]

Welcome Ken, I think you should be able to find a fingering chart (I think Taming the Saxophone has a good one actually?) and with that figure out a c major scale without too much trouble. Everything else is the hard part 😉.

Link: Saxophone Fingering charts - the best and easiest to use

 

[EssexAlto]

Thanks for the pointer 👍 its just a case of getting back into things again. I think music has taken a back seat thanks to work, family life and just things in general for best part of a decade now. Used to sit and practice for an hour or two every day as a kid.
As above, some of the theoretical side of things is still locked away in the memory bank. I can sit at my piano and play it, well a few pieces i can remember, along with a bit of basic sight reading from books ive had for years.
So far with the Alto though, some holding a few notes for a few seconds, some squeaking and some quacking lol.
Is going in the right direction though, and Im on the way slow and steady

 

[mizmar]

Not all, but quite a few folks coming from, eg piano, get perturbed by the sax requiring more player input to sound good and even be in tune than instruments with fixed tuning like the piano.
The fingering chart is just the beginning!
But that's where the particular character comes from.

 

[Hoosierken]

I am right at the two year mark now. I still remember those first notes and how difficult it was to get anything out of the sax. I purchased Simon Currie's beginner course on Udemy. I was lucky to be able to practice for 10 to 15 minutes without getting winded and I couldn't read a note of music. I built up though and switched to tenor, learned to at least read the notes. Now I play / practice mostly on C Melody but I used a tenor this evening.
I will say that if I didn't have an hour or more every single day for practice / learning then I can't see that I would ever be able to play the sax all. Things are getting easier and now I am able to pay more attention to my tone and embellishments. I am still not very fast, I am not sure if that will ever come. Good luck and keep plugging away at it.

 

[Jeanette]

Welcome to the café and to sax. Lots of help here and on taming the sax.

Jx

 

[cjR]

Welcome ! I was a trumpeter and guitarist in my school days and 20s. Came to saxophone much later in my 30s but then some of that work/family/life stuff got in the way - am getting back into it now after an extended hiatus.

Coming at it from already knowing music and other instruments will be great, personally I'd recommend getting a teacher - there's some mystery, nuance, peculiarities and eccentricities to the sax that they will be able to help you cut through and get you going on the right path faster.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Welcome to the forum and wishing you well with your saxophone journey.

 

[EssexAlto]

Thank you all for being so welcoming
Will have a look into the resources mentioned, am sure they'll all be helpful

 

[MikeMorrell]

Hi Ken,
Welcome to the cafe! Having a musical background (especially on piano and guitar) is IMHO an enormous advantage in learning to play to sax. You can already read music, know what key signatures, maj/min keys, chords and arpeggios are all about so you you can fully focus on learning to play sax! FWIW, I played guitar for many years before switching to guitar. I'm currently learning to play bass guitar

I'm not sure whether this comment helps or hinders you but on the day (many years ago) when I first rented my 1st sax my 1st thought was "hey, the (basic!) keys are just like the holes on my descant recorder that I played in primary school aged 10. So on my 1st rental day (with an absolute beginner's mpc and reed), I managed to play a few Christmas carols and nursery rhymes from memory. Based on my memory - at that time 35 years ago - of playing a descant recorder in primary school.

I soon discovered that my 'tone' was awful! And there were are lot more bits and bobs on a sax that were not on a descant recorder. Through lessons over a couple of years (and especially this café) I learned more about producing a 'better' tone and playing sheet music 'precisely'. In this café, I've received very useful tips and suggestions from the 'professionals/experts'.

So my main tip for you is: don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have and don't hesitate to ask for advice/tips.

Like you, I'm just an amateur. For me, one of the main things that makes this this forum really special us that 'professional/expert' members' are always willing and ready to help out real beginners in getting started.

Mike

 

[EssexAlto]

Hi Ken,
Welcome to the cafe! Having a musical background (especially on piano and guitar) is IMHO an enormous advantage in learning to play to sax. You can already read music, know what key signatures, maj/min keys, chords and arpeggios are all about so you you can fully focus on learning to play sax! FWIW, I played guitar for many years before switching to guitar. I'm currently learning to play bass guitar

I'm not sure whether this comment helps or hinders you but on the day (many years ago) when I first rented my 1st sax my 1st thought was "hey, the (basic!) keys are just like the holes on my descant recorder that I played in primary school aged 10. So on my 1st rental day (with an absolute beginner's mpc and reed), I managed to play a few Christmas carols and nursery rhymes from memory. Based on my memory - at that time 35 years ago - of playing a descant recorder in primary school.

I soon discovered that my 'tone' was awful! And there were are lot more bits and bobs on a sax that were not on a descant recorder. Through lessons over a couple of years (and especially this café) I learned more about producing a 'better' tone and playing sheet music 'precisely'. In this café, I've received very useful tips and suggestions from the 'professionals/experts'.

So my main tip for you is: don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have and don't hesitate to ask for advice/tips.

Like you, I'm just an amateur. For me, one of the main things that makes this this forum really special us that 'professional/expert' members' are always willing and ready to help out real beginners in getting started.

Mike

Thanks for the encouraging reply. It is a patience thing isnt it. Imbgetting there towards keeping a nice even tone on longer notes, and whilst playing a simple C major scale am getting a "fuller" sounds, so am getting towards a starting point where i can go onwards from the very basics.
Am going to get in touch with local music shops and see if i can find a local teacher to start having some lessons with

 

[MikeMorrell]

Thanks for the encouraging reply. It is a patience thing isnt it. Imbgetting there towards keeping a nice even tone on longer notes, and whilst playing a simple C major scale am getting a "fuller" sounds, so am getting towards a starting point where i can go onwards from the very basics.
Am going to get in touch with local music shops and see if i can find a local teacher to start having some lessons with

Hi @EssexAlto, I was a just a couple of years older than you when I rented my 1st sax (which I eventually bought). Like you, my local music shop put me touch with a 'tutor' (who was really great). After 6 months, he unfortunately left to take up a new job and he recommended that I sign up with a local 'Wind Orchestra' and with a local musical school. I learned a lot from my musical tutor but it was a constant struggle because he was a 'classical' sax player and his curriculum was based on 'classical sax'. Whereas I just wanted to learn how to play Jazz and Blues.

Yeah, learning to play any instrument is definitely a 'patience thing'. And getting a local teacher is IMHO definitely the best thing you can do!

Cheers,

Mike

 

[EssexAlto]

Hi @EssexAlto, I was a just a couple of years older than you when I rented my 1st sax (which I eventually bought). Like you, my local music shop put me touch with a 'tutor' (who was really great). After 6 months, he unfortunately left to take up a new job and he recommended that I sign up with a local 'Wind Orchestra' and with a local musical school. I learned a lot from my musical tutor but it was a constant struggle because he was a 'classical' sax player and his curriculum was based on 'classical sax'. Whereas I just wanted to learn how to play Jazz and Blues.

Yeah, learning to play any instrument is definitely a 'patience thing'. And getting a local teacher is IMHO definitely the best thing you can do!

Cheers,

Mike

It started kind of smoothly, kind of bumpy. At one time i was getting a nice sound, other time such as the following day inwas getting a lot of squeaking or simply nothing but air.
Have given my breathing technique a tweak with the help of a tutor ive now organised lessons with, and rralised theough suggestions on here just how much the placement and straightness of the reed on the mouthpiece can be in regards to an even tone.
Feel a bit more confident now, and am slowly making my way along the journey now