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Sunray

Well-Known Member
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Norfolk, UK
I am without doubt the newest of the new [n00bs] to the Saxophone ...
But being a very lucky guy - I just bought my first Sax this week - A lovely new Yanagisawa 992 [Alto]. :sax:Adding a Yamaha 4c - A box each of 1.5 - 2 - 2.5 Rico Royal reeds to get me started.

My aim is to learn to play on my Alto with the guidance of a good local teacher and I am really impatient to buy myself a really nice tenor Saxophone ... [I will certainly stick to learning to play on the Alto].

I would love to become an accomplished player and like many styles of music ...

I have been scouring the net for online resources and found many helpful posts, recommendations and comments and I am looking forward to making new friends, chatting and reading these forums ...

I expect I will lurk a while first to catch up on the way it all works around here ...

Cheers for now All ... (()) [PS No tomato]
 
First of all NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO don' eat the sausages... Just ask Nick Cook, he'll explain why :))):))):)))

Welcome to the cafe Sunray, your either a very bright and cheery person or a "Rupert" (not an insult, just military slang for an officer)

I hope you enjoy your new sax, you certainly picked a good one!
 
Hi Sunray, and a warm welcome to the cafe. That's a real nice sax you have. Enjoy it.

Jim.
 
Hi Sunray, welcome to the cafe :)
Are you new to saxophone or starting completely from scratch at playing music?
 
Hi Sunray, welcome to the cafe :)
Are you new to saxophone or starting completely from scratch at playing music?

First of all: Thanks for the warm welcome from all you guys ... :thankyou:

Hey rudjarl ...

I am a total n00b both to the Sax and to reading & understanding written music ...

I am a very confident sort of bloke and mostly achieve what I set out to do ... [but not always] *Grin*

As a child I listened to Eddie Calvert playing Trumpet [wow], I later fell for the beautiful sounds that many great musicians extract from their violin [another wow], but I never thought I would play either instrument.

As I grew older I listened to many styles of music and finally I decided that I wanted to learn to play Saxophone.

At the young age of only 63 I now have the time and dedication to learn to play, so here I am ... on the first rung of the ladder ... [It sure looks a long way up] lol

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@ Taz - lmao m8

Me ... A Rupert ... Nah! m8 - Full Screw is all I ever wanted - Just one of the Lads ...

So I guess that makes me a "cheery person" lol - Thanks Taz for making me fall off my chair at the thought of me n the other Ruperts ... :)))

Oh! by the way Taz - I read your sausage warning to late m8 ... by the time the moderators let the post through - I had devoured all of them - Burp! ;}

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@ Jim - "Justin Chune" lol m8 - I hope I will be in tune soon ...

Cheers all :cheers:
 
Hi Sunray!

Welcome to the Cafe from all at the Skabertawe 3 Button Soprano Sax Collective (SKABS) down by 'ere in Wales. I started on Soprano Sax , then Alto Sax, before finding my true vocation as a Trombonist and Trumpeter - at least at the moment, and prefer Alto out of all the saxes.

Lots of info on the net about music and sax. For teachers do Google www.musicteachers.co.uk to find someone local to you - general advice is to have a chat with any prospective teacher to see whether you click, and are on the right wavelength. Especially find a teacher that appreciates the music that you would be interested in playing (commonly teachers specialise in either classical music or jazz/blues etc. Some do both.

Kind regards
Tom:cool:

This week I do 'ave been learning/playing Kenny Wheeler tunes!
 
Sunray

You are in good company here. You will go a long way if you make up your mind to succeed. You have a first-rate instrument to make it possible. I have found that it pays to go about learning in a fairly methodical way to make sure that the basics are right. Anyway, we look forward to your contributions.
 
Hi Sunray!

Welcome to the Cafe from all at the Skabertawe 3 Button Soprano Sax Collective (SKABS) down by 'ere in Wales. I started on Soprano Sax , then Alto Sax, before finding my true vocation as a Trombonist and Trumpeter - at least at the moment, and prefer Alto out of all the saxes.

Lots of info on the net about music and sax. For teachers do Google www.musicteachers.co.uk to find someone local to you - general advice is to have a chat with any prospective teacher to see whether you click, and are on the right wavelength. Especially find a teacher that appreciates the music that you would be interested in playing (commonly teachers specialise in either classical music or jazz/blues etc. Some do both.

Kind regards
Tom:cool:

This week I do 'ave been learning/playing Kenny Wheeler tunes!

Hey Tom ...

Thanks for the tutor link ... That's a good backup if the guy I am due to meet falls through ...

Is it still raining in Skabertawe - probably ... lol :)))

Good advice you offered mate regarding chats n wavelengths ... Thanks ...

I Googled Kenny Wheeler - Real nice :thankyou:
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@ Beckmesser

Thanks for your welcome and encouragement mate ... :cheers:

Would you guys recomend me [@ 63 years] to wait before buying a tenor saxophone to compliment my Alto ...

Bearing in mind - I am commited to learning with my Yani Alto ...

Or would you say go for it ... ??? [Advice so far say's hold off for a year or so]? Bugger!

I am more interested in your views from the - don't spoil your beginer learning techniques, rather than the money angle.

Hope you don't mind me asking ...
 
Welcome to the caff, Sunray.
There is an Avenue named after you in Dulwich.
Please, no 'Thank You'.
ENJOY!
 
Hi, have fun, get practicing - the more you do, the faster you'll learn. Teach yourself method books are a big help. Don't foget to listen to the music...
 
Welcome to the caff, Sunray.
There is an Avenue named after you in Dulwich.
Please, no 'Thank You'.
ENJOY!

Ello old git ...

Thanks for the welcome mate ...

I am originally from South London, a Tooting boy ... Just around the corner from you ... lol

I have had a number of companies [in my working life] in and around Croydon ...

We may have passed each other by at sometime ... :cheers:

An Avenue in Dulwich ...
and a whole town in Texas ...

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@ Phil Edwards - Hi Phil ... Thanks for your welcome ... ;}
@ Griff - Cheers mate ... :cheers: Like your website Griff *Salute*
@ Kev - Wilco Kev - I hear you mate ... ;}
 
The Alto/Tenor thing is quite interesting. Most macho types :mrcool(male or female) go for/end up on Tenor/Baritone sax - they combine music and weightlifting. If you are over 60 you may need to avoid back/neck problems, or also do body building/take steroids. Those with a more balanced personality play Alto :cool:- care more about putting strain on their bodies, and like an instrument that can play lead quite happily, but also join in with the band.

As Alto is the commonest sax to start with, the Tenor is often seen as the next progression, just like harder reeds, bigger mouthpiece tip openings, body building, motorbikes and such like. As a Cockney geezer this may have its attractions, but as you live in East Anglia an Alto would be more appropriate;}!
After playing both Alto and Soprano for a while I found the move to Tenor a little disappointing TBH - more background, less distinct sound, like playing a central heating system. It really all boils down to what your calling is, however.

Kind regards
Tom:cool:
 
Would you guys recomend me [@ 63 years] to wait before buying a tenor saxophone to compliment my Alto ...

Bearing in mind - I am commited to learning with my Yani Alto ...

Or would you say go for it ... ??? [Advice so far say's hold off for a year or so]? Bugger!

I am more interested in your views from the - don't spoil your beginer learning techniques, rather than the money angle.

Hope you don't mind me asking ...

Hi Sunray
I think you should wait a bit before thinking of buying a tenor. At least until you are able to read notes and play simple tunes by sight reading. Even though the fingering are the same on alto and tenor, it is 'slightly' different when it comes to how the mouthpiece and general playing feels.

The saxophones are transposing instruments. The tenor is a Bb instrument and the alto an Eb. That means if you play a C on a tenor and a C the alto, you are actually playing a D (tenor) and an A (alto). If this doesn't make any sense, I'd say; wait with buying a tenor until it does. (Just don't forget to practice playing while you read up on theory) :)
 
You make some good points there Tom ...

Really its "the sound of the Tenor" that really attracts me to this Sax ... I believe I will buy one - Its more about when ... and if it will inhibit my learning or not ...

Thanks Tom ... :)

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@ rudjarl - Hmmmmm ... I just knew someone would give good reasons to wait ...

Of course I know you are right ... Thanks for good advice ...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Sunray,
If you want my advice, just go ahead and let your heart rule your head and buy buy buy the tenor. I started by buying an alto (TJ Sig) then bought a few weeks later a Buffet Crampon tenor, then my wife couldn't resist the beauty of my JK tenor and just took me to buy it. Not a worry that I too was a beginner on sax. Not to reading music or playing other instruments. The beauty of the sax is something magical aprt of course from the sound. I just love the deep sonorous tenor in a comtemplative mood after a long day at the chalk face (well, whiteboard). Weekends is about liveliness and fun, hence the appeal of my alto but always return to tenor.
Must remember to practice the pieces for exam on Monday.
Anyway, have fun deciding. By the way, your real fun starts when you begin to tinker with mouthpiece and reeds and slings and all many of set ups. What a journey you are embarking upon.
Regards
Ben
 
Hey there Ben ...

You just made my day mate ... Now I know most of the advice others have offered is good, sound and logical to say the least ... and I really ought to follow their recommendations ...

But ...

Your post is right up my street ... I am so tempted to just go out and get it right now ... but I will give it a while before I take the leap - lol

I see you are just around the corner from me ... Thanks for you advice Ben :welldone
 
I too am a mature-age learner. My strong advice to you would be to stick to the alto for a while, at least until you know what you are doing. The instruments look almost the same. One is a little bigger, but you might be better off to think of them as two different instruments. Just about everyone will tell you that the embouchure is different, and a good embouchure on one instrument is hard enough to develop.

I started on an alto, but after about six months I realised that I didn't like it all that much. I then went for a tenor. That was the right decision. Eighteen months later I bought a baritone, and I am rather fond of it. But I am still not sure whether I had made the right decision at that time.

One further aspect is the amount of time you can allocate to your learning. In the beginning you will find that 30 to 45 minutes at a time is about as much as is comfortable. That would argue for one instrument only. Later you can extend. I now aim at 3 hours a day, 2 on tenor and 1 on baritone.

But, it is your life. I would never want to stand between a keen learner and a good saxophone. Too dangerous a spot. You made a good choice with the alto. You should be able to repeat it when you get a tenor, whatever brand it may turn out to be.
 
Hi Sunray

Welcome to the cafe from a sunny -rainy -sunny- rainy-sunny ah well Manchester

Just enjoy it all, I'm sure you will it's great.As for the tenor you probably won't be able to control what you do when the sax gas kicks in so would suggest go with the flow ...john
 
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