Introduction hi

[rudge]

ive just joined and thought i would say hi to all, i have only been playing for two months having never played anything in my whole 44 years! im getting on ok and have a century tenor sax with a yamaha mouthpiece, my first question is about reeds, i started with a 2.5 that came with it but struggled to get any sort of noise from it so i went down to a 1 then 1.5, should i stick with this or persevere with the harder reeds?

 

[Bobby G]

Hi Rudge and welcome. I've been playing a couple of years, I started out on 2's. Harder than that meant it was a lot of effort, and softer made the sound a bit wobbly.

Have fun, Bob

 

[Pete Thomas]

Hi Rudge, welcome to the Breakfast Room.

Softer reeds are fine IMO, you would probably find a 1 a bit too soft and may progress better with 1.5 or 2. Don't try to push yourself with harder reeds, although once your embouchure is solid, 2.5 - 3.5 is fairly standard (depending on the mouthpiece. I think you may find some answers about this already on the forum somewhere, if not try asking the question in the saxophone playing section (You are still on the doorstep!)

 

[Rogerb]

Hi Rudge, welcome from a 'late budding' sax-player who fears the early frosts might get him before he 'blooms' 🙂

 

[saxismyaxe]

Hi Rudge, welcome to the forums. Might I suggest that you get a copy of Larry Teal's THE ART OF SAXOPHONE PLAYING, as many of your questions and conundrums will be answered within the pages of this fantastic "must have" book.

 

[ken]

Hello Rudge and welcome.

I'm no expert and I'm not into this bravado cult of how hard a reed I can or can't blow. My experience was that 1.5 are a good start and then just let your chops develop slowly. You will know instinctively when you are ready to move to a harder reed, but no need to rush it.

 

[spike]

welcome Rudge, I see you have more than enough good advice. regards - spike

 

[Bobby G]

I agree with what Ken says. As a novice, you do get this kind of unspoken thing that the strength of your reed dictates how cool a player you are. I say go with what feels right - I tried 1.5 when I first started but moved to a 2 quickly, and generally play around 2.5 now.

I say generally around 2.5, different brands of the same strength number differ a bit, I reckon a Van Doren 2.5 is equivalent to about Rico 3, but some Rico's, the Jazz Selects, come in strengths 2 soft, medium or hard, so if that has the sound and feel you're after it's quite easy to find a strength that suits you.

Hope I haven't confused you. Cheers, Bob

 

[tengu01]

Hey there Rudge,

Plenty of good advice above. Start with a comfortable reed and get a teacher. Both things will save you a lot of aggro later on and provide a lot of really good incentive to continue playing.

Welcome to the forum 🙂

 

[griff136]

HI Rudge and welcome from sunny Devon