Hmmmm. Alto or Tenor?

mr_big · Nov 5, 2007

As a complete and utter noob I have a rather basic question to ask you guys: is it best to learn on an alto or a tenor sax?

I've heard it said alto is the usual and easier (why?) choice for students but there's a possible extra dimension to the debate. My avatar gives a clue. I have big hands. They go with my dizzying height.

The style I'm interested in learning to play is freeform / improv jazz, and blues. I'd initially thought of Alto because it's small and easily portable / stored.

Any notions?

I'll leave the subject of makes to another thread.

Pete Thomas · Nov 5, 2007

I deally you need to do a lot of listening and decide what you like the best, what inspires you. I've known some very large alto players, so I don't think largeness should be a problem.

mr_big · Nov 5, 2007

That's interesting - the guy I saw playing his alto in Oxford (who I mentioned in my into message) told me he'd wanted to play tenor initially but his teacher told him his hands were too small, so to go for the alto! So it made me think there might be an issue generally about hand size.

philthd · Nov 6, 2007

there is a school of thought that some people are too small but im not convinced by it

im 6'3" with pretty long fingers and personally i just dont like playing tenor much - though i can and have done so - i just love alto and bari a lot more

even if i were advising someone quite young, if they really wanted to play tenor i would encourage them to start on it unless i though they would have real issues with carrying the weight or with lung capacity - its not really all that much bigger

conversely i saw a huge guy playig piccolo once and his touch was light and delicate

its less about the physicality and more about the mentality, i reckon

frankb · Nov 6, 2007

I think (possibly incorrectly) that the usual "students start with altos" belief stems from the fact that most students are children and the alto's lighter weight is helpful.

For adults, either the alto or the tenor should be equally suitable.

(I'm happy to be corrected by someone who actually knows what they're talking about, though!)

phil_edwards · Nov 6, 2007

I would have thought either would be OK.

You're going to play better and feel more comfortable on the instrument you WANT to be playing, so as Pete say's keep listening and find the sound you're after - that'll tell you whether you WANT to be playing Alto or Tenor.

It's early days yet as you don't have an instrument, but ask around for a friendly teacher who has both. See if they'll [a] play something on each so you can gauge what sound you're after and let you have a feel of both instruments to see if they are comfortable (not in great detail, just "do they feel right").

It's never too early to make friends with a teacher - you'll probably want their help when it comes to checking out some instruments to buy. As long as you support them in turn by having lessons with them, it's a great relationship to build upon.

good luck, let us know how you get on, Phil

sharon · Nov 6, 2007

I would say if you're big learn to play whichever you prefer the sound of.

I went through the same thing and tried both. I really love the sound on tenor but found it too big as a learner. But I'm 5 feet with hands like a 12 year old. My only problem was an inability to reach the octave key comfortably, I found my hand stretch about 1" out. Actually getting notes out of it wasn't a problem (after the initial fight) Having said that I think that perhaps now I might find it easier. If you're big no worries.

Sharon

bobk · Nov 6, 2007

My daughter (aged 10) can't play my tenor because some of the little finger stretches are a bit too far. As a beginner I can play either the tenor or the alto - I didn't find that I needed much more breath for the tenor than the alto. I'd be surprised if finger-crowding, even with large hands, was a problem on either. Soprano might be a different matter. So, sops notwithstanding, I'd go for whichever you prefer the sound of.

cheers,

Bob

mr_big · Nov 6, 2007

Hey, thanks for all the feedback folks! 🙂

I'm going to follow your advice and drop into Blowout Sax this afternoon, in Bath. I don't know the place, but they have an interesting web site and do lessons too. I shall indeed report back on how I get on.