Key Positions

[saxyman]

Can the positions of keys, in particular the the group played by the left little finger, be repositioned at all, as I have great difficulty in reaching them, especially the BFlat with my tiny hands on my Selmer Tenor.
OR is this a big, almost impossible modification.

 

[jonf]

Pretty much anything can be modified if enough effort is made, and money spent. There was even once a sax made which was designed to be played one-handed by an amputee. I know Griff has done work modifying musical instruments in the past, so I'm sure he could advise you. Try sending him a PM here, or contacting him at http://www.dg-music.co.uk/

 

[AndyB]

I'm not experienced enough to be giving much advice, but when I started taking lessons on alto several years back after playing tenor early in life, my teacher had me learn a much lower left hand position (farther down the tube) than I was trying and it made the left hand pinky keys much more accessible. Basically, I relearned to play with my left hand pinky playing almost parallel to the G# key instead of reaching it from from above. If your pinky is already at the G#, then the C#,B and Bb aren't so far away. Of course this changes the approach to the palm keys to a slight turn of the wrist instead of a slide/shift of the index/middle fingers. Maybe someone more experienced can comment on this idea or correct me. But I just thought I'd share that because it really helped me.

 

[Morgan Fry]

Good point about hand position. Play around with it some, keep in mind the wrists and fingers need to be relaxed. If you do get the work done (it certainly can be done), I don't have experience with any techs south of London, but Steve Crow in Huddersfield does a lot of work altering key positions on old Conns and does great work.

 

[saxyman]

Thanks guys for the advice, I have spoken via email with Griff and he has appraised me of the pros and cons of carrying out the mods.
been very helpful in fact.
But I have since sat down with my Tutor and looked at how i was holding the sax and I as AndyB said its really a matter of holding it differently. I have been practicing with a change of stance and it seems to work. Like a few beginners I feel I must place my fingers fully onto the buttons, whereas as long as you make sufficient and comfortable contact thats all thats needed and can give you that extra reach. Also I was not aware that you can depress the other adjacent keys at the same time. So it looks like I shall be persevering with my new grip.
Regards.