Starting Alto/Tenor

[bigbadsnowman]

I have played trumpet for 5 years, and really love playing it. But I have decided to out reach my playing style and decided I really would love to play saxaphone. I am a lover of jazz and love the sax in jazz. I am still undecided if I want to start on Tenor or Alto. Is there any easier sax to start on? If so what is a good brand of saxaphone?

[Minimike_mstchf]

Nice decision. I have been playing alto sax for about five years now. If your going to be playing jazz you can't go wrong with tenor or alto. They are both excellent instruments, and sound great in jazz, as you already know. I can play some Tenor, and, in my opinion, the alto is much easier to start out on. Most people start on alto and then branch out to the other types. As for the brand, Yamaha makes a really good sax for the price.

[Janeway]

I don't know why I'm going to do this, as the majority of my advice is ignored, or occasionally used to make me look like I'm an opinion imposing prick.
Sigh.


What type of jazz do you like? What are some of your favorite saxophonists in jazz?

You should probably base your descision on the players you admire, because emulating(I use this term loosely, because I don't mean absolutely copying them) is a very good way to learn, and it makes learning as a whole a lot more enjoyable. Even if you aren't too informed about any sax players, a genre would help too. Say you enjoy bebop. Charlie Parker is the most pronounced player, and the most famous alto player around.

I play both, and I can't say that one is easier than the other.
The problem of switching embouchure only exists with prior playing, which doesn't exist for you, so that theory goes down the poop chute. If you have the sax set up(Yes, set up. So many people think that just because it doesn't have strings means that it plays perfect out of the box) properly, it's checked for leaks and other problems by a repairman, then both alto and tenor are going to be about equal.

As far as good brands go...it absolutely depends on price range.
A general guideline is not to go below $1,000. Stick to known brands, and stay away from anything made in Taiiwan(especially), Korea, and other asian countries besides Japan.
Definately for the begginer and intermediate range, go with Yamaha.
I recommend the YAS/YTS-52/475 for a beggining horn. I've got one that I use as a school/travel horn, and it has a sound that still surpasses pretty much every intermediate horn on todays market. Yamaha remade it as the YAS/YTS-475, which is basically the same thing with some technical improvements. The tenor goes for $1,758 of musicians friend, and the alto goes for $1,585.
I'm sure you could find a YAS/YTS-52 somewhere near you, which you could probably get for anywhere from $700-1000.

If you haven't got that much, cheap Yamaha YAS/YTS-23 are decent.
It's not very pretty looking, but it's got a good, brighter sound that will last for a very long time.

Note that the horn its self only accounts for a small amount of sound.
Mouthpiece/reed/ligature combinations are the most important factor in determining sound. Stock mouthpieces and ligatures are generally huge piles of crap.
It's mostly personal preference in terms of what you use, but a good basic jazz mouth piece for alto is a standard Meyer 5mm. I use it on my Serie II, and it gives it a bite with out causing it to be too bright.For tenor, a Vandoren Java. For reeds, start with a basic jazz cut, along the lines of Vandoren Java or ZZ.

I'm tired of typing, but anything else you want to know ask.

[Janeway]

Oh yeah. One last thing.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS buy from a dealer.
Play the horn first. If the shop won't let you, leave.
The most important thing is that YOU like the horn. It's asinine to drop $1k on an instrument with out playing it first. If you don't know any fingerings or anything, read up on embouchure before you go, and try your damndest to play it.

[bigbadsnowman]

Thanks man!

I am in to almost every kind of jazz, I really do like bebop a good bit. My favorite saxaphonists are John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Hank Mobley, Pharoah Sanders, and Wayne Shorter. I will be shopping for a saxaphone soon.

Thanks again.