Any saxaphone players here?

[Tarkus]

When my mother-in-law recently died my wife inherited her father's Saxaphone (he's been dead for years). Turns out it's an original model Selmer, made in Paris probably at least 60 years ago. I brought it to this expert and he fixed the keys and pads and told me it had a beautiful sound. It also has an original mouth piece. Apparently my wife's father could really play. He was quite an interesting guy. He shot down the first Japanese plane over Pearl Harbor and put himself through college playing the sax. Now I wonder how hard is it to learn how to play this thing? ;)

Tarkus

[Airhog]

I played in highschool, I Think its easier to play than a Brass instruments, because the octave is determined more by the instrument, then your mouth. You could probably learn to play in a few month, but it might take several years to be able to play anything hard.

[TredWel]

I played tenor sax in a concert band for a good seven years before dropping it last year due to time constraints.

I really didn't find it too hard to learn to play. It took a while to get the breathing down right, and to learn to control the volume and pitch coming out of the instrument, but it only took a couple months before I could play it passably.

As for learning the fingerings, the saxophone has one of the eastest fingerings to learn of any woodwind instrument, hands down.

[MJ4H]

Originally posted by TredWel

As for learning the fingerings, the saxophone has one of the eastest fingerings to learn of any woodwind instrument, hands down.

I think the correct term here is "easternmost." :)

Im a high school band director so I had to learn to play all wind and percussion intstruments (and some strings). I agree the fingerings for saxophone are the easiest of the woodwinds. The embouchure is fairly straightforward, too (embouchure is the way you form your mouth when playing).

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I played the alto sax ...Takes a while to get used to but once you got it you got it!Can transition to other woodwinds very easily with the sax .

[Chief Rum]

SAX-A-MA-PHONE! SAX-A-MA-PHONE!

CHief Rum

[RendeR]

I would love to learn the Sax, but I can't seem to find anyone around here where I can rent one. I'm not sure I want to try buying one and then find out I really don't like playing it.

If anyone has one for sale/rent/loan let me know!


Ren

[INDalltheway]

I am a Freshman in High school and this is my first year since dropping out of band, and I can't remember the fingerings. I still have the instrument and a lot of music. As for learning it is pretty easy. "Tounging" probably was one of the tougher parts of learning to play.

[Phoenix]

played alto and baritone sax since I was 10 (20 yrs) - saxOphone - concert and jazz band - thank god I played football and didn't have to do the marching band thing with that dorky uniform and white shoes - add Bubba Clinton to this list

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I believe if you go to any music shops like Kessler & Sons that they may have loaners .

[Poli]

My wife was a sax player in high school. She was a pretty good. She was in jazz band and honor bands and such.


I was a bass trombone guy myself. I went through a saga of sorts. I was the man (or should I say, the kid?) in middle school. I could do whatever I wanted and I was the best around. I even got picked for all star band thing in Knoxville and I was in 8th grade at the time, beating out the high school players.

Something weird happened...maybe it was when I bent my spit valve (LOL), but when I moved to MO, I instantly sucked. I was taken out of regular "band" with the rest of the sophs, juniors, and seniors, and put in "freshman" band. How sad! Not only that, but I sat last chair...last chair behind some rather saddish type people.

Anyway, over the next two years, I sit last chair each year. I don't think I deserved it, but the director certainly didn't like the way I played.

However, something odd again happened and the same director who hated my for three years all of a sudden loved me my senior year. I was in jazz band and such, named all conference jazz and concert.

Freaking weird. The guy who just couldn't stand me for three years now sat in front of the band bragging about me. He's also the same director my wife had.

[Anrhydeddu]

It was determined early on that I could never develop the proper breathing or have the chops for brass and woodwinds. (That was why I became a percussionist, banging on things was easy.) That was too bad because most of my fellow percussionists also played second instruments during the concert season and I always thought it would have been cool to take up the sax or oboe.

[Ksyrup]

I played sax for 7 years during junior high and high school. I never enjoyed it that much, though, because like most instruments, it was too one-dimensional. I still prefer piano and if I could ever learn it, guitar. Much more fun for a solo player.

[tucker342]

My brother plays sax. He got a scholarship to Northwestern for it. And next year he's going to study at the Paris Conservatory, which is really difficult to get into. He's unbelievably good.

I play Clarinet

[Craptacular]

Originally posted by ardent enthusiast

Freaking weird. The guy who just couldn't stand me for three years now sat in front of the band bragging about me. He's also the same director my wife had.


Maybe you should talk with your wife. ;)

[revrew]

Sax player here. Alto and Bari, but I prefer the latter. Sax playing is pretty easy to pick up compared to other instruments. If you already know how to read music, among the easiest. It's lack of versatility is a good point, but if you've got talent as well, you can make it a pretty awesome instrument in the same amount of time it would take you to learn piano passably or guitar well.