Saxophone Advice

QuantumP

Hi all.

I've decided I'm going to invest in and learn how to play a saxophone.

I have little experience in the wind/brass family (Learned the Recorder to a pretty good level in primary school but that was a very long time ago at this stage).

I'm not sure where to start, i.e. what type to buy, where to buy, lessons etc. As of now I just want to learn the fundamentals before eventually adopting a particular style so I've no preference in that department.

I would appreciate any guidance from any Saxophonist out there. Thanks for your time in advance - Paul

Pataman

Howya. I started 2 years ago and love it. I got my alto sax from Thomanns in Germany. Approx €220 delivered. I get lessons from a lady in Rathfarnham. If you want her details PM me.

Pataman

This is the one that I got:
http://www.thomann.de/ie/startone_sas75_altsaxophon.htm

Echoes675

Here's the advise I gave to another boardsie looking to pick up this addictive horn!

My advise would be not to buy a sax that is too cheap. The cheapest models are more difficult to play and I have seen many a player give up because they aren't making the progress they want down to the fact they are constantly fighting with the instrument, whether its trying to stay in tune or even get a nice tone from it. They can be made very poorly and keys have been known to bend out of shape easily. Technicians hate seeing cheap saxes cause they are so much harder to put right. Another point would be to get a teacher ASAP! The basic techniques of playing the horn are made so much easier when there is someone who can help you develop the right habits. It is easy at the early stages to develop bad habits that will prove detrimental to your progress. Ultimately you will spend more time unlearning bad habits than you would learning the right ones!
As for which to buy, either Alto or tenor would be the right one to start with. Whichever you prefer. Don't even think about Soprano as it requires very precise tension of your embouchure (lips) to keep in tune and baritone requires just too much puff for a beginner. I would say second hand would be fine, that's what I started with. You could pick up a decent student model sax second hand for reasonable prices today. Brands to look out for would Yamaha at the top of the pile, easily the best in student horns; others worth a mention would be Jupiter, P.Mauriet and Antigua (I own one of their sopranos and it is gorgeous!) I would stay away from brands such as Stagg or any of the other brands made by general musical instrument retailers as many of them suffer from the issues I mentioned earlier. I would say if you can budget £500 you will get a good setup that will do you well through your beginner/intermediate stages. The best thing would be, if you know someone who already plays, get them to play any horn you are thinking of buying. Their advice could really help get you a decent horn.
Where to buy, well in N.Ireland I would say Mattchets; It's where I've bought 2 of my horns. Also keep an eye on things like the classified ads if you intend to go down the 2nd hand route. I would stay away from ebay as it is really hit and miss. I'm sure there are plenty of decent music stores doing good deals throughout Ireland, maybe someone else can be more specific. You could also go for one of the online retailers, I regularly buy from sax.co.uk, very quick delivery and reasonable prices. Also, I bought my soprano from Dawkes.co.uk. Both of these retailers will setup your sax so it is playing its best when it arrives with you.
In terms of difficulty, like all instruments it takes time and patience. You will only get out of it what you put in. That being said, I love playing sax! I'm totally obsessed with it Been playing for 13 years. Currently play an Antigua 4290 soprano and my main horn is a Selmer Super Action 80 Series 2 Tenor. (I also still have my first horn, albeit unused these days; it is an old Armstrong Alto Student model, out of production these days).
You should check out saxontheweb.net full of advice and plenty of reading to give you an idea.