Answering some FAQs
It’s the time of year when I get a lot of enquiries from prospective new students who fancy taking up the Saxophone, so I thought it might be useful to cover a few points.
1. You will need your own instrument. Sax teachers do not normally have spares to loan out
2. Buy or rent the best quality instrument you can afford. It may seem like a good idea to buy the cheapest while you find out if you are going to pursue it, but some of these are of such poor quality that they will hold you back. I have seen some models even a professional would be hard put to get a decent sound out of. Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, Trevor James are all reputable names who produce good beginner models. Rent to buy may be a good option as any rental paid comes off the purchase price if you decide to keep it up
3. Get advice on the mouthpiece. A suitable one for a beginner will have a small gap between the reed and mouthpiece, a larger gap makes it hard work to produce a sound.
4. Buy some 1 1/2 strength reeds to start off with. Higher strength reeds will make it hard to produce a sound for the beginner.
5. Even if you have some musical knowledge, it is a good idea to get a teacher initially. Saxophone embouchure and breathing technique are very important and getting these right to begin with saves a lot of problems in the future.
Hope this is helpful, enjoy your playing everyone.
© Copyright Alison Diamond - 2022