General Information on Saxophones
Different Types of Saxophone. The most common saxophones are the Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone.
The small Soprano has a lovely tone and is considered fairly specialised. It is usually straight looking like a metal clarinet, but sometimes curved in traditional saxophone style. It is unusual to start on Soprano as the small mouthpiece and difficult tuning can make life hard when you first start playing.
Youtube video of Kenny G on
soprano sax.
Click to hear some
soprano sax (from Perfect Day by Lou Reed)
Click to hear some soprano sax (from Englishman in New
York by Sting)
The Alto is the most popular saxophone for beginners. It is slightly smaller than the tenor and looks and sounds as you expect a saxophone to. Compared with the tenor it is lighter, slightly quieter, takes less puff, less finger stretching and cheaper to buy or rent. Many people start on alto expecting it to be a stepping stone on to tenor at a later date. This is sensible as the fingering for all saxophones is basically the same. However most of these people never sell their alto once they realise the tremendous versatility of the instrument.
Youtube video of David Sanborn on alto sax.
Click to hear some
mellow alto sax (from Take 5 by Dave Brubeck)
Click to hear some raucous
alto sax (from Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty)
The Tenor has a great sound. It's widely used in rock, pop and jazz music. If it’s a tenor sax that you really want, then go for it! Enthusiasm is so important. It's fine to start on tenor from the beginning as it's really just a bigger alto and it's generally as easy for an adult to start on tenor as it is for a child to start on alto.
Youtube video of Snake Davis on
tenor sax.
Click to hear some tenor sax
(from The Pink Panther Theme)
Click to hear some tenor sax (from Your Latest Trick
by Dire Straits)
Someone once described playing the Baritone as like blowing through your central heating system! It is a very large instrument with a wonderful deep tone but definitely not a beginners instrument. Also described by Jools Holland as being the sexiest sound in the world! The cheapest baritones cost in excess of £1,500 so start saving.
Youtube video of Andy Findon on baritone sax.
Click to hear some
great baritone (from Moanin' by Charlie Mingus)
Different Makes of Saxophone (new & used)
Over the years there have been countless different makes of saxophone. Selmer
(Paris) instruments are still regarded as one of the best and can cost thousands of pounds. Leading makes costing in excess of one thousand pounds such as
Yamaha and Yanagisawa come from Japan, P.Mauriat from Taiwan,
Rampone & Cazzani from Italy, Keilwerth from Germany and
Selmer from France with Eastern Europe and the Far East producing the cheaper saxophones. Unfortunately some of the cheaper instruments are very poor and make the beginners life very difficult. However there are some excellent value for money instruments produced in Taiwan these days and most independent teachers will recommend these to start on. Prices for these instruments generally range from £500-£1000. Many, such as Trevor James,
Sakkusu, Artemis, Earlham, Elkhart,
Evette & Jupiter are made to a high standard specially for European companies.
Can a sax be too cheap?
YES!!!
If you're
about to buy your first sax then please read this article.
Then come back here to continue on the sax trail.
Good second hand saxes hold their prices exceptionally well and there is always a healthy demand. Typical depreciation is around 20% from new and there is rarely anything worth buying under £350 unless it is battered and bruised. If you are a novice we do not recommend buying second hand unless you have expert advice or buy from a recognised dealer.
Mouthpieces
It is so important to have a good mouthpiece
and these can cost hundreds of pounds. It is the interface between you and your
instrument and they vary enormously. A poor mouthpiece can render an adequate
instrument unplayable and a high grade mouthpiece can make a huge difference to
tone and ease of playing. Consequently we supply recognised good quality
mouthpieces with all of our outfits.
If you do not have menu buttons on the left hand side of this page click here.