How To Choose The Right Saxophone

If your child wants to play student saxophone you will need to check that their hands are large enough to hold the instrument correctly. Small hands will not be able to arch over the palm keys. Older children will not usually have this problem and most will make good progress during the early stages of learning.

As a professional musician & teacher, I decided to take the time and write a guide for choosing the best saxophone for you, at whatever level you play at. Pick The Right Strength. The number one thing you should keep in mind when it comes to learning how to choose saxophone reeds would be to pick the right reed strength, otherwise you might have a hard time playing your saxophone if you are new to learning the saxophone.

Pick The Right Brand. The second thing you should keep in mind when it comes to learning how to choose saxophone reeds would be to pick the right brand, since all brands are not created equal and the best reeds are often the ones that are middle priced. Also when it comes to picking the right brand of saxophone reeds you will need to choose the brand that offers the most reeds, instead of the fewest amounts in order to avoid over paying on reeds.

Pick A Reed Cover. The third thing you should keep in mind when it comes to learning how to choose saxophone reeds would be to pick a plastic reed cover, since it prevents your reeds from chipping when your not playing your saxophone. Vintage saxophones are extremely good but there are several reasons not to buy a vintage sax: Handmade. Most horns made prior to 1970 (and some thereafter) are handmade. This necessarily means that the intonation and "feel" will vary greatly from horn to horn.

Stencils and poor models. Not all vintage horns are glorious. A very large percentage of "vintage" horns being sold are stencils (models made by a major manufacturer for a storefront, which would then literally take a stencil and engrave a design on the bell).

Pitch. Many horns manufactured from 1880 to 1950 (or so) were available in high pitch. "Low Pitch" or "Concert Pitch" refers to the pitch that most orchestras tune to, "Concert A" (equivalent to 440 hertz). For high pitch horns, however, A climbs from 440 to 442 hertz - 460 hertz. In any event, horn that are not low pitch, A=440 Hz will not play in tune with a modern ensemble.

Relaquer. Relaquering involves removing the original lacquer on a horn with lacquer remover or with a buffing machine and then spraying or baking on a new coat of lacquer, sometimes after being buffed again. It might affect sound, intonation and value.

Parts and Repair, Revisited. Not only are keys sometimes hard to find, sometimes a vintage saxophone repairman is hard to find -- and a vintage sax repairman with the right parts is even harder to find.

Keywork. Most modern keywork is patterned after the Selmer Balanced Action. However, the keywork on most vintage horns is what the manufacturer thinks is best and this can mean unergonomic and difficult-to-use keywork.

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com