How to Play the Saxophone (Episode 1)

[Abrilita96]

i wasnt holding the sax right. that explains a lot....

[Ichigomuto]

I just started learning and I blow into the sax and all I get is a squeaking sound or maybe its a whistle but anyways is there a reason for that

[Toplid1]

@Ichigomuto You must not have a firm amboisure. You'll adapt as you play more. Your lip muscles will get extreamly stronger. Or you are biting the reed, which I doubt.

[abbyNmuzic]

haha hes such a nerd n a realliii gud way i love hem lol

[vivicrowe101]

i did all of that in the first 5 mins of my first lesson :P

[amaricansoilder]

thank salot man im in junior high band and i hvae no clue wht imn ding anmd i said sax so this helps out alot so thanx!

[neymenl]

thanks now i can play the sax

[LOTSOFHOBBIES]

how's your soprano sax coming along?

[DudeItsaBassClarinet]

yeah, they arent made any more so they arent very common. yeah, key of Eb is a hard change but its very funn...very very fun. i wish when i had started 2 months ago i had seen this but its to late now.,..ahaha. but its still a help with the basics. :D

[InstrumentManiac]

Hmm, Rico really isn't that bad it just depends on the year and what their crop is. Yes I agree they tend to have a much worse crop than Vandoren (which I use the most) but on occasions I have gotten boxes that work very well. Also I said a beginner should use it because they come in $10 three packs unlike vandoren.

[McLaffel]

@aquatuck Your An Idiot. And I Bet Ur Sitting At Ur Desk Going Tehehehehe Troololol Trololol I'm So Epic N00b face NoobciICleONaStick Trolol. Rico's Have Been Around From 1930's So Shut The Hell Up.

[DudeItsaBassClarinet]

ohhh, nice, i have an amati kraslice. its from chekeslovakia, its not made anymore and its from 1960 something. its like a family thing, i just started playing, 2 months ago and as u can see from my name, i play bass clarinet, regular clarient, soprano and tenor. its my first time leaving key of Bb

[InstrumentManiac]

Haha nice! thats cool I have never heard of that brand. *tear* ;-(. But I think you will come to like the key of Eb.

[killersdeat0]

Hey, thanks for the alto sax video... i'm currently a sax player (1 and 1/2 year) but my reeds always suck.. they're perfect for 2 days then it turns too soft..... and if I try a harder reed, my mouth starts hurting and i end up with a squeak on the note.. any ideas on how to fix this??? (currently using vandoren 3&1/2)

[nejihyuga665]

omg.  Ive been playing sax for almost five years and i find that 3 1/2's are waaay too hard. try a vandoren 3. itll do much better.

[killersdeat0]

Tried it..... way too soft..... better on high notes, but then when u get to the low notes you have to change your embrochure so much to adjust to the low notes that your lips start hurting like hell.

[Milotic665]

thats because you need to break it in. Soak it in water/spit for about 10-15 minutes, play on it for about ten minutes, then put it away and let it dry out. Do this for 2-3 days, and the reed should be fine. If you try to just play on it without breaking it in, its not gonna sound very good.

[InstrumentManiac]

actually very untrue, I played on vandoren 4's for awhile and found that it is just an excessive amount of work for little gain. In jazz band I use vandoren jazz 3's and they work fine for low and high, you just have to get used to them. Actually most professional jazz saxophonists use 2 1/2s. I went to a masterclass with Eric Marienthal and he says he uses a new 2 1/2 every day. One thing you could do is just not play your sax for awhile and then pick it up again with a 3 reed, thats what I did

[killersdeat0]

he uses a new one every day??? O.O costly. = $1000 in reeds per year?

[DudeItsaBassClarinet]

i know it an alto, what type.. yamaha selmer <-- (eww) or a le blanc?

[InstrumentManiac]

oh gotcha, its a Yamaha, pretty good sax

[nejihyuga665]

you forgot to mention about how you need to have equal pressure (with your mouth) Around the mouthpiece.

[InstrumentManiac]

Thanks for reminding me, I added it as a notation and gave you credit

[nejihyuga665]

rico is a good reed to start on but when you get better, its the worst one you can have. The company that i have found that works well is vandoren.

[kyoishmine]

AMEN! vadoren is awesome.

[DudeItsaBassClarinet]

what kind of sax is tht

[InstrumentManiac]

Its an alto

[armisis]

Thanks!!! I look forward to this series!!!

Dave

[InstrumentManiac]

Thanks, I hope it helps provide insight into the saxophone with an easy to learn friendly learning method

[xKaishisxMoonx]

Very nice. Even though I'm a BariSax player, this still helped. I've been having a hard time getting my tone nice & getting teh lower notes. I'm gonna try the way you use it, because we do it different here.

Lmao... Mary had a little lamb.... lmao. Now I need to get that alto fixed. lmao.

[InstrumentManiac]

Haha thanks... yeah I know, its for beginners what a great piece! Oh you best do that!