Before You Start Saxophone: 10 Things You Must Know!

hi welcome to the sax tuition YouTube channel my name's Jeremy now if you're about to start your saxophone Journey or you're just a little sax curious there are some things about the saxophone and about learning the saxophone that you absolutely must know but before we get into it just know that after you've got your sacks and you're ready to start playing you should check out lesson one of the sexual beginner series you'll find a link to that as well as a ton of helpful content that I mentioned in this video in the description down below so let's get into it starting off at number 10 did you know there are four different types of saxophone well actually that's not quite true there are nine different types of saxophone but only four that are regularly playing the soprano Alto tenor and baritone of those four the two most popular saxes are the middle ones the alto and the tenor now I've done some comparison videos of these two types of saxophone in the past which again I've linked to below but if you're a beginner on the saxophone the most popular choice is actually the alto why well it's smaller lighter and cheaper than the tenor like the tenor though it has a legendary sound and chances are you've heard it on countless Jazz pop and R B records now if you're thinking but Jeremy how could you miss out on the soprano the soprano is a beautiful instrument but it's also the most challenging of the four saxophones if you want to find out more about that and what it's like to actually start learning on the soprano I've got you covered with a video I've linked to down below PS Barry players I love you guys it's just not the saxophone that anyone really starts on next up we have the age-old question what's the best brand of saxophone for a beginner well the quickest easiest answer to that question is Yamaha why because in the last 40 years they basically haven't made a single bad saxophone all all of their student models are great but just know if you're looking at the price tag of some of their new horns and you're thinking I can't afford that some of their secondhand horns you can pick up for around 500 US dollars are just as good the Yas 23 for example was made in Japan has great ergonomics has a bright Focus sound and is one of the most lightweight saxophones on the market a quick search on Craigslist Gumtree or Ebay should uncover some of these saxophones in your area now if you want a brand new sax and 1200 bucks is simply too pricey for you check out the Jean-Paul as400 this one here you'll find a full review of this saxophone on this channel link below but for 600 bucks it's fantastic value for money and a whole lot better than any other brand new sax I've tried in that price range next up we have reads did you know that the saxophone is a woodwind instrument what gives us this label is that we we use a raid which is a thin piece of cane that's attached to our mouthpiece when we blow in it creates a buzz that sounds like a kazoo but then when we attach that to the rest of our instrument we get the sound we all know and love now Reeds come in a variety of different brands sizes and price points but for a complete beginner I recommend using vandoren traditional reads strength 1.5 for a child and strength 2 for teenagers and adults now if you buy a saxophone on eBay and it comes with a strange box of reads in the case take my advice and don't even bother with them do yourself a favor and buy some vandorens in strength 1.5 or 2 because they will help you to produce a richer more consistent sound now if you want to know how to properly maintain your Reeds so they last longer or want to know more about the different brands and types of reads available I've linked to a couple of helpful videos down below next up at number seven is keeping the saxophone clean did you know there's a medical condition an actual medical condition known as saxophone lung now truth be told a lot of sax teachers talk about it to scare their students into cleaning the saxophone but in all seriousness it is a real thing if you never clean the moisture out of the inside of your saxophone and you store it in a dark enclosed space like oh I don't know a sax case these sorts of conditions promote the growth of bacteria and mold and all of that nasty stuff the good news is that avoiding this is very simple all you need to do is wipe away the moisture inside the saxophone after you play it by using a pull through cloth also known as a swab just be aware that there are two different kinds of pull through cloths one for the body of your saxophone and a smaller one for your neck now if you're interested I've popped an Amazon link down below to a great inexpensive cleaning kit that will have everything you need to keep your saxophone in top shape and ensure that you never ever experience saxophone lung thankfully number six on this countdown is not a product recommendation or anything you need to to go out and buy it's that the saxophone is actually a transposing instrument this is something that often confuses beginners but here's the short version if you play a C on the alto or baritone saxophones you don't get a C on the piano you actually get an E flat if you play a C on the tenor or soprano saxes you're not actually getting a C on the piano either you're actually getting a B flat so we say that the alto and baritone saxes are E flat instruments and the tenor and soprano saxophones are B flat instruments but what does that mean for you exactly well it just means that when you want to learn a song you have to play music that's already been transposed for your saxophone if you just try to play music that's written for piano or guitar on the sax it will actually be in a different key now as you get a little more advanced you might want to learn how to transpose the music yourself but when you're just starting out just looking for music that's a red written for saxophone will be all you need to do now coming in at number five is a tip that should make you breathe a little easier the saxophone is actually a very beginner-friendly instrument now you might look at all the keys on this thing and think damn that looks complicated but actually every one of these Keys has been thoughtfully placed around our hands in a way that quickly feels very natural and ergonomic we've also got a secret weapon under our left hand thumb the octave key this allows us to take almost any note on the lower range of the saxophone and place it up an octave with just the Press of a button that's without having to learn any new fingerings or having to squeeze our embouchure do you know how many trumpet players would kill to have this feature and speaking of other instruments what if we compared the sax to the clarinet our closest cousin clarinetists have to precisely Place their fingers to get a seal on tone holes in order to get their notes to sound properly but on saxophones we've got these babies pads they do the hard work of sealing the tone holes meaning all we have to do is press down on these keys to get an instant seal saving a whole bunch of squeaks and headaches along the way side note you think I might be suggesting that mastering the saxophone is easy I'm not like any instrument the saxophone takes countless hours to truly master in fact very few Pros would even admit to mastering the instrument because rather than it being a set end goal it's better to think of it as a journey that we're all on together what I am saying though is that thanks to the design of the sax beginner players can get going on the saxophone start playing their first few notes and start playing songs much quicker than they might have expected which brings me to my next point it takes practice if you want to make progress on the saxophone enough to keep you engaged and feel as though you're accomplishing your goals you'll need to shoot for a minimum of one hour's practice a week now you could do this all in one go but a better plan would actually be to break it up into at least two 30-minute sessions if that seems like too much for you because you hate the idea of practicing well I don't know what to tell you learning the saxophone doesn't come magically but if you're learning with a good sex teacher or a good course the whole experience of practicing should be fun it should be something that you actually want to do because if you don't it's hard to get very far if on the other hand you're thinking gee I genuinely don't know if I can carve out an hour a week for myself where I can just sit down with my Saxon play what are you doing you deserve this it shouldn't matter how busy you are you should always leave yourself enough time in your week to do something you love otherwise you'll always regret it now number three on this countdown is also linked to practice and that is to where possible set up a dedicated practice space for yourself it doesn't have to be a purpose-built studio or even a whole room it could just be the corner of a room somewhere free of distractions where you can keep a music stand a metronome and ideally a set of speakers close by this sounds so simple but having a dedicated practice space can really help you to focus and ensure that you've got everything you need close at hand to make the most of your practice time now we're getting to the pointy end of this list and coming in at number two is something that I think is vitally important to success on the saxophone and I don't think it gets talked about enough you need a champion you need someone close to you who knows about your saxophone goals and will ask you about them and give you encouragement along the way even if you're a super successful driven high-flying go-getter yes even you need a champion now it's great if they're a musician too because perhaps you can even play together but of course they don't have to be getting a family member or a friend on your side adds that little bit of accountability that gives you that extra reason to keep playing so don't keep it a secret share your newfound passion with others and that leaves us of course with the final point on this list if you're gonna learn the saxophone from scratch you need a sax teacher or a course now when a lot of people first consider learning the saxophone they look at the cost of a new sax and perhaps even a boxer reads but a surprising amount never really consider the cost and availability of sax lessons in their area I think a lot of people just figure hey when this thing arrives I'll just learn what I need to know from free stuff on the internet and that plan works great when you want to learn how to make an omelet or change a car battery but the reality is there is so much skill involved in playing the saxophone and the instrument is so beautifully nuanced that you really need to be guided by the expertise and structure that only a teacher or a course can give you now don't get me wrong you can still learn a lot from free YouTube sex content and I should know because I create a lot of it but whilst free YouTube content can give you some awesome tips reviews and inspiration that connects with your passion it can't give you all the songs exercises and teachings you need to succeed and join all of the dots for you in a structured way unfortunately if you skimp out on getting lessons either online or in person most people find their passion for learning the sax starts to fade pretty quickly once the frustration sets in leaving their beautiful new saxophone Gathering dust so where does this leave you well if you've got sax teachers in your area you might want to check out their availability their areas of expertise and how much they're charging alternatively you can look at getting sax lessons online or learning the saxophone through an online course online courses generally save you money and give you some more flexibility on when and how you want to learn oh no what's happening guys that's my plug alert at the top of this video you heard me mention lesson one of the sax tuition beginner series is actually the most popular beginner sax lesson on YouTube in fact all you need to do is just type in beginner sax lesson right in the search bar to see it at the top of the page and that is just the first lesson of a 12 part series that covers everything you need to know to get a great sound on the saxophone learn every note and learn how to read sheet music like a pro so if you like what you're seeing in the first lesson head on over to sakshuition.com you can download a free sample of the PDF ebook and demo tracks and of course you can even pick up the entire series for yourself just to be very clear I want you guys to learn saxophone your way that could be face-to-face lessons or it could be online pick a strategy that will work best for you and don't forget to share your passion with those closest to you so you get that extra little hit of encouragement along the way to me the joy I get from playing saxophone is simply one of the best feelings on Earth and I wouldn't trade it for anything so if you're still on the fence I say just do it because you won't regret it well that about covers it guys what did you think of this list hopefully you learned a few things along the way but if you've still got some lingering questions about the saxophone do leave them in the comments down below and of course thank you to everyone who's liked our content and subscribed to the sax Christian YouTube channel because your support really does go a long way thanks again for watching and I'll see you all again soon [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: SaxTuition

Views: 76,279

Keywords: saxophone, beginner, tutorial, saxtuition, alto, tenor, soprano, baritone, tips, yamaha, jean paul

Id: 1lh7W7ifZtw

Length: 14min 19sec (859 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 25 2022