Saxophone Tips For Beginners

To develop and maintain your embouchure it is important to play regularly, preferably every day. To encourage yourself to do this I recommend leaving your sax out of the case, set up and ready to play. A saxophone stand is useful for this. However always remove the mouthpiece when you are not playing. Leaving the mouthpiece on the instrument will make cork replacement necessary earlier.

When playing from music it is important that the music is positioned in front of you and at a comfortable height. Laying your music on a table produces bad posture which makes it very difficult to play the instrument well. You need to get into good habits right from the start. Music stands are not expensive. Please, buy yourself a music stand, and use it.

Playing long notes is boring, and testing on your neighbours, but unfortunately it is the only satisfactory way of learning tone control. Just play a few long notes each day, you don't need to spend hours on them. Listen carefully to the note you are playing. Initially try to keep the volume and pitch constant. As you get better at it try to vary the volume, but still keep the pitch constant. When, and only when, you are proficient at playing long notes correctly you might want to try bending notes. Always, always control the note.

Playing scales and arpeggios is the way to develop dexterity. When playing keep your fingers close to the keys so that finger movements are minimal.

Treat your instrument with the same care that you would a new baby. A knock on certain parts of the mechanism can leave it unplayable.

The best way to keep your saxophone in good condition is to play it regularly.

It is extremely important to use a "pull-through" to remove moisture after each playing session.

An occasional application of a little key oil on the pivots and springs and a wipe down with a soft cloth will certainly do no harm.

Sticky keys and leaks are faced by all sax players from time to time. Experience will tell you which ones can be easily fixed yourself. If in doubt ask another sax player for advice.

Pad replacement and adjustment will occasionally be required. I would strongly advise that you leave such work to a competent instrument repairer.

Never attempt to remove any parts from your saxophone other than the neck and mouthpiece unless you are 100% certain and confident of your abilities.

Arguably the most important part of your saxophone, the mouthpiece is where the sound is produced. The rest of the instrument amplifies and tunes that sound. The mouthpiece that comes with a new saxophone is usually good enough to play the instrument, but seldom will it give the best sound. It is well worth considering a better mouthpiece as your technical competance grows.

It is important for good sound production, and for your health, that the mouthpiece is kept scrupulously clean. My mouthpiece often gets first dip in the washing up suds. I use a soft brush made for cleaning babies' bottles to make sure the inside is clean. I rinse it. I then dry it thoroughly inside and outside using a soft cloth.

Be careful not to scratch your mouthpiece, especially on the surface where the reed sits. If you manage to chip your mouthpiece it will probably be fit only for the dustbin.

This is a the clip that holds the reed in place. New saxes generally come with a metal ligature, which is perfectly adequate for learning to play. Later you might like to experiment with different ligature and mouthpiece combinations, as both the mouthpiece and the ligature have an effect on the sound produced.

The ligature should be tight enough to hold the reed in place without any movement. Do not tighten it any more than this as it may effect your tone.

Reeds are the consumable component of your saxophone. You will need to replace the reed regularly.

If you are a beginner I recommend you start with a soft reed of grade 1.5 to 2. Don't buy a complete box of reeds initially as you need to find out which grade is right for you. Choosing your initial reed strength really is a case of trial and error. Once you know what grade you need I would recommend always buying reeds by the box.

Reeds do not usually play perfectly straight out of the box, they need to be played in. After a short play they tend to begin to show their character.

Occasionally you will find a reed that just won't blow right. There is no point taking it back to the shop, it is just part of playing sax that a certain percentage of reeds will be wasted. You can reduce this wastage by buying higher quality reeds.

Conversely you will sometimes find a reed that plays really nicely. When this happens enjoy it, reeds have a short life.

If your tone is not right changing your reed will often fix it.

Playing a harder reed does not mean you are better sax player. It is true that you may need a harder reed as your embouchure strengthens, but having a strong embouchure does not mean you are a great sax player. What really matters is the sound that you are producing. Please, please don't join in with the "I play a harder reed than you" competition. Also don't feel that you need to build up to a certain reed strength. Just use the right grade reed for you.

Reed strength does have some baring on the sound produced. If you want a hard, harsh sax sound then a slightly harder reed might help. If you want a sweet mellow sound a slightly softer reed might be better. We are only talking about small changes here, usually only half a grade difference.

Please, be aware that manufacturers do not all grade reeds the same. If you are changing from one company to another you may need to experiment again to find the correct grade for you. Your music shop should be able to advise you.