Which sax is easiest to play

On the other hand, people who have prior experience with any wind instrument, especially woodwinds such as the clarinet , will adapt to the saxophone more quickly. Fortunately, the fingering system for the saxophone is not as complicated as other woodwind instruments. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop good tone quality. This can vary depending on your experience and how much time you spend playing.

These unrealistic expectations can set a student on a course for disappointment. Keep in mind that college music majors who have been playing the saxophone for eight years still have a lot to learn! Taking these steps will get you well on your way to sounding incredible when you play the saxophone:. Having the right saxophone and quality equipment can make a huge difference when you start learning how to play the saxophone. Here are popular types of saxophones :.

Wondering how much a saxophone costs? This can vary greatly! This is great news because no matter your budget, you can find one that works for you. You can find new and vintage options and prices can range from a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand.

Here are our best recommendations for standard equipment for beginners:. Note: For your neck-strap, just make sure that it is rigid and not stretchy. Working on the embouchure, scales, articulation, dynamic control, and vibrato will strengthen your abilities as a saxophonist.

The best thing you can do to learn these skills and continue to grow as a musician is to choose a good private instructor. TakeLessons has a great selection of experienced saxophone instructors for both online and in-person lessons.

There are a variety of teachers so that you can choose one who can help you reach your specific goals. I will admit that this particular point does not necessarily relate to how difficult the instruments themselves are to play, but rather to how easy or difficult it is to maintain the reeds of the saxophone.

In general, I have found that on larger saxophones, the reeds are more difficult to maintain. On larger saxophones, the reeds are also larger, and hence tend to wear and warp more quickly. This is one area where the alto saxophone might be slightly easier than the tenor saxophone. The tenor sax has rather large reeds which tend to warp quickly, and the reeds for the bari sax have the same problem. The reeds become practically useless once they warp, since they will produce an ugly sound and perhaps even cause us to squeak.

The reeds on the alto saxophone are a little bit more durable. Given that I recommend both of these instruments as being the easiest, you might wonder if one is ultimately easier than the other. I would say that it comes down to personal preference; the alto sax is easier in some ways, while the tenor sax easier in others. The alto saxophone is a smaller instrument with a smaller mouthpiece, which means it will be a little bit more difficult to control and produce a good sound on.

However, the tenor sax is going to require a bit more air support, and as such the low notes might be more difficult to get out. Also beware the reed issue I mentioned earlier; if you are a complete beginner, a high-quality plastic reed might be a good investment. Otherwise, it is difficult to pick one of the two as being easier than the other. Pick the one that you like better and feel more inclined to practice, and that will be the one which you will find easier.

In general, smaller saxophones are more suitable for children than the larger instruments. If someone is trying to learn the saxophone, they need to both be able to handle the weight of it and to reach the various keys with their hands.

Which saxophone is the hardest to play? Out of the four most common saxophones, the soprano saxophone is typically considered the most difficult. The smaller mouthpiece of the soprano saxophone means that it takes more control to produce a good sound, and the smaller size of the instrument makes it difficult to control intonation.

This saxophone is massive, and only a few musicians can even produce a consistent sound on it. Is saxophone easy to play overall? Saxophone is considered to be one of the easier instruments to play overall since producing a sound out of it is much simpler than for a brass instrument or another woodwind such as flute.

In our opinion, the best student saxophone available — in terms of price vs quality — is the Yamaha YAS The pricing is also affected by the nuances of their sound, which means you need to be extremely comfortable with playing saxophone to make that decision. Sometimes, especially in the case of beginner children , it might be worth considering renting a saxophone. You can always sell them second-hand if you stop using it and buying a new sax online avoid the need to travel to a local store, go through the options and check out their rental agreement.

Whilst there are some more eccentric members of the saxophone family including the massive contrabass and the beautiful but under-appreciated C Melody , there are four common ones that most beginner saxophone students choose:. NB: the order of the keys and the musical notes they correspond to are the same on every saxophone, which is why more advanced players generally switch between at least different instruments in the family. Often straight resembling a clarinet in shape , the soprano saxophone has one of the highest ranges of all saxophones and is the third-smallest member of the sax family, following the soprillo and sopranino.

Beginners who decide to choose a soprano saxophone may want to try a few different mouthpieces on their saxophone to find one that feels right and helps produce the best tone. As a reminder, the lower numbers such as 2 will be easier to play. You can find out more about the soprano sax in our detailed guide here. Patented in , the alto saxophone is the most common saxophone on the market and is often found in school bands, marching bands, orchestras and jazz bands.

You can find our in-depth reviews of the best beginner alto saxophones here or check the table below for the quick version. Hint: our overall favourite which combines affordable pricing with good quality is the Jean Paul AS Check out Cannonball Adderley , a popular alto saxophonist in the s and 60s. The tenor saxophone looks very similar to the alto, but a little bigger.

As mentioned earlier, it is also in the same key Bb as the soprano, so alternating between those two — even on the same gig or practice session — is not too difficult. You can find our in-depth reviews of the best beginner tenor saxophones here or check the table below for the quick version.

For amazing tenor saxophone recordings, listen to Sonny Rollins, one of the most influential jazz saxophonists in American music history.