Klarinet Archive - Posting 000486.txt from 2004/11

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] RE: soprano sax teacher for beginner
Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 12:51:25 -0500

I agree... but... (isn't there always a but?)

Yamaha now makes a very reasonably priced soprano sax (YSS-475, I believe)
which can be found used for under $1000. A very nice instrument for not
much more than a student alto or tenor. The Yamaha 4C mouthpiece can also
be a very effective mouthpiece for beginners and professionals alike. In
the $20-30 range and free with the aforementioned YSS-475.

If a student is hell bent on being a soprano sax player, so be it. From a
pedagogical point, I like the fact that the soprano requires a student to
pay attention to fundamentals. There is, of course, a lack of playing
opportunities for a soprano sax (only) player. Perhaps this student aspires
to play in acid-jazz-rock-klezmer-<insert style here> band, though.

To relate this to the clarinet, I would love to start all saxophone
students on clarinet for a whole host of reasons. If a student tells me
they can't decide between clarinet and saxophone I encourage them to play
clarinet. If a student absolutely wants to play saxophone then I encourage
them to play saxophone. Pedagogical advantages rarely outweigh a students
preference for one instrument or another.

Besides, Percy Grainger favored the soprano saxophone. How bad can it
really be? Please don't answer this question =).

-Adam

At 11:10 AM 11/13/2004 -0600, Lacy, Edwin wrote:
>This caught my attention, because as a saxophone teacher, it doesn't
>seem to me that beginning on the soprano sax is a particularly good
>choice. Unless the student has a top-of-the-line professional
>instrument, with a top quality mouthpiece and reeds to match, the
>soprano sax can be a really cranky and idiosyncratic instrument. While
>the student is learning the mechanical parts of saxophone playing, it
>would seem to be to be advantageous if he didn't also have to deal with
>the difficult characteristics of the soprano. I would have recommended
>to the student that they begin on the alto sax, or even the tenor. I
>think that in a later message it was mentioned that the student in
>question is an adult, but even so, there would be special problems to
>contend with.
>
>Would anyone care to either agree or disagree with this point of view?

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