 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Lani
Date: 2006-01-17 03:40
Hello all,
Just wanted to share my joy with you at having had one brief but exciting go of an Alto Sax for the first time. I'm an intermediate clarinetist and have both a Tenor and Alto sax on loan to see which one I prefer. I plan to give both a good whirl before deciding what my 2nd instrument will be.
Any suggestions to help choose between the two?
I plan to practice chromatic scales, arpeggios and penatonics just to get a feel of their differences... any other suggestions?
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2006-01-17 06:04
Lani,
I bought an alto sax a few years ago and was amazed at how easy it was to play after having learnt the clarinet. I've also played a tenor sax - but only for a few minutes.
Now I regret not buying a tenor in the first place. The tone is beautiful - much nicer than the alto.
But there's another reason as well. The alto is in Eb and the tenor is Bb. I have children who play piano and trumpet (Bb) so trying to play anything together became a nightmare. At least with the tenor, you can join in more easily with others - unless you're a genius at transposing - which I'm not!
Steve
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Author: Chalumeau Joe
Date: 2006-01-17 11:47
Lani/Steve,
How was the embrochure switch for you? I've been attempting to play my son's alto sax for several months -- while it sounds OK, it still doesn't feel natural in my mouth.
Joe
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2006-01-17 12:54
I wouldn't say that Tenor is any more beautiful than Alto.
Possibly consider this:
if you were suddenly given a Clarinet job and you had a choice of playing either bass clarinet or eb clarinet, which one would it be - high or low?
Do you like a larger, lower instrument?
Are your favorite players on Sax primarily Alto or Tenor players?
Do you have the air for Tenor? (not do you have enough air, but are you comfortable with that amt of air for playing)
And lastly, are both instruments in the same condition (not a clunker alto and a great tenor, etc)?
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2006-01-17 12:58
Joe,
I'm certainly no expert; in fact I got the sax just to mess around with rather than take seriously.
The embouchure is a lot more relaxed than that for the clarinet. You have to experiment to find the best position. I understand about not feeling natural, but isn't that just because you're so used to the clarinet?
What I found funny was that unlike the clarinet, the high notes seem easier to get out than the low.
It's a great instrument and fun to play, but for me it doesn't quite have the same soul stirring effect as the clarinet.
Steve
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Author: archer1960
Date: 2006-01-17 13:29
Stevensfo said:
> What I found funny was that unlike the clarinet, the high notes seem easier
> to get out than the low.
Absolutely true. I played Bb clarinet, and then my band directors (at different schools) asked me to play Bari Sax and Contrabass Clarinet. The low notes on the Bari were definitely the hardest to get to speak properly. I'd say that on the contrabass, they were pretty much all about the same difficulty, while the on the Sop Cl the highest notes were toughest.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-01-17 14:28
The good thing about saxes is the high notes up to top F# are still in 2nd harmonics - all reached by the LH palm and RH side keys, and all modern saxes have the same mechanism no matter which part of the world you're in - not like flute, oboe, clarinet or bassoon that have regional differences, and even then they can be very different from player to player as well!
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Author: archer1960
Date: 2006-01-17 15:42
Wait until the sax has had a couple hundred more years of evolution and see if they're still all the same. They have a ways to go to catch up with the other woodwinds...
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2006-01-17 16:05
Lani, the alto is often the lead of the saxophone section. Because it plays higher than the rest of the saxes (tenor, bari) it can tend to stand out. (Think of the piccolo or the oboe.) Tenor music in concert band is the most boring music I have ever played. But in jazz band/ensemble it has the most solos of any instrument.
My wife the clarinetist who started sax this year sez all sax music is incredibly easy compared to the standard clarinet fare. Having started to learn how to play clarinet this year, I have to agree with her. She plays the alto because she likes the smaller size. She can play tenor and bari, but prefers not to.
So try them both, and see what you prefer. I love the sound of the tenor but like the challenge of the alto/lead thang. And every once in a while I just need to play bari. :o)
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
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Author: SolidRockMan
Date: 2006-01-17 16:25
I play clarinet and alto sax. I like the sax, but love the clarinet.
To get those lower notes out on the sax (and to have any success producing a good tone) it is critical to use the correct embouchure - an "O" shape with the lips.
The fact that the alto is pitched in Eb is no big deal once you get used to it. However if you intend to play with a group where guitars or keyboard are the dominant instruments (like me!) you will have to learn some awkward keys such as F#, B and C#.
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Author: Grant
Date: 2006-01-17 16:31
I playe alto in highschool dance band and enjoyed it but later got a chance to play tenor to help out in a friends band and it was love at first honk. I think I feel more comfortable on a b-flat instrument. My wife plays clarinet and alto sax in two bands and she doen't care for the tenor. We both have trouble with the low notes could it be our embouchres aren't relaxed enough?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-01-17 17:25
I play the low notes with a fairly tight embouchure (to keep the tone under control) but with plenty of breath support - that's the key thing about low notes on saxes, they need plenty of breath support. Practice long low notes at all volume levels.
Don't treat saxes like clarinet in that you tighten your embouchure as you go up - on sax you'll end up going painfully sharp, so keep a steady embouchure across the range.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-01-17 19:24
Yo,
Suggestion: Play a soprano sax. Not much demand for it, but it can be a sweet, sweet horn.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-17 20:02
I can't resist joining in on a sax thread. I am now tussling with putting 4 pads, with other adj's, on a 42,4xx {Super ??} Selmer alto, much earlier than my M 6, 89,xxx, but much the same. Does anyone have ser # info readily available ?? Its well-worn, "loose", but still bright-playing [with my old Sel C** mp], most problems are on the bottom notes [as usual]. Prob, with restoration, its worth a "mint" ??. Comments? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Gandalfe
Date: 2006-01-17 20:06
Sounds like an SBA. Check here: http://www.saxworx.com/selmer.htm. These are highly prized instruments. There's one on eBay right now with seven bids at $6550. Check it here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Selmer-Super-Balanced-Action-SBA-Tenor-Saxophone_W0QQitemZ7381521489QQcategoryZ16234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Jim and Suzy
Pacifica Big Band
Seattle, Washington
Post Edited (2006-01-17 20:10)
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Author: bcl1dso
Date: 2006-01-17 20:12
I personally think alto sax is kind of insulting or any sax to the clarinet family. Clarinet takes so much more focus in the embouchure and time spent that you can just go an play alto and sound decent is insulting to me. But what do I know
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Author: johnsonfromwisconsin
Date: 2006-01-17 22:36
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I personally think alto sax is kind of insulting or any sax to the clarinet family. Clarinet takes so much more focus in the embouchure and time spent that you can just go an play alto and sound decent is insulting to me. But what do I know
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It is not accurate to say that you can neglect embochure technique in saxophone playing and still get a "good" sound, if that is what you are insinuating. I don't believe proper tone production or embochure development is any easier on saxophone considering how bad the average Jr High sax player sounds compared to their clarinet peers.
-JfW
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-01-17 23:02
And then there's baritone sax - I hear too many people honking away at these with no consideration for any tone quality, and they give us bari players a bad name.
We don't all play in a loud, buzzy, weak and uncontrolled manner.
Sax embouchure isn't really any easier or less developed than clarinet embouchure - it's just different.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-01-18 14:54
Well said, sax players, I agree that embouchure and it's control "mechanism" is of great importance to play well, yes, C P, many bari players need to bring out the horn's possibilities, also on our? [my] f[r]iend, the much-maligned alto cl !! TKS, Gandalfe, yes likely an SBA or?Super? model. On back, an M D friend asked my help on selling his Selmer sax and LeBlanc cl, and his turned out to be an SBA in FINE codition, so I headed to Tulsa to get competent opinion [and info from the Brass and Sax book]. The last I heard, it sold [abroad] via Wichita Band for more than 5 grand. I'm glad my conscience told me to NOT offer peanuts for it. An interesting experience !! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Kel
Date: 2006-01-19 00:45
What Chris P said can't be emphasized enough. Saxes require air support. And a sax needs to be in good adjustment to play low notes.
It's trite, but true...saxophone is easy to play, but hard to play well. It's easier to get a good sound from clarinet than from sax.
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Author: Lani
Date: 2006-01-19 02:09
I've only played a couple of hours but am really having lots of trouble with the lowest Alto notes B and A.
They went in and out and had subtone ... even when starting at the top of the scale and slowly going down.
Everything else I can get the notes without getting the higher octave...
Is it me and my embrouchure or could it be pad positioning?
Post Edited (2006-01-19 02:16)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2006-01-19 02:34
Lani wrote:
> I've only played a couple of hours but am really having lots of
> trouble with the lowest Alto notes B and A.
Bb and B ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK
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Author: Lani
Date: 2006-01-19 06:02
Thank you... very helpful references, especially the embochure ones.
I'll try them this weekend.
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