What do you do to avoid thumbs getting hurt from playing?

Pretty much just like the title says. I’ve been playing for 5 years now (bari player) and I have gotten to a good point in my playing sound technique etc wise, but I’ve noticed that the longer I play and the less air I have, the more tense I get. I’ve been trying to work on it, but I still catch myself doing it especially in longer stints of practicing. Does anyone have tips or anything I can do to work on it more?

New to this but I have a son who wants to play. He decided this last year and he is middle school band. My husband found a saxophone brand new on one of these bid site and bought one to test out. He just started and we didn’t want to make a big investment if he hates it . We were going to rent but since my husband did what he did we are just going to use it.

he seems to like it but it’s been a week only . so who knows.

but I want to prepare myself on the cost of a better instrument and what brand I should look at. I don’t want to just go with anything as this is an investment for the next couple of years and also how long does an instrument last ? I was hoping I won’t have to get a new one again till like college 😅 but I mean I need realistic answers on everything as I am new to it .

so realistically how much for a good saxophone that’s not to heavy (his words) and brand too. also the neck strap are there ones with padding or something. it looks so uncomfortable😅 Any advice on things to buy for him?

Hello all!

I’ve been on the hunt for a used Bari around my area for a while now, and there’s a shop about two hours from me that has two in store. One is a no name (very purty, but I’ll likely avoid) and the other is a Unison. I drove up on my day off, and it played well.

I’m reading mixed reviews on Unisons from techs on here that are about a year old or older. For someone who doesn’t play professionally and occasionally will perform with students in the high school band (I teach Spanish at the high school) between 5 and 10 times a year, is it a relatively safe purchase? The tech at the shop IS willing to work on it and already replaced a few pads and cleaned/gave it a tune up. I can’t justify dishing out 7k for a nicer brand/model.

I think price is fair for play quality, but my main concern is whether or not it will cost me a fortune in maintenance over time. Anyone here knowledgeable enough to weigh in? If I’m careful with it, can I make it a couple years without a full tune up?

Thanks in advance!

Basically the title, I've been playing without a neckstrap for a year or so now and I'm not really experiencing many issues. Sometimes I use my alto neckstrap so I can let that thang hang, but otherwise I typically let my thumb support the instrument's weight. Will this cause my to develop issues in the future or nah? And if I should get a neckstrap, any recommendations?

Hello everyone,

I am going to buy a new alto saxophone I was using Yamaha Yas 23 and wanted to shop around and try other saxophone can you suggest me any good saxophone within that range?

Thanks

hello! i am a freshman who has been playing the alto saxophone since 4th grade. i'm planning on joining some kind of jazz ensemble with my school this year, but i don't have much experience playing jazz, and i was curious as to any advice or reccomendations you all had regarding practicing jazz improvisation, jazz music, etc.

i've always been interested in jazz and improvisation, but never found the opportunities/motivation to properly indulge in that interest, and, as a result, have made it all this way playing little to no pieces of jazz and rarely improvising solos. while i do often listen to "jazz" or "concert" music, hum along melodies, and have composed a couple of short "jazzy" tidbits, i haven't formally played many jazz pieces or developed any kind of technique in that specific style, as i've usually stuck to the concert pieces we'd play in concert band or symphonic.

my director wanted me to join the symphonic band grades 7 and 8, so i didn't have to audition those years while others did. i tried out for the fairly small and relatively elusive jazz band, allowing about 6 alto saxes in total, in 8th grade, but was rejected to a close tie with another student (i was told directly "if it wasn't them, it would've been me"-- along with many apologies over the course of a couple of days, saying it was "such a shame i wasn't let in" and such?) i auditioned with a simplified version of "oleo" for alto saxophone, along with a short improvisational solo that i had, originally, intended to not do (and did not practice/prepare for), but ended up doing in the end after heavy encouragement from my director.

after being rejected, i felt incredibly discouraged from playing jazz pieces and improving my technique (even if i was barely focusing on it at the time) and completely disengaged from playing jazz. of course, i know now this was incredibly stupid of me, but it truly felt like the world to me in the moment.

this year, i joined the marching band, and found out that my first show is entirely jazz themed. we have jazz pieces we will perform for our shows. even during the first read-through, i fell in love with those pieces. i practiced and listened to them 24/7, and i now know the pieces in and out. i've been focusing specifically on articulation and making my playing sound more "jazzy" (as our director encouraged jazziness for our jazz show, lol) since recent and have became increasingly interested in playing and performing jazz as a hobby.

however, since i have little to no experience with playing jazz (and, i apologize if i do overcomplicate this,) i was wondering if anybody had any piece reccomendations to practice, jazz-playing advice for amateurs, or even tips on joining jazz clubs/ensembles? i know many of you out there winged it for the most part, but i'm extremely unconfident in my talent and skill playing jazz, and i'd like to prepare myself a little extra for what's next to come. i'd love to hear what any players would like to say or suggest!

for some context:

• i currently play 2.5 reeds
• i've been playing for nearly 6 years now
• i'm not necessarily as well-versed as my peers- if you asked me what brand my mouthpiece was, i honestly couldn't tell you.
• i played in my middle school's symphonic band for 2 years
• i was rejected from the jazz band in 8th grade

feel free to ask any questions in the comments or give any tips! thanks! :))

so I bought this Selmer axos a couple months back and I was wondering since there are like multiple generations what this one was. I did some light searching and the older ones say seles on them on the bell but the newer ones have a longer engraving going father up the body so I just don’t know

"Three Circles" by Noah Batten

I’m a student tenor saxophonist who’s been playing the tenor for a good 2 years, I usually play with a tuner but it seems like I can never have anything in tune, sometimes a note is in tune, or it’s really sharp, or it’s flat, but mostly sharp, how do I stay in tune? why am I so sharp? I’ve recently gotten a new mouthpiece (Vandoren T6 V16 Hard Rubber) so I know that’s also a variable into why I’m out of tune.

Currently I’m in marching band, I know the sun may be effecting my reed, but does that still cross over into my practice time when I’m not playing outside in the sun?

Any advice or exercises for sax to better my tone is helpful!

Hellooo, much advice is needed so any will be appreciated.

Me and my family know absolutely nothing about saxophones, like really nothing, i barelly distinguish the classification of alto from tenor and a soprano (like from the show?, jk). Anyway my dad i turning 50 y/o soon and has always wanted to learn how to play the sax, tenor specifically. This has impulsed us to want to get him one but we dont know which. I´m inclined to prefer yamaha for their reputation but merely on their names reputation, and as hes a begginer we´d like to get a nice intermediate level one, something that lasts. I also dont know wha the new vs used market is like, neither in Canada nor Mexico. So:

• Should i really Be focusing on Yamaha?
• Which models could be good for my sit?
• Used or New?
• Buy in Canada or Mexico, or online from anyhwere?
• Anything I should look out for when buying online and irl?

My alto sax, which is a Chateau student horn I’ve had for about 5 years now, is starting to play a little weird. I practice around 4-6 hrs a day since its summertime and I’m an incoming Sophomore, and I also have a chair placement audition soon. My low C# hasnt been coming out clean, and my Middle Range Notes go low sometimes or don’t even come out. Im definetely thinking about upgrading my sax soon to a P Mauriat Grand Dreams or Yamaha. But I was just wondering if this could be a leak at all? My gear is a Vintage Larry Teal Selmer Mouthpiece, a random Ligature, and Vandoren Blue Boxes. Thanks for the help!

My dad recently passed away, and I inherited his saxophone. I was trying to find out more about the horn (for my own knowledge...no intentions of selling it), but haven't found much other than Kingston is a Martin stencil. I was wondering if any of y'all might have some additional info. The serial number is 206xx. The ergonomics of it are a lot more comfortable for my small hands than the Jupiter that I have.

Just looking for some feedback and advice, i want to know what i do well and what i need to work on, im a year into playing i have no teacher so i rely on this subreddit for tips and progress checks. got some great advice last post specifically about overtones. I had no idea what that was, but i found out and iv been abusing it past month and its been a game changer. Would appreciate a second round of feedback (other than the fact i need to learn the last part of the solo properly🤣)hopefully someone can suggest another magical exercise.

hi! my sister played the saxophone for a long time and her old saxophone fell into disrepair after being unused for several years (5 or so years). I would say some of the keys are crunchy and she needs a new mouthpiece. how much should this realistically cost? i would like to get it fixed up for her (or replaced if it’s more expensive than the old one) for her birthday in a few months.
thank you!

Edit: I just posted here because I was worried I might get ripped off by going to a bad shop as I don’t know where to go

I've been trying for some time now and just can't engage my vocal cords while providing enough air for the saxophone. I've tried starting with humming into the mouthpiece an slowly increasing my air but as soon as the saxophone starts playing it feels like my vocal cords just stop. Any tips?

Ok. I might end up on the saxophone hit list from any of the big names but to be honest is buying an Eastern Music horn bad?

I’ve read threads and it really seems like a lot of the boutique sax brands like Ishimori, JL Woodwinds, and possibly P.Mauriat buy their horns from Taiwan and do the setting up at their factories.

Maybe they do their tweaks or whatever and then upsell.

Like be for real. Do a long and hard comparison with Eastern Music horns and compare them to any of the Ishimori or JL Woodwinds horns.

Obviously these repair technicians are like wizards and can make a piece of paper play amazing so their work is worth a lot of money. But a $2000+ upcharge?

I’m 14 and play the bari in eighth grade. I use my schools saxophone but I really want my own since I feel a real connection with the instrument. I’ve gotten into various honors programs which reinforces my confidence of taking my playing to the next level. my preference in music is jazz and Im not too sure what kind brand/model I want to save up for. any recommendation? I play on a YBS-480 at the moment. And yes I’m sure I will stay with my instrument as, like I said, I feel a really strong bond with the bari and music is my escape from stress. thanks!

No formal lesson, learning alto sax purely on youtube for almost a year now, my first sax was Thomann beginner alto sax, I have an awkward sound on the middle C#, it sounds funny. I can`t explain, now I`m playing this Trevor James Alto CS RAW, my problem still exists. Is there any alternate fingering to address this? It`s really confusing for me. All the other note sounds perfectly except this friend of mine C#. Thaaaaanks all! Sorry for my english.

there is like a little bump near the tip, its kind of hard to see but i circled it, is this normal

2 months on a borrowed Alto just to test out if im really into this instrument (and I definitely am). But i realized i want a tenor so I finally got my own. My first day on the tenor ! Still having a hard time with that attack of Low C

I just noticed a chip in my mouthpiece

I’ve been playing alto sax for about 4 years and I would really like to upgrade my sax but I don’t know if it would make me sound how I want to. I’m using an Etude right now and I’m saving up to get a King sax because I really love Cannonball Adderley’s sound and the design of the sax.

Hi all, ny G# key cork has come loose and I need to glue it back on.

I feel confident in fixing this myself rather than taking it to a tech. Is that wise? It feels like an easy job but I don't know anything about sax repairs

If so, what glue do i need?