Advice for Beginners: Best Tips for Playing the Saxophone

You have made a terrific choice in learning music: you've chosen to learn the saxophone. Before you become the next Charlie Parker, however, you need to have a firm grasp of the basics. There are many tricks and improvements I have learned during my years playing the saxophone. I've played alto for over five years and then moved up to tenor, which I still play after three years. For any novice players just starting to honk and squeak away to becoming a saxophonist, I hope many of my pointers will be helpful. Yet tips and advice are never enough. You have to do it yourself: practice, experiment, and persevere.

You've just gotten your first saxophone: now what? The important thing to do is not to panic. The outer shell of the instrument is festooned with lengths of brass and iron, buttons stick out at challenging angles - in short, it looks far too complicated to handle. If you have an instructor, teacher, or even a practice book, read and practice placing and moving your hands along their home positions on the horn. Don't worry about playing just yet. Simply click the home row keys until it feels natural. The intimidation factor will dissolve with time and plenty of practice.

Now comes the reed. Every saxophone player has a different way of wetting the piece of wood, which makes playing easier for them. Some play very well with a damp reed while others need only a light film of moisture to produce terrific sound. Experiment and do not be timid about finding your own individual comfort zone. This may take weeks or months, heck, even years if your playing habits change to find the perfect way to prepare your reed. Just stay adamant and continue on.

Finally, you have learned where the notes are and how to prepare the mouthpiece...time to actually play the saxophone. Early players should not fret. Squeaks and honks are always the first sounds you hear. This is because your mouth must adjust to the reed and mouthpiece, a process that can take time to find the "sweet spot." The musical term for strengthening your mouth is finding and tuning your embouchure, or the position of your mouth to the horn to produce sound. As with every step thus far, the key is practice. Focus on your mouth playing the note. Experiment with adjusting your lips and chin at different lengths along the mouthpiece. The only way to improve is to practice (I'm sure your teachers and instructors tell you this all too often, but it is the truth!) and gradually your strength as a player will come through. Practice tuning your saxophone in a group and by yourself, and also learn scales by heart (believe me it helps in the long run). Encourage other players to practice form and specifics in exercise books. They can often become tedious, but knowing your way around scales, adagios, and accents only adds to your skill and strength as a saxophonist.

Other important things to remember are the challenges of switching from sax to sax. After I played the alto saxophone for most of my school career, I purchased a tenor. Moving from one "size" of an instrument either up or down the family takes a lot of adjustment. Big factors to keep in mind are you embouchure; if you move up a member on the sax family prepare yourself for a larger reed and mouthpiece. The adjustment does take focused tweaking to get right. And again, moving down the family is just as difficult. If you started your musical career playing the baritone saxophone, don't expect yourself to play as well during your early days on the tenor or alto. Constant adjustments in the mouth, as well as slightly different fingering stretches, make switching between saxophones challenging and fun.

Ultimately, that is what playing music is about: gaining confidence and having a blast simply making music. With any luck, these tips should prepare you younger players for a lifetime of steppingstones to becoming a great saxophonist. There are always new techniques to learn - vibrato, growling, swooping, soloing - but to reach those you must earn your metals and accolades in the basics. Always keep practicing and experimenting, and always remember to persevere to harness the rewards of playing the saxophone.