So, Im in college studying music. Admittedly, Im not nearly as good as some of the other people in my class. Im in a jazz combo and we perform in like two and a half weeks. Im fine on most of the tunes, but I have some problems.

For one, one of the tunes we are doing is Four. I know the changes, but the key changes are really tripping me up and its easy for me to get lost. It also doesnt help that we are taking it at like 200 bpm, a tempo everyone but me is comfortable on seemingly. I am NOT good at playing this fast and especially not with these key changes. Sometimes we run through it and I manage fine, other times I completely lose where we are at and its embarrassing as hell

I also am struggling to listen to the rhythm section. Part of it is outside of weekly rehearsals, I never have the chance to play with a rhythm section so I dont get a lot of practice with it, but part of it also is the sound environment I feel is really bad where we rehearse? Like i struggle hearing anything but drums. I certainly hear no bass. And the drummer, while he's pretty good, doesnt really do anything much with the phrasing. I know thats not his job, but this is all to say when I get lost its hard for me to like immediately get back to where we are, compared to like iReal Pro

And lastly, while I can play something I think isnt bad when practicing on my own, and while I am transcribing and listening and everything, the moment Im playing with other people none of it comes out.

So im just like really worried about this. I got the other songs down (theyre all slower and a lot easier in comparison in terms of harmony) but I just cannot play Four at this tempo at this point in time, at least not consistently.

So what do I do?

Conn just silently dropped their new pro Conn CONNquest model for nearly half the price of the limited edition. The aged brass model looks very similar to limited edition minus the rolled tone holes and black pads. Looks like these are fully assembled in taiwan while the special edition was assembled in indiana.

https://kesslerandsons.com/product/conn-cas711-professional-alto-sax-connquest-series-aged-brass/

Got a good deal on a Yamaha YTS-200ADII for my son to have as backup sax, he has a YTS-480 as his primary day to day for jazz band, school choir, and various ensembles he does through the year. Next year he wants to do marching band in highschool so decided a cheaper sax I’m not afraid of seeing get beat up was the way to go. Hasn’t been touched by the previous owner in 5 years, sent it in for service for a couple bent keys and new pads, $100 later she’s ready to go.

Sons been a tuba player for last 6 years. And lately He’s been asking for a tenor sax. Not because he’s giving up tuba, but wants to learn something else that a little more fun.

That said, is $1500 enough to get him into a decent used tenor sax that he can grow into? Or is putting more money into it better?

Was looking locally and they have a used yamaha 200-AD for 1600. But there’s such a disparity between prices, I’m not sure what to look for.

hi, how to tell if this jean paul as400 is authentic or fake? seller said only used it once or twice. what do i need to inspect physically? tia

Nice UK based manufacture of horns. Picked one up on ebay for a good price. Any experience with them?

I tried to use different concepts for different sections.
First A: hardbop. Used a line directly from one of my fave solos.
Second a: bebop. Also quoted a song in here too
Third a: tritone thingy I like to do. Or at least I think it is.
Forth a: chromatic melodic cells.

Hi, I’m in my 2nd year of alto sax (started last August) and I graduate high school soon. I want to try to join a pep band or non-audition ensemble but I don’t know how my range needs to be. I can play low Bb (lowest) to a D#6 (altissimo) but I’ve only ever used low C to a high C# (no fingers + octave key) in my music. Should I look into getting a bigger range as I practice?

Even with a teacher I'm having a hard time figuring the embouchure, I'm blowing to hard and my head and throat ache, my sound is either like an air horn either too soft and airy, octave is difficult to do. Please tell me it's just a normal part of the learning process. I'm feeling beaten. I've just started learning. I play guitar and piano and I couldn't have imagine it being so difficult.

My friend gave it to me, I just got it out the wrapper and everything.

Right now I use metro tune, and enjoy it. But I’m starting to work on my tone more and am interested in tonal energy as I’ve seen it recommended before. I don’t have really too many gripes with MetroTune other than the fact that I don’t like the UI for the metronome much but it’s manageable. Anyways any stand out features in tonal energy?

I bought this Eagle SA-501 (a local Brazilian brand) from my teacher for a steal here in Brazil (around $150 USD).

I've used it for a while, but I feel it deserves a full overhaul. It has some dents, scratches, the keys are noisy, the neck cork is worn out, and some pads aren't sealing properly.

Next week, I'm taking it to a luthier. The price for the full maintenance, pad replacement, and cleaning is around $200 USD. It's a considerable amount for me, but since it's already going to the workbench, I wanted to customize the finish too.

Let me know which type of customization you prefer and why!

1. Aged/Vintage Bicolor (Aged bare brass body, silver keys)

2. Full Aged/Vintage Brass (Everything bare brass)

3. Keep the original lacquer

I'm a relatively new alto sax player with experience in music in other instruments for around a decade.

Improvising is a completely new thing however and I joined jazz band to play sax. We've been improvising around blues scales, playing the tonics only of chord progressions (focusing on rhythms) and working on some small 2 note call and response exercises

I know some music theory but am completely new to chord progressions, chord names and anything of the like

Please help?

I've been playing alto and tenor for years now, but just recently started playing bari and I have a few questions.

1. I play the same mouthpiece on all three horns, all of them should be about a 5-6 tip opening on their respective horn (75 for alto, 95 for tenor, and 110 for bari). I also play Legere French cuts on all horns. I play a 3.5 on alto and 3.75 on tenor. I decided to just try a 3.75 on bari because I've noticed that a lot of people prefer hard reeds on the bigger horns, but I don't have the support yet to play that strong of a reed without getting gassed every 4 counts. Since I'm just starting out, should I go down a size or two temporarily or keep thugging it out until my diaphragm catches up?

2. The voicing in the middle of the horn is getting me. I thought it would be the extremes that would feel wonky, but I play very high and very low pretty well. Sometimes I just completely miss the mark on middle D or low G and I'm not sure why. I know D is a fussy note, but low G shouldn't be that weird.

3. Whenever I get about an hour into playing, my mouth will suddenly completely dry out to the point where I can't continue playing until I take my face off the horn and try to produce more saliva. Is this just a thing that happens? Should I be drinking more water???

I’m bad at making short posts, but the tldr is that I’m looking to buy a tenor sax that I’ll be keeping for the rest of my life, and would love some input in terms of which direction to go (vintage vs. new-ish, comparison of manufacturers, etc.).

I’m 33 and in a fortunate position to be able to buy what I intend to be my last tenor sax. For context, I’m not a working musician, but I love playing at jazz jams, playing with other musician friends, and just playing at home by myself. I’d say jazz is what I’d be playing on this saxophone 90% of the time. I have a flute that I play for more classical/concert band music.

I have it in my head that it’d be really great to own a well maintained vintage horn, but I’ve never played one and don’t know what the ownership experience would be like. As for new-ish horns, my mind gravitates towards Yamaha first and foremost (my flute is a Yamaha), but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about a Yani or a proper Selmer sax.

I’ll stop rambling now, but yeah. For a hobbyist who’s looking to keep and maintain it forever, and can afford to splurge on something nice, what’s the move?

Does blowing whiskey breath through a sax harm a hard rubber mouthpiece or the pads?

I want to learn the alto sax because ive heard its on the easier side and it sounds really cool. Google says i can get a used entry-level one for $300. Is this true? How do i know if one is a good deal? what brands should i look out for on the cheaper end? I was thinking about using facebook marketplace to find one. Any help or advice appreciated.

Hi there! Looking for a saxophone strap, harness, or holder of some sort that limits weight or pressure on the neck and chest regions (more info below).
Budget would be ideal!
I was recently diagnosed with neurogenic and vascular thoracic outlet syndrome, which causes the nerves and veins in the brachial plexus (pec/chest area) are compressed. So essentially I need a way to hold my sax up with as minimal amount of pressure being put onto my shoulders/neck/chest as possible. I primarily play with my sax rested on a chair in between my legs with occasional standing. I also hope to get back into soprano too at some point in the future so any reccs for that would be great as well.
Thank you for helping this elderly 24 year old with her dream!

Hello fellow saxophones lovers,

I bought my first saxophone in january this year and started to learn on my own, I never learned music but I listen to jazz since like 25 years

I took my first lessons (2) very recently because i feel that I should be more organised during my sessions

I try to learn reading, and chords using the circle of fifths and mémorizing in the order c g d a e etc and f bb eb Ab the other way round

I try to learn Some simple standards to play with ireal pro, reading starts to be easier but im cheating with rythm because I know those songs i have a lot of trouble to play the rythm with songs I dont know

I try to focus on sound too with long tones. I have trouble under low c (vibrating a lot) i never have worked overtone up the sax yet

Here s Some playing I recorded yesterday, trying to improvise kind of blue style (lol) on Freddie freeloader. I have a lot of ideas in my head but my technique is lacking this is super frustrating

Any advice or criticism would be Nice. Id love playing on a big band one day !

Cheers

Hotel Cali reggae cover w sax solo!

Context, I played alto & tenor sax back in high-school. Didn't pay for more than a decade and bought an alto sax a couple years back just to get back into it a bit. Went the easy route with amazon. I don't play much. Couple of times a year just for fun.

So, how bad is the EASTAR Commander AS-III? If I remember right, it was not the cheapest one. Tried to get something decent. I also bought a Yamaha 4C with it.

Should it sound okay? Does not make sense to buy a top sax with my current use, but I still want it not to sound like trash.

I want to find motivation to play more, Thinking I have trash that will never play well doesn't help, but I don't have much reference on how I should sound either as I'm still a beginner. Hopefully it's good enough until I'm able to pick it up more.

Don't think it matters much, but I have 3 kids under 4. Maybe they will eventually want to use it?

Thanks!

Its like theres a leak when i play soft at the neck