Break Away II

A saxophone or “sax” is a musical instrument which is commonly used in playing jazz, classical and reggae music. Learning how to play the saxophone can be challenging because of the complexity of the different parts of the instrument and the varied techniques that are known to properly play it. The challenges that a beginner will come across when starting to play this instrument are:

CHALLENGE 1.

Learning how to assemble the parts of the saxophone. Assembling the parts of the sax may be a bit tricky to someone not familiar with it. The saxophone is made up of the main body, the neck and the mouth piece, the reed and the ligature. There are many types of saxes that are available and steps in assembling them may not be the same. Common steps in assembling the saxophone are as follows:

1.    First, take the body and hold it in a secure manner, connect the neck of the sax to the body by applying a little pressure, remember to loosen first the screws (usually 2) on top of the body to be able to properly fit the neck to the body then tighten the screws.

2.     Connect the mouth piece on the neck of the saxophone. If the mouth piece doesn’t easily slide in, then put a little cork grease on it to do the trick. Do not force the mouth piece in or you will cause damage to the sax.

3.Attaching the reed and the ligature must be done extra carefully to avoid miscalculations which could damage the very expensive mouth piece. Place the reed in first, making sure that the flat side of the reed is facing the flat side of the mouth piece. Slowly slide it in then secure with the ligature to hold the reed in place. Tighten it firmly and its ready to be played.

CHALLENGE 2.

Learning how to do the embouchure. The embouchure is a technique required to play the sax. It is done by rolling your lower lip over your bottom teeth far enough that you cover the entire front row. Very much like the shape that your lips make when you are getting ready to whistle. Doing this technique will enhance the sound on the sax and less spit will be flowing in the sax.

CHALLENGE 3.

Proper breathing and blowing of the saxophone. Since the saxophone is an instrument that is played by blowing, strong lungs and diaphragm is needed. Breathing by the diaphragm is what helps you play the saxophone better. The stronger the breath is held, the longer a tone can be played. Long tones require a good breathing skill when playing the saxophone. Although there is a technique called the circular breathing which is particularly for playing long tones.

This technique allows you to play a long tone without pausing for breath. Learning this technique will be difficult for beginners, but taking music lessons particularly saxophone lessons may help a beginner learn this technique that if the teacher will teach it. Sax lessons may help a beginner learn fast in playing the saxophone but learning how to play it on your own is easy if a saxophone instructions manual on playing it is obtained.

CHALLENGE 4.

Fingering skills and note reading. The best part in having a saxophone is when it is played. But playing the sax does not mean just pressing the keys, learning the notes on how to play it may help you improve fast in playing this instrument.  Perhaps one or two of sax lessons and continuous practice will be enough to learn the basics of the instrument and the basic notes, and the rest will be self exploring. Notes that are played randomly may create a good music that depends on how artistic someone having this wonderful instrument is.

Mastering on how to play the saxophone takes time and a lot of effort, but once learned and became good at it, everything will be worth it.

Tags: learn saxophone, playing saxophone, saxophone lessons