Anyone have thoughts on whether this is genuine or not?

I am about to get all of my saxes serviced if I can find the right person to do it. I have never done this before (and my saxophones know it!) So wanted to ask for tips on how to know that someone is good at this, other than seeing previous work.

There are very few places near me that do it and i dont want to just go to the nearest one (which is still an hour away!) because they are closest (although they do have good reviews!)

So what do i ask and what do i look for in a repairs/servicing person before handing over my precious instruments?

I’m 31 with a small business and a child. I can realistically only play around 30-50 mins per day if I’m lucky.

Used to play guitar when I was a teenager but stopped because I got stuck bc I never learned theory. Now I’m amending that.

I bought a trumpet and played for 2 months and then I read/realized it’s extremely demanding of time to get to play decently. So now I’m looking for something a bit more simple

My favorite instrument after trumpet is soprano sax but I’ve read it’s a bit tricky. But there’s one selling in my area for kind of cheap. I read another way to start is to learn clarinet which also has the convenience of being extremely portable.

I want to do this for myself so I’m not against the idea that learning whatever instrument I end up playing is going to take me years.

TLDR Should I just get the soprano sax and power through or let my wallet rest a bit and get a clarinet for a couple of years and then make the switch. Final goal would still be soprano sax.

Hi all! I bought a YAS-62III alto new 4 months ago. I love this instrument! Really happy with it.

On the same day, I bought a Protec Micro Zip case (BM304CT):

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTBM304CT--protec-bm304ct-micro-zip-abs-alto-saxophone-case

So far, I’ve been using the original Yamaha case, even when I travel. To be honest I’m kind of scared to try out the Protec. It’s so small, and I’m a little worried about fit given it’s not a Yamaha case (though Protec says the YAS-62III is compatible).

Curious what others do. Do you stick with the original Yamaha case or do you use something else?

I think I’d be willing to bring the sax with me more often if I could use the smaller case, but I don’t have a scratch yet (knock on wood) and don’t want to start now!

Appreciate any insight.

I have one alto reed remaining and at the time being i dont have any money for more. How do i make it last long. And also how do i avoid mold. Please dont tell me about reed cases i know they exist but i cant afford them at the momment.

I plan on getting a tenor and getting lessons but not sure which to get? This is a store I may go to.

Link:

https://victorlitz.com/?s=Tenor+saxophone+&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1

I have had this saxophone for a few years, is it real or a duplicate?

So unfortunately the saxophone I was looking at before were sold so these are the next two I was looking at, looks for thoughts and opinions on each horn

I play alto sax, I’ll tell you if you got it correct in the comments.

I’m going back to alto after playing tenor for about a year and a half and looking for some alto sax repretoire/etudes to practice with! I’ve got the universal sax book already, so feel free to recommend from that or some other studies/practice songs!

Thank you!

I found this old saxophone mouthpiece in a box of my old things. Never used it when I played saxophone. Appears to be a metal Selmer Jazz C** mouthpiece. It’s scratched and tarnished but I think it would still work. I don’t plan to sell it or anything, just wanted to know anything about it! When was it made? Is it for tenor? Is it a rarer piece? Any info literally at all would be cool!

Did y’all watch YouTube videos, attend music lessons outside of school, or etc?

Btw, I am a flute player that has been playing for 2 years, so hopefully I have a advantage on playing the saxophone? I plan on switching.

Here's a fun cartoon about a giant Saxophone. They are really only good for making videos of the owner playing low notes. But what fun!

If anyone is doing midstate for TN has jazz music released yet. For some reason they haven’t posted any of their music including the classical piece which I have it on their site and I don’t wanna get behind. If so could you lmk you may be able to email it to me or smth

When I jam along (I don't know if its the right term but I mean when playing over a song ) I sometimes set it at lower speed and still manege to not sound good ,I can match the pace whit my fingers but I cant toungue it fast enough.

I think I might have flaws in my technique.

I want the know what is right technique and maybe some tips

I am a classical saxophone player interested in playing jazz. What are a few things I can add into my practice session that would help me learn the language, get the jazz style tone, and learn tunes?

Sophomore Cornell alto player here. I wrote an article about 12 keying lines and how that relates to transcription and general improvisation.

The problem I keep seeing in every program I've been in is that someone knows 20 great lines or 25 solos by heart, and three of them ever come out. They never use the fragments they transcribed, or during a solo they just play the whole memorized solo start to finish, which isn't improvising. I thought about how I navigated this issue, and here is what worked for me:

1. Transcribe to use, not only for the sake of transcribing. It's good to transcribe to get a better hold of the language, but keep and practice the lines you can't stop humming. If a line doesn't resonate with you, drop it. There's unlimited vocabulary and very limited practice time, and transcribing just to not use any of what you learned is a waste.
2. Weight toward lines that move the same way, rather than a greatest-hits mix. Coltrane is almost entirely stepwise. Cannonball is angular and willing to jump. If you splice one into the other before you own either, it sounds really mechanical, like two different people are playing.
3. Keep about ten (ballpark figure), a few each across major, minor, ii-V, dominant, altered, etc.
4. Make sure they start in different places. When you improvise you don't only arrive on the root, you come off the last phrase wherever it left you. If all ten start the same way there's one place you can grab them from. More options give you more tools when it's your time to solo. Coming in on the & of 1 instead of beat 1 changes a line more than moving the starting degree does.
5. Twelve key your lines by ear first. I cycle in fourths because that's how tunes actually move, so that's how you want it in your hands, but chromatic works too. Notation and writing them down lets you read your way through the hard keys instead of hearing your way through them, and hearing it is the point. Write it out afterwards if you want to check yourself. Also a good fingers exercise to practice at high tempos.
6. Chaining. Line A ends on a note, line B starts on that note, now it's one phrase instead of two licks. Bridge with a half step when they don't meet, or use whatever is natural. Best method to practice improvisation with what you learned.
7. Isolate and memorize turnarounds. Highest chord density in the form and it always arrives before you're ready, so just memorize phrases to get through it or spend practice time sounding it out instead of when you're soloing. Honestly, just memorize the changes in general.
8. Write your own lines using the devices you took from the ones you stole.

I think it's good to make the distinction that purely mechanical practice is bad. However, purely instinctive is worse. In a solo you don't have time to think, so whatever you reach for is whatever's already there. If nothing's under your fingers, "playing what you hear" turns into playing random notes. Lines aren't supposed to make your playing mechanical; they're supposed to give you the tools to employ when you're actually playing in a band.

Full article is here if you want to read more: https://www.reharmonize.app/blog/art-of-the-12-key-lines

Curious what you'd change or add. And if you think this approach is backwards, what would you have a student do instead?

So I just picked up a tenor for cheap ($40) to use as a practice piece for dent/solder/etc work and was curious what anyone knows about the mfg/model.

I did some searching and didn't find much, certainly nothing that looks like mine, also I can't find a serial number anywhere.

You can barely make out "La Monte Superior" on the player facing side of the horn and a very small amount of work on the front but otherwise it's very unassuming. Left table looks familiar but I cannot place it.

Thanks everyone!

she doesn’t know how to play unfortunately

ok so basically I have a free play audition coming up for a like academical honors music club and I was wondering if any of yall know what I should play. here’s the group and their respective instrument: Me: alto sax, bari sax, maybe piano not that confident 😅 Friend 1: Clarinet Friend 2: flute, bass guitar, and guitar. I was thinking maybe a duet with flute and Bari but than a friend 1 joined and I can’t find sheet music for all 3

jammed this with friends, first time playing resolution with other people. Not very clean and no bass, but man so fun. Coltrane’s music is what got me into jazz, so it’s incredible I get to play it with others.

one of my students found an Oxford alto for $800 but I can’t find any info on these instruments. I have to imagine it’s a stencil but it seems unrelated to the B&H oxford stencils. One of the blurbs said they are manufactured in New York.

Anyone know anything? Have you played on one of these?

I know that most of the songs that are like the one that I want to play on my alto doesn't have any sheet music just floating around but I want to play some songs to impress some of my friends and I have a idea for what song they would like if anyone would give some other music similar to it. The song is Keep the Wolves Away by Uncle Lucius. If any of yall can find sheet music for the song or songs by him or songs like it, it would be much help.