Hi, I'd like to start transcribing solos but don't know where to start. I can play anything pop related in a matter of minutes but jazz is obviously quite different because of articulation ghost notes and things like that so it's much harder on me. I was thinking of starting with Ella's solo on all of me because I listen to it all the time but it's a bit harder than I thought. I was wondering what you guys would recommend. Thank you !

I have some talented alto and bari players that I'd like to put on separate parts. Any suggestions on where to find music (preferably christmassy, but I'll take what I can get) for this instrumentation? Or even anything with 2 bari parts?

I'm a pretty serious classical alto player (played for 11 years, including 2 1/2 years of tertiary study) and have a decent sense of the kinds of things to practice everyday to improve my technique in that kind of "sound world". I've played a bit of jazz, mostly in high school and blow through some tunes once every couple of weeks but I'm looking to incorporate some things into daily practice to improve my jazz sound but more importantly, "creativity" in improvising.

I have a seperate mouthpiece/lig setup for jazz, and worry practicing long tones in aiming for a non-classical tone would hurt my classical muscle memory.

I know it's beyond cliché, but I especially want to move towards a clear, but not restrictive thought process when soloing. Any suggestions for exercises to help develop my ability to blow through changes with conviction would be much appreciated!

I have an audition for a big band that I'm confident I'll get in for (not to be overconfident, but it's 3 bands, 2 altos per. and not an unbelievably high standard), but I still want to do improve as much as I can before then. I'm probably preparing "You Must Believe in Spring" or "Spain" (though I can't find a backing track with the intro) - transcribing the Phil Woods (live, w/ Michel Legrand) and Eric Marienthal (with the late great Chick Corea) recordings. I figured these tunes lean into my strengths, sound and technique wise, but am open to suggestions 🙃

Cheers in advance !

Hi! I just joined reddit for this lol. I am applying for a competition and am having trouble picking out what to play. The maximum time limit is 12 minutes, but I'd feel weird playing a four minute piece like Bozza Aria. The deadline is January 1st, does anyone have any recommendations?

Its the american virtuoso international competition and I'm in the young artist group.

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a PDF of the Christmas Real Book in Eb. I have a sax player joining me on some tunes and just trying to save some money or transposition work on my end. Any help would be nice.

I recently made first chair in both my high school district’s Honor Band and Jazz 1. I plan on auditioning for state in both concert band and jazz band. I wanted to ask for some advice on something that has been happening recently. With all of the playing I have been doing across wind symphony and two jazz bands alongside practicing for districts, my mouth is completely shot after only an hour or two of practice each day. My director and teacher think I have a very good chance at making all-state, so I really want to have consistent daily practice. However, I am finding it increasingly difficult to practice because of my building fatigue, and a seemingly early stage of burnout. Auditions are in a month, and I have a lot of work to get done. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I am looking to upgrade the alto saxophone one of my kids currently uses (which is a cheap modern one bought for a couple hundred $). I am hoping to spend less than about $1500 so I am mostly looking at used. I have looked at the YAS series but I keep coming across older Conn, Selmer, Martin, King, etc on used sites. Is there a way to know if a particular Conn (for example) is from a particular line/level? I generally don't see them listed with model numbers so I am really unclear on whether it's worth trying to find a good used older model or just biting the bullet on one of the YAS-21/23/26 series. I am also contemplating jumping to the YAS-62 rather than considering the YAS-480. Any advice would be useful. Thanks!

I’m in my high schools marching band and I’m wondering if anyone knows any classical mouthpieces with a really big tip opening. Our woodwinds are never heard so someone’s gotta pick up the slack and I want to be louder.

I’m already adjusted to a large tip opening, I use a 9 for jazz band, so if anyone can give me some help I would really appreciate it!

Adlolfe Sax is 210 years old today!!!

Hello again! My colleague (who is an incredible saxophonist) basically told me that he'd been hearing me practice and suggested that I really focus on my sound and musicality before technique (he has a rlly signature sound btw like everyone can tell when he's practicing even from the very first note). I know I should listen to more saxophonists which I am trying to do and try to find some i like and emulate how they sound... But when I do long tones I can't seem to imagine how it improves my sound besides being more in tune... What am I supposed to listen out for when I'm doing long tones to find a sound I like... It all just sounds like a note to me...

Middle school aged kids been playing Bari sax for 2 months and has only ever used a legere signature 2.5. I heard these reeds can last anywhere from 2-6 months so u wanted to order backup reeds and got 2 more 2.5s but he can’t produce much sound or a pleasant sound out of either of the new 2.5s. Thr first one I just figured oh it’s a consistency thing but now with the 2nd doing the same thing I’m thinking they need a break in period. Hes struggling with this though so I’m wondering if this is really a thing that is required or for how long it should take. And any tips on how to break synthetics in efficiently and quickly.

I’d also like to have a few cane reeds as back ups as well (and so he can see if he likes the sound better or the same as the synthetic). He tried a 3.0 vandoren blue box Bari reed and it was too strong. Not sure if I should order 2.5s or 2’s in the vandorens since they don’t sell singles online I’d hate to buy a full box of something that won’t work out. I also got the $15-3 pack of orange box Rico’s in 2.5 just to have as a backup to the backups and to see if they’re any good but then I read Rico orange is a lot softer.

Compare these two horns

Hey there, have y'all ever used effect pedals for your sax? If yes, what did you use? I planning on buying a reverb, a harmonizer and a distortion pedal. Thanks for your inputs.

Cheers

My alto was sitting on my saxophone stand at a gig last night while I was playing tenor and my alto got knocked of the stage and fell 4 feet onto the hard ground. Somehow the bell ate the entire fall before falling forward onto the neck and finally landing on the bottom side bridge. By some miracle there seems to be no key damage and with a different neck the full horn plays and every note speaks. I’m just curious how bad the bell damage seems to be and if it’s going to be an expensive fix. Thanks.

Last year my quartet played Twelve Tunes of Christmas (arr. Matt Neufeld), and it was an absolute hit. We would love to play another funny chart this year for our christmas show but we can’t quite find one to match the energy of last year.

If you don’t know the piece I’m talking about, here’s a good recording: https://youtu.be/L_9VBWWMj6Q?si=FrzfwS8-9zbzQitk

Any help finding a piece like this would be much appreciated!

I played Tenor in HS and have not played since graduating (2010). I believe I had a school-owned Yamaha Etude 200 Student Series and also played a little bit of Soprano. What is the best Tenor or Soprano brand to purchase for those with experience but looking to get back to it? (I’m damn-near a newbie again!)

Can calcium deposit in mouthpiece cause resistance?

https://youtu.be/HR1EHnugzLw?feature=shared