You all probably dont care at all but does someone know of a tool to get back into an instagram account? I was stupid lost the password. I love any help you can give me!
My head's been all over the place deciding which saxophone I wanna get. But this video has given me alot of insight on the differences. Definitely going for a tenor now.
My 1st sax was a tenor but over the years I've collected S.A.T. & B. I love them all for different reasons. But hell, if you can play one technically you do play them all.
I saw a live performance of Careless whisper on RU-vid and it was a tenor but it has a thin sound and can be mistaken for alto. On the flip side a phenomenal saxophonist Earl Bostic has a huge husky sound for an alto that I actually thought he was playing a tenor. (He uses a tenor reed on a Beecher diamond inlay alto mouthpiece with heavy growling which gives him that signature heavy tone). The saxophone has such a dynamic range of timbre it’s incredible.
@@Njderig yeah I understand! I like the centered, warm and focused sound of coltrane the most.. It's my goal to maybe have a sound a little bit like him. And Mike Brecker haha. Something in between.
Mahn, yuh 'r' simply saxophonically the Best, with an upper case "b"! YOUR Commitment, Patience, Devotion, selflessness and, yes, knowledge are second to none! One does Not have enough Thanks, service or money to repay you! Lohv!
Thanks for sharing your time and expertise. Your'e a very inspiring and beautiful sounding musician. I'm just starting to learn the sax at the age of 69yrs. You provide inspiration as to what can be achieved by dedication , commitment and hard work. Great listening to you. Dave from the UK.
This video has been immensely helpful! I've seen a few comparisons like this, but this is the first time I've found one in which the players actually compare the two by playing the same things, same fingering positions and all! Thanks heaps. I'll get both when I get my hands on more ched' :)
Got a bonus! I'm a beginner. I jumped all the way in and bought a YAS 62, so I'd never need to buy another horn unless I want to. A couple months went buy, and a lady I work with gave me her Tenor! She hadn't played in about 3 years, so she gifted it to me. It's an older Conn, but, it's a saxophone! Took it to repair man and I'm good to go!
Interesting. Personally, I'm not a big fan of altissimo, and find the saxophone's characteristic voice to be in its lowest octave. I found that I hear something more in the sound of each successively larger instrument. I like C-mel slightly better than alto, tenor slightly better than C-mel, and bari better than tenor. However I mainly practice on alto, since it's so much easier to handle, and I can just grab it and work on my fingering & etc for a few minutes at a time, without having to save up my strength to wrestle with the big artillery. I'm not saying this is a good way to do it, I'm saying it's my way to do it.
I do have a new found love for baritone sax and I'm itching to get another one. Although it is commonly used as a bass instrument, it is a devine baritone voice that really fills out the low mid range really well.
@@Sirvalorsax Exactly, that's how it seems to me. Baritone can be seismically low but is not limited to bass parts - it's in something of a sweet spot. Bass sax is just too low - might as well play a tuba. It can play in other ranges, but when it does it's more a stunt than music. Not so with bari, at least to my ears.
I actually like them both. It depends on what music I’m playing actually, as to which one to play, but the mouthpieces and reeds are also an issue for each horn, depending on genre/style. SirV summed it up nicely... Whatever motivates you...
Hi . I just bought a saxophone 🎷 but I'm not sure if it's altor or tanor. I really can't tell the size difference. Please help. Because my saxophone doesn't have a neck n I'm not sure which neck to buy
You could have mentioned the theme from the Pink Panther movies as a well-known (at least to us oldies) tenor sax solo. I think that the alto is the best beginner sax, as it is a little easier to blow than the tenor. I switched to tenor about 25 years ago, but I own an alto which I play two or three times per month.
@@Sirvalorsax This comment though is what I was hoping to hear more about in your video. How significant is the difference in airflow demands for the beginner? If I like the sound of tenor better but haven't started (54 yr old male), am I better off starting with alto and then switching? Or just start with tenor? Thought?
When I started sax almost 3 years ago I had no clue about them. Didn’t even know there were different kinds until I did research! That research said most beginners start with Alto so I went with that only to learn that it was the Tenor sound that I preferred. But I’m glad I started with the Alto. I just switched to Tenor and love it. However, if I didn’t start with Alto, I don’t think I would have tried it at any time. Alto definitely has its place and is the preferred sax for so many songs and song types. If I had it to do again, I’d do it the same way. I like a lot of music genre’s and playing both will make me far more versatile.
Ok, so one thing that was not addressed in the video: as a beginner who's played neither, how much more difficult is the tenor in terms of airflow? I'm sure that's something you develop, but I have no frame of reference. I guess a follow up question would be: why are you glad you started with the alto?
@@willyd1711 Having just switched over to tenor I found that I needed more air to play it at the low range. Those boring long tones definitely help. So play your long-tones. 😂 I’m mostly glad that I started on the alto because I now own one. Some songs; not all, but some, especially ones that concentrate on the higher register on tenor in my opinion don’t sound that good on a tenor as opposed to that same song on an alto. If I didn’t already have an alto I wouldn’t have the option to try it and experience it for myself. Being that I prefer the sound of the tenor, if I would have bought it first then I probably would never have bothered buying an alto. Having an alto gives me more flexibility on songs. One example I can think of is the song Harlem Nocturne. One would think it would sound better on a tenor but in all honesty I prefer the sound coming from my alto. But again it’s just preference and opinion.
i think the real comparison in the tone will occur when you play the exact same absolute notes on alto as well as tenor (which means you transpose for each instrument so that same melody is played.
Started playing alto about 5 months ago. Probably should have gone straight for the tenor. So now I have both! (Yes, expensive and I'll struggle to buy food but I can always eat old reeds)
Good Sir, very nice. Thank you. It's mox nix. Get'em all. I like alto for big band work..... too bad their ain't no big band work. Alto is cool with an octave pedal. Surprising how cool the sim-bari sounds if used for short sect. horn shots. But, if you really wanna stick'em to the chair.... tenor is it.
tenor players need to be to able hit altimissio G in tune. I have have struggled with it for years. listen to Rusty Bryant for one of many who nail it. imo without that 1 note, it is a deal breaker.
Great video Sirvalorsax! I have heard that for beginners the Alto Sax would be great to start on so that is the sax I started on. Then I even went smaller by buying a Soprano Sax and didn't go for the Tenor or Baritone saxes. I feel by being an "older" beginner saxophonist the smaller saxes are OK for me to play with. I will get a Tenor sax soon so that I can have one in my collection.
@@Sirvalorsax The model that I have bought is Conn/Selmer "Prelude" Alto Sax and an Allora ASPS-450 Vienna Series Soprano Sax. As far as a Tenor Sax I would love to purchase a Cannonball "Big Bell" Pro Saxophone and get the Alto model as well.
I have been playing the alto since I was in sixth grade. It was my first instrument and when I play in concerts I will probably play the alto. But now, being in 9th grade, and with Christmas around the corner, I think it’s time I get a tenor. I just like the way it sounds better, it’s going to be easier for me to use it due to it’s larger size, and I’ve already tried it. It feels far more natural for me. But the alto will still hold a special place in my heart as it was my first instrument and I wouldn’t be where I was today without it. I will still continue to play it, but it will probably take a backseat to the tenor.
For me it was alto. At the time I got one, I never really liked the deeper sound some got on a tenor sax. I loved Paul Desmond so went for an alto to start with but I had been listening to a lot of Soprano sax tunes and liked the sweetness of it but I got an alto because I read the Soprano is much harder to learn due to resistance and tuning. Plus I liked how the alto could fit into so many styles of music. Now I still like alto but still prefer the tone of Soprano sax and hopefully getting one in a month or so, and I have grown to like the tenor more, especially because of Boots Randolph, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Darren Rahn and Dan Forshaw but don't plan on getting one as the sound isn't for me.
I found that recently I'm finding my way back to "hearing" alto speak to me again. I had the same gig for 21 years and now that I'm not there, my tastes have evolved into this unified sax sound. I really got to get a Bari now!!
Played tenor, alto, and soprano. Soprano was the easiest for me to pick up, and I found intonation wasn’t much of a problem for me. Now, my opinion seems to differ from majority of other soprano players. I would always recommend trying it. Tenor happened to be the hardest for me to pick up. I switched from alto to tenor, then from tenor to soprano. Still play tenor, and soprano.
Great video. I have been researching saxophones for myself to learn. Having never played an instrument the pat answer given was "whichever one you like" or "whichever one you can afford". Today was the closest to buying one I have had but found a great little shop that said to watch some videos first. I have had people say start on alto and others a tenor. At 6'5 I found I like the feel of the tenor but was not sold yet. Your video helped me make the decision. On Monday I will go back and buy the tenor I liked the most.
The both sound beautiful but I can play the alto easier. Tenor feel likes its too heavy and takes too much air. However, my goal is to play gigs with a female singer at restaurants/clubs. It that is the goal....Should I focus on tenor? Does it go better with the female voice?
Some could argue that it does because the tenor is like a Male voice so that would complement it well. I would recommend which ever sax you are most comfortable with though
I actually own both an alto and a tenor. but I want to learn alto first before hitting the tenor sax. since I already have both I'm not worried about how long it takes to learn both. plus I didn't break the bank either.....I got really good student instruments. If later on I wanna spend money on some pro horns I'm gonna get a 2nd mortgage on the house in order to buy them.
Personally I think the tenor resonates with me more, and the style of music that the tenor is more suited to is the sort that I am more into. However I still prefer the alto because I prefer the alto's size and I prefer the alto's range as well. It is closer to that of a trumpet which is how I imagine a saxophone. I don't really imagine a saxophone to be that large. So if I was to get a saxophone, it would definitely be an alto. But I prefer the alto's lower range over its upper range.
I dare you to play a baritone sax. You might have your mind ROCKED!!! Be prepared to spend a lot of money though. I'm debating whether to first get another alto or a baritone sax. What brand were you planning to get?
@@Sirvalorsax I don't own a saxophone, nor have I ever played one. But if I were to get one, it would definitely be an alto. I don't dislike baritone saxophones. But my preference is usually alto or tenor. Soprano saxophones also aren't that bad, but I'm not a fan of their upper register.
I like your very informative explanations in every aspect of saxofoneplaying .I also like your very "fat and rich" sound, its fantastic. I bet you would sound like that on eany saxofone. I strugeled with the problem that som of my air didn"t go througt my otto link mouthpeace (7 stars) I swicht to Berg Larsen chamber 95 and a hard forestone syntetic reed and it stopped the problem. If you havent made a video on syntetic reed (which you probaberly already have done) please do. Anyway Thanks Sivarlor. Olaf Sorensen Copenhagen Denmark.(Olaf Sorensens trio on You Tube)
I can’t believe you called Careless Whisper the “Most Famous” sax lick! Not that there’s any way to settle it definitively, but I would bet more people know Baker Street! 😄
Oh it's on now!!!!! LOL It would be nice to know which one is actually more popular. My money is on CW because it is more often played on both tenor and alto sax where BS is almost exclusively played on alto
I picked tenor when I was 10 because I thought it was cool that it was bigger. Now, 8 years later, I'm glad I did because tenor is the master of all saxs 😎
I preffer like tenorsax influenced jo honny griffin,john coltrane. But I listed sound cannonball aderey playing alto, then I have been like alto sound.
I’ve been subscribed for a couple of weeks and your teaching and playing styles are great! Tenor rules them all. Check out Eddie Harris’s version of A Child Is Born or the sax solo on Pink Floyd’s Money. Tenor can handle it all.
Interesting fact about the carless whisper solo! And thank you for the good vid, it's surprising that there's so little content on RU-vid about alto vs tenor!! Good video
