Is Alto Sax Harder to Play Than Tenor Sax? And the Answer Is: 

You are correct; both tenor sax and alto sax are difficult to play really well. Having played both, I could say the tenor sax offers one advantage: a "wider gamut" to carve out a tone and find a "tonal niche" to sound unique. The breath can do a lot more in a wider bore than in a narrower bore. Maybe that's why many good tenor sax players can be easily recognised by their signature "tone quality" even if playing a few notes only. But alto players are recognised by their melodic virtuosity and specific phrasing, which asks for more than a few notes being played.

Beautiful Conn. You don't get that kind of fat sound on most modern alto saxes.

You are speaking the truth. I’m an alto player ever. I have to practice it constantly to sound good. Tenor saxophone not so much. It’s always been a mystery as to why. Thanks for the peace of mind. 😊

I wish my dogs would sleep through my practice. It's a really good time for them to sing along with my playing.

Great video ! I play Alto, playing jazz improvisation, and I find the alto has a better ‘ Cutting Edge ‘ than tenor for what I do, and is certainly no ‘easier’ than tenor…..

I play both and for me the tenor is easier to make sound good especially in the higher register. I sound Horrible above octave A on alto but it's effortless on tenor. I play a Yanagisawa T-991 with a Hard Rubber Ambika 3 in a 6*. Still looking for my ideal setup on Alto. I learned on a YAS-62 with an S80 C* years ago and sold it to pick up tenor and I just recently bought an alto again.

Imagine someone back in time saying to Cannonball Adderley that alto is sax for kids 😅

I use to play reeds 2 and a half I went down to 2 because my lips are starting to hurt

45yo adult learner, started for the first time last year, played alto for a month and progressed quickly, moved to tenor as I tend to be bothered a bit by high frequencies, found the mouthpiece of the alto more comfortable (Yamaha 4C in both styles) though but liked the tenor sound and resonance in my body. Started getting locking jaw in the morning and TMJ sx with tenor, didn’t get a lot of constructive recommendations from my instructor and decided it wasn’t worth the physical issues. Now I have the bug again and looking at Saxophone again…now I’m wondering and cannot get much of an answer anywhere - Does one vs the other tend more towards jaw/TMJ issues? I’m hopeful that some Invisalign for the teeth and jaw, and then maybe mouthpiece changes and a different/receptive instructor for embouchure work might just get me through it, but wondered if alto/tenor/bari in general has lends more of a TMJ risk. Really liked your video and approach!

Interestingly, I played bari sax when I was in the 6th grade and marched with it in the “A”band in the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. That monster was bigger than I was! I started playing alto in high school. After about 35 yrs of not playing, picked the sax up again. Now I LOVE my tenor!

I find alto a bit like a toy to me - Tenor and Soprano are so much harder:-)

Have you tried the Saxholder neck strap? It balances the weight of the horn extremely well and you don’t need to use the thumb rest…

Do you ever play any of the Soprano's One things i have never seen anyone done online is have a piece of music they never seen and explain hot to go about playing it ?

Neither. I spent most of my youth playing alto, but it was fairly easy to adopt to tenor aside from more air in lower register and slightly different altissimo feel. Now in my 40s, my main focus is tenor but just personal presence.

Very informative video. Not musically inclined but I would love to learn to play a sax someday. I like the deeper sound of a tenor over the alto, but the alto seems to be more affordable and has easier portability over the tenor. My favorite band has 2 ladies playing baritones when marching, that thing looks like a beast but there is something magical about watching the young ladies play them with ease. They make it look effortless which is pretty amazing esp when they have to march long distance like in the Rose Parade.

I STARTED TENOR SAX 11 MONTHS AGO . I DONT WANT KILL ANY TIME IF ALTO SAX IS MORE HARDER .I LIKE TO PLAY BLUES .SO I NEED TO KNOW BEFOR I BUY A ALTO SAX THANK YOU.

You just made a very good point. So what do you think of Playing a Soprano and an Alto because I am learning both. I bought a straight Sop and then the alto but I also like the curved Sop so I bought one. I was advised the soprano is the best one for me the way I played it, but most people in the shops always recommend the Alto is best to start with WHY? People always recommend the Alto is best to start with WHY? What do you think of the straight Alto & tenor?

I have a Conn New Wonder 1. It’s a very unique in many ways. I see you have a micro tuner on yours as well. Is it something you use a lot. I don’t play it out much on gigs because it’s in near mint condition. I play mostly tenor, and with some of your points you made in this video. The table key layout is way different between between the two. I rarely play that low on the alto. Usually it’s just with overtone exercises. But still it really throws me off. Either way love the vintage horn sound. I play an old Martin alto as well. It’s a little better with table key layout. But still not as ergonomic as a modern horn. Oh and lastly, with selling horns off. The New Wonder was my first instrument. I got it from a family friend when I was in 5th grade. I had no idea what I had then. So thankful I never sold it.

I play the tenor I think it’s the easiest because of free blowing

Thanks Dave this was a really helpful video. I'm new to the sax but have been a guitar player for many years and also play regularly in a recorder consort. I've been learning sax on a soprano which I know is not ideal. Couldn't decide between an alto or tenor. Taking your advice and going to tent a tenor. Thanks again.

Spot on. I’m an alto player and play occasionally with a small pop/contemporary Christian. Very hard to blend in and play anything other than solo time. Need a tenor so I can sit back and play chord tones throughout the song. Lots of downtime on an alto. Any advice on what to play on an alto when not soloing?

I am 79 and grew up on b flat clarinett Was 1st chair in high school and all city band Played in swing band as well Picked up Tenor sax and played it in my Rock band in the late 50’s early 60’s Played baritone sax in 60’s big band and jazz band Discovered that in the 60’s I sang well enough to be lead singer in a doorpost group and layer the horns down College came and I drifted away except for occasional Doo woo woo and folk singing groups After that my Buffet clarinet sat in its case as well as my Lamont Tenor Recently have had the urge to play again. I have an Alto I picked up, taught a very musically inclined and talented grandchild to play and she gave it back this year in like new condition So I want to start playing again Do I go tenor first or Alto? Then I need to organize my time to practice an hr a day When young I played 6-8 hrs daily But I ain’t young anymore and hope my expectations do not lead to disappointment and I quit and leave them to kids

I always called the tenor neck a goose neck, swan neck is much more sophisticated haha

It’s depends on what you mean by “harder”. All instruments are hard to play.

Thank you for being here !

I have and play both. And yes alto is actually harder to play. Lately I haven’t touched my tenor I’ve been playing alto for a few months.

The only thing I can say is that the soprano is a lot harder to play than the alto. So by inference, I expect the tenor (which I don't have yet) is easier than the alto

As an Alto player, I only can say, that the higher-range tones above g2 are very hard to play. It's hard not to sound like a flute...