High Saxophone or tenor to start with? What to choose
The high is the most common but not the only entrance door. We compare size, weight, nozzle, sound and genres to choose the saxo that will engage you.
For most beginners, high saxophone: it's smaller, lighter, less air and that's what nearly every teacher recommends to start with, especially with children and adolescents. If you're an adult, you have good context and what you fall in love with is the serious sound of tenor in jazz, soul or rock, you can start directly with tenor.
The best thing about this decision is that it's not forever. Digitation is the same with all saxophone, so changing from one to another is far easier than changing instrument.
To sum up
- The high one's in my bemol and the tenor's itself bemol. Both read in a code of sun and share the same digitations.
- The high is lighter and holds with a neck strap and the tenor weighs far more and many wear harness.
- The tenor nozzle is bigger and requires a more open and more air volume.
- For children, high age is the usual choice from 9 to 10 years old.
- To move from high to tenor, or upside down, takes weeks of tiddiness at the mouth, not months of learning.
High Saxo vs. tenor: Comparison
| Aspecto | High Saxophone | Retiring Saxophone |
|---|---|---|
| Filling | My bemol. | If bemol, as with the trumpet and the clarinet. |
| Size | Compact and touch at the front or slightly at the side. | That's bigger with a curved tudel that characterizes it. It's touched at the body's side. |
| Peso | That's light and a neck strap's enough. | That's more heavy and a shoulder harness protects his neck. |
| Roast and tipple | Smaller and more firm and more precise. | bigger and more open and relaxed. |
| Aire | A lower volume of air. | More volume of air and serious notes demand patience. |
| Sonido | Brilliant, agile, close to a countertop's voice. | Grave, round and with body, close to a male voice. |
| Genders with glow | School gangs, big band, bebop, pop, meringue and tropical orchestras. | Jazz, soul, R & B, rock and roll, funk and ballads. |
| For children | The usual choice from 9 to 10. | Better wait till the child's more height and strength. |
| relative cost | It's usually more accessible, just as its rods. | It usually costs more and his rods as well. |
Size, weight and posture
The weight can be felt more than it looks. A half hour with a tenor hung from his neck and especially to whom his posture's barely been built. That's why many tenorists wear a harness that spreads his weight to his shoulders.
The high challenge is another: to tighten the strap so that the nozzle gets to his mouth and not his mouth to his nozzle. If you have to get his head down or his neck stretching, his strap's bad. Sitting up, his high strap can be touched to his face or his face, and his tenor will almost always rest next to his right leg.
In children, the distance between keys also counts. At tenor, small hands do not get to cover well the keys of the grave, and that creates tension and bad habits.
Nozzle, cane and air
The high demand a firmer and more precise tipple: the nozzle is small and any excessive pressure defines up. At the tenor, the nozzle goes a little more into his mouth and his jaw gets more open. Some beginners feel the most generous tenor with tuning, but his serious notes demand a lot of air and patience.
At both, the usual thing is to start with motif-soft rods, about 2 or 2 ½, and to come up only as the teacher indicates. A cane that's too hard is one of the most common causes of frustration in the first few months. Keep them in a box for rods and septures after playing, with the instrument, as we have at how to clear a saxophone.
What Teachers recommend and why
Most saxophone teachers recommend to start with high, for practical reasons: they hold with effortlessness, the embocture forms with more control, many methods of initiation are written for them and they are the most widely used in school gangs. Also, what you learn at high takes almost intact to tenor.
To start with tenor makes sense when you're an adult, and your instrument looks comfortable and your music's clearly that of tenor: the sound of John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins, soul, rock and roll. If what motivates you is that sound, studying at high level can discourage you. And if you're still deciding if the saxe's for you, read [why to learn saxophone]](/blog/por-que-aprender-saxofon).
What about his soprane or his baritone?
They aren't recommended to start with. The soprane's small but it's hard to tuning and requires a highly controlled embocture. The baritone's big, heavy and needs a lot of air. Both are excellent second instruments.
Do you choose high if... / choose tenor if...
Choose high saxo if...
- It's for a child or a teenager.
- You're gonna get into a high school band or a wind band.
- That's how you like bebop, pop, meringue or tropical music orchestras.
- That's something you're trying to play.
Choose the tenor sax if...
- You're an adult and size and weight don't make you uncomfortable.
- The serious and round sound of jazz, soul or rock is what moves you.
- Your group needs a tenor and you want to start with that voice.
At [saxophone classes]](/clases/saxofon) The teacher checks your context, your air and your music before recommending one. To buy, read how to choose your first saxophone.
How to get from one saxe to another
The digitations and the reading of the sun code are the same. What changes is the purpits, air and transposition.
- From high to tenor: relax the mouth, get a little more nozzle, open his throat and give more air. He works long notes at his grave till they sound effortless.
- From tenor to high: the purple close a little and the air gets faster and more focused. The tuning at the sharp demand attention.
- Transposition: The high sounds a sixth greater under what's been written and the tenor a ninth greater under. If you read scores written in real sound, each person carries different.
With daily practice, the tuning takes a few weeks. Many saxophone tikers end up playing both, especially with bands and orchestras where they are requested to change saxo as they matter.
Frequently asked questions
What saxophone's easier for beginners?
For most, high, because light, needs less air and a more easily controlled mouth. A good-contextual adult can also start with tenor without problems.
Do high saxe and tenor digitations have an equal status?
Yes. All saxophones share the same digitations and are read as a code of sun. A written note is played as well at high and tenor, though it sounds at different height.
Can a ten-year-old play tenor saxo?
It's up to his height, his hands and his strength, but in general it's best to start with his high and get to his tenor later. What he learns at his high serves him completely.
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The usual is a medium-soft cane, about 2 or 2 ½. If the sound goes up very open or close at the sharp, the teacher will tell you if it's best to get up or down.