PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic National Saxophone Day is November 6th!

November 6th is National Saxophone Day! The inventor of the Saxophone, Adolphe Sax was born November 6, 1814. 32 years later his creation (the Saxophone) was patented, and music hasn't been the same since!

Along with a number of Saxophone MIDI Styles, MIDI Soloists and MIDI Melodists, we also offer over 150 different Saxophone RealTracks. To learn more about our Saxophone RealTracks Artists and listen to their demos, visit their Bio page by clicking on their name:
Eric Alexander
Eric Marienthal
Gary Smulyan
Jack Stafford
Jim Clark
Mark Douthit
P.J. Perry
Phil Woods
Tom Keenlyside

It's national saxophone day, and my wife and duo-partner's birthday.

The two best things in my live, celebrated on the same day.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Notes

It's national saxophone day and I'm celebrating it by trying to find a decent reed for next week' gigs.

I celebrated by not playing a note on it. In fact, since it was Sunday, a football day, I didn't even consider it. Some might say that the way I play I paid the sax more respect by NOT playing it today....

What Kind of Setup do you usually Play?

kindofsax

To celebrate I played What a Wonderful World on my wind controller and SampleModeling's Bari Sax. To bad that I can't post it!

I have a Xaphoon, which is labeled as a "pocket sax", but the Xaphoon is really a chalumeau with uncomfortable fingering.

In contrast, Nuvo's jSax is a kid's instrument, but does a decent impression of being a soprano sax. It's got a limited range of an octave and a fifth, from middle C to G above high C. It's got keys, but the Bb uses a forked fingering, the same as a recorder. You can play a lot of melodies on it, but if you need to go below middle C...

It's a C instrument, so transposition isn't an issue. If you can play a recorder you can probably play a jSax.

With a bit of searching, they can be found for about $100. I also got the $15 "straightening kit" because I thought it looked a bit less like a toy, and was a bit easier for an adult to play.

Here's a YouTube review. Click Skip the "Nuvo jSax" button in the upper left corner of the video to jump to the jSax review. There are other videos on YouTube if you want to hear other examples.

So if you're looking for a way to scratch your "I want to play sax" itch without shelling out too much money, this might be the toy for you. Just be aware that it's not a quiet instrument.

Sax is not my first instrument, I started on drums, but sax is my primary instrument.

After sax in the order I play them most are MIDI wind controller (Yamaha WX5 with either VL70m or TX81z synths), guitar, flute, keys, bass, drums.

Oh and I sing a lot.

But sax is my most natural voice.

Many guitar players express that they would like to play sax. As a sax player for many years I wanted to also play guitar. So I bought one and learned.

My advice to anyone wanting to add sax is to buy a used Yamaha student sax, because they hold their resale value well, and thin if you don't bond with it, you aren't out all that much.

Insights and incites by Notes

David,
The jSax looks really good. I have some nephews and nieces and have these questions especially with a beginner in mind. But, to be honest , I'm asking for me too

Compared to a regular sax, does the jSax have

All 12 chromatic tones, and similar range to a sax.?
Is it easier to play in tune and by how much?
Is it is easier to blow and by how much?
Is it easier to physically play the notes?

Keep in mind that this is intended more to be a "starter" instrument to teach the rudiments of playing the saxophone.

I don't think you'll find anyone playing this professionally. While the Clarineo and Nuvo flute could be considered "real" instruments, this is a step under that, and a step above the DooD and TooT.

It's got a much more limited range than a real sax, and even less than a recorder. You can in theory play from middle C (C5) chromatically up to G6. In practice, I find notes above E6 to be difficult.

So you're going to be limited to songs that fall within a vocal range, and don't go below middle C. There's a whole lot of music that fits that category... and a whole lot that doesn't.

It is fully chromatic, with keys for all the holes. But it's pretty simplified relative to a real sax.

On the right hand, the C, D and F keys cover two holes - one hole covered completely by the key, the other with a hole above where you place your finger, sort of like an open-holed flute. When you place your finger over the hole, both holes are closed and you get the natural note. When you close the key without covering the hole under the key, only one of the two holes is closed, and you get the sharped note (C#, D# or F#).

There's a G# key on your right hand. But there's no key for the Bb - you use the same "forked" fingering you would with a recorder, by covering the B and G holes.

If you've played recorder or any wind instrument, you'll know the fingering.


It's a reed instrument, so differing amounts of pressure will give different pitches.


I don't have much experience with "real" saxes. But I'd say that it's easier to blow than the clarinet and Xaphoon. Then again, I played on those first before playing with the jSax.

It comes with a plastic reed, so you can just pick it up and blow without having to wet it. It's pretty easy to blow.

The downside is that it's a plastic reed. But it works fine for me.

Legere has a synthetic reed called the viib made specifically for the Nuvo instruments. I haven't tried it yet, but it's a step up if you want to go that direction.


Well, it takes no effort to close the keys, and the instrument weighs just about nothing. For my hands, the reach is also comfortable. I consider a tenor recorder a bit of a stretch, and the Xaphoon to be uncomfortable. in terms of key placement, it's closer to the feel of an EWI.

For me, this is the sort of instrument that I've been looking for for years. It's by no means a "pro" instrument, but it's not a "toy", either.

Now if only Nuvo would come up with an oboe, I'd be in heaven.

Did that answer the questions?

One of my favourite saxophone tracks to celebrate (a bit late, I know)

))) Did that answer the questions?

Thanks. For clarification, does it play in perfect tune, or is it up to you to make it play in tune by the way you blow it? For example, on a real sax, it is very hard for beginners to play in tune, and many pro players are out of tune on certain notes.

And by "is it harder to play" I was referring to the effort required by the mouth to blow and make the sound , not the hands on the horn.

According to my guitar tuner, it plays sharp without pulling the mouthpiece out.

Once I've pulled the mouthpiece out about a quarter inch, the F is sharp and the B is flat - according to the tuner, around 20 cents. The other notes seem pretty much on pitch. YMMV - I'm pretty much a rank amateur.


It doesn't require much pressure. I had my (rather unwilling) 14 year old try it last night. It took her a couple of minutes to figure out how to get a sound from it, but once she did, she didn't consider it hard to blow.

Did I answer the right questions this time?

Pulling out or pushing in the mouthpiece is the way sax players tune their horns. Longer horns (pulled out) are lower pitched, and vice versa.

This changes with temperature. Wind instruments tend to play lower during cold weather and higher when it's warm.

In addition, no saxophone will play perfectly in tune with itself. But not knowing how 'off' yours is, I cannot make a comparison. This is typical of all woodwind instruments.

When I was in beginning band, the teacher told us to sit in front of a tuner (they were Stobe-o-Conn tuners at the time), tune the instrument to Bb concert (C on the tenor or soprano or G on the alto or baritone) and then play chromatic long tones in front of the tuner, noting which notes are flat, and which are sharp. As you are dong this, you need to correct the pitch. How? Increase pressure on the lower lip to bring flat notes up to pitch and decrease pressure to correct sharp notes.

When you have done this enough, you learn the intonation 'signature' of the saxophone so that when you play, you automatically know which way to adjust your lip if not in tune. That saves the analysis of "is the note flat or sharp" and lets you correct quicker. Eventually, adjusting the lip becomes as natural as fingering the note.

Each time I get a new saxophone, I go through the same process to learn the signature of the sax.

My oldest sax is a 1925 model, and it is the most out of tune with itself. The best one is my newest sax. I suppose through the years refinements have been made.

Peter, another option for learning sax might be a Yamaha WX5 wind MIDI controller and a Yamaha VL70m sound module. Granted it will be more expensive, (I would guess a little more than $1,000 or so USD) but since the VL is discontinued and nothing better has come out, resale value might be good.

If interested, I can direct you to some sources. Same for anyone else interested. PM me or post here, I'm always happy to help.

Notes