| Archive for Forum of the Saxes A saxophone forum discussing everything sax-related |
| CMelodyMan |
To the side or in the middle?Do you play alto to the side or in between your legs? |
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| JazZz |
I don't know if this is Bad/weird or anything, but for Ensemble class I play in the middle, but in Jazz I play to the side. | ||||||
| JPSaxMan |
I always play in the middle...no matter what 
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| Thomas |
For the common alto, tenor, baritone, and bass, you should always play to the side. The keys are arranged so that your hands wrap around them in the most comfortable way. If you are playing in the midde, it is awkward for your hands. I had it in the middle for several years, until my teacher straightened me out.
Due to the size and shape of the saxophone, it is contrary to the hand position to have it placed parallel to your body. If you look at any modern saxophone, you will notice that the bell is a little offset from the neck - it is not completely planar. This is because it naturally resets when you place the saxophone off to the side. You wouldn't put a baritone sax in the middle, would you? This rule applies to every curved saxophone. Clarinets and oboes are different, however. Like the soprano, sopranino, and soprillo saxophones, they are straight. Their configuration makes it rather difficult to be placed off to the side, and pointless as well. Since these instruments are straight, they naturally fit into the same vertical plane as your spine. It simply makes logical sense to place curved instruments off to the side. Instruments other than the sax, for example, the bassoon and contrabassoon, also follow this rule. Try it for a while. It may be different from what you're used to, but it is the correct way, and your playing will probably improve, too. |
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| JPSaxMan |
Watch your footing here, this is a slippery slide. Alto most arguably by most instructors should be played in the middle due to the fact that craning your neck to adjust to playing off to the side is always frowned upon. Note in marching bands even bari saxes are never even played off to the side due to the craning needed to play that way. Craning screws up the trachea (windpipe) and bends it, therefore permitting less air to go through. More air is usually better than less.
My director yelled at me when I was playing off to the side. I have never gone back to the side with my alto since then. However, alto is the only one I do in the middle. And I don't find it awkward for my hands, but I suppose if you do find it awkward, you really don't have a choice.
I have put the bari sax in the middle during rehersal to take a break from the off to the side playing and besides from it being harder to handle (disengaging it from the strap too) it's not that bad. I ususally put the bow on my insteps so the bow didn't touch the floor (except when I was playing on the Bundy II...I didn't give a **** where the bow of that went  ).
I suppose it is just a matter of preference, but I will teach most of my students come time for me to teach, to keep alto in the middle if possible and all rest, to the side
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| CMelodyMan |
I play bari in the middle. | ||||||
| Bleeding_Gums_Murphy |
Now that's different  . Anyway, I play to the middle or on the side depending on what kind of mood I'm in. Usually middle, though.
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| Thomas |
If you do it right, you shouldn't have to adjust the position of your neck at all. When you play off to the side, the sax should be angled outwards from your spine, not straight up. You then twist the neck a little to the right, and do the same with the mouthpiece. This way, it naturally curves towards your mouth, without any craning of the neck. Trust me, it works. I don't have any back/neck problems, and I've been playing this way for about 4 years. |
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| Bleeding_Gums_Murphy |
Tom, that was JP who wrote that. But, yeah, if you're on the side, you shouldn't have to crane your neck. On my Super 20 it's much more comfortable in the middle, but on my old AS300 it's more comfortable on the side, because of the keys. So i guess the only way to solve this thread is...
It depends on the preference of the person and the horn. When I play in the middle, i @4%67 the bell of my horn slightly to the left and kind of relax in my seat with my horn being supported by the thumb of my hand. That's just the position that feels most natural to me (my BD yells at me all the time "feet flat on the floor, sit on the edge of your chair, horn up, yada yada....", I got full marks for posture at NYSSMA, so...) I've found though, that younger or smaller players tend to put the horn on the side, but bigger players play in the middle generally. I'm about 6'3'', with huge hands, so it makes sense that I would play more in the middle. People often tell me I should be playing tenor. |
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| CMelodyMan |
You think being 6ft 3 and alto looks weird on you. You should have seen my Jazz honor band director. He was huge! 6ft 6, and like 400 pounds(I'm assuming). The alto looked like a curved sopranino on him! | ||||||
| Thomas |
Right, I just noticed that.  *smacks forehead* I've made the appropriate changes.
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| JPSaxMan |
I'll never forget it...
It was my first morning of jazz band. The director looked right at me and said out loud, "Your posture is terrible"...I was turned in the chair to accomodate the off the side alto. He's like, "Straighten out...no like this" and he moved me around while everyone else was watching keep in mind...I was a young intimidated 7th grader and this wasn't helping...then he's like, "OK, now put the sax in the middle...THERE YA GO!" and ever since then I've played it to the middle. Certainly hasn't hurt my playing any!
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| Thomas |
Now, back on topic. Since I'm obviously failing in my attempts to explain my point of view, let me give you guys some insight.
Here's my teacher's email address (wstreet@ualberta.ca). He will be able to better explain to you the correct way to position the sax. Here's a link for credibility: http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/mu...7&nav02=11770&nav01=11711 |
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| alto-girl |
It depends whether I'm sitting or standing. If I'm sitting I'll always play in the middle, but if I'm standing I can do either. | ||||||
| altosaxgeek5 |
Most of the time, what I've seen, is that people tighten their neckstrap too low, so when playing to the side, so that either your thumb hurts like heck, or craning is necessary.
I always play alto, when sitting down, off to the side, but when standing, I move it around. Sometimes I even go Prez-ish. It's all a matter of my mood. Most directors think alto should be played in the middle.
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| darby dylan |
normly i always stand up when i'm playing but sumetimes when i play in a quartet i find it is esear in the middle | ||||||
| Thomas |
If you do play off to the side, your instrument should be arranged in a slightly different way then if you play in the middle. The neck should be twisted slighty to the right, and so should your mouthpiece.
A mistake that many people make when playing off to the side is to put the body of the sax at a steep angle towards your head. This causes a need for larger changes to the orientation of the neck and mouthpiece, and is highly impractical. The sax should be almost perpendicular to the ground, and the mouthpiece and neck should be only slightly offset (about 10 degrees). The neckstrap should also be tightened enough so that the sax comfortably rests in your hands, and so the mouthpiece naturally rests in your mouth. Your two thumbs should push the saxophone out from your body so that the neck (for alto) points slightly down from the horizontal plane. Playing the sax should feel comfortable and natural. If this is not the case, then you're probably doing something incorrectly. |
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| Kym |
See now i've always wondered about this. When i first started playing i played Alto to the side, but i found that if i played to the side when sitting down i would scratch my Sax on the side of the chair so i started playing in the middle. I was never actually told, as i'm self-taught, but i've always assumed that playing to the side is just a bad habbit and that your not supposed to do it, but i don't really have a preference of which way i like playing! | ||||||
| MySaxMax |
I don't think there is a definite way to hold your saxophone. If you want to hold it to side or in the middle, go ahead, just as long as you can still play comfortably. I hold my saxophone to the side for jazz and in the middle for ensemble. I hold it in the middle for ensemble because I get bored in ensemble and I'm really short so it's harder for me to reach the mouth piece the way I hold it there and it makes things more interesting. | ||||||
| altosaxgeek5 |
If you have problems reaching the mouthpiece, tighten your neckstrap. Many players make that mistake. The strap should be tightened so that if you let the horn hang, it comes up and hits you right in the lips. I'm really short (4' 9''), and have no problems at all reaching the piece. |
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| Louis Scuderi |
I started on tenor, so it feels natural for me to play my alto to the side. | ||||||
| MySaxMax |
no I meant, I rest my saxophone on my chair (not straight between my legs) just for fun because I get bored in ensemble... I don't mean I have problems reaching or anything. | ||||||
| yoshiplaysthesax |
[quote="Thomas"]For the common alto, tenor, baritone, and bass, you should always play to the side. The keys are arranged so that your hands wrap around them in the most comfortable way. If you are playing in the midde, it is awkward for your hands. I had it in the middle for several years, until my teacher straightened me out.
thats me to a T weird it was the same case for me..... exact... |
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