Forum of the Saxes

alto-girl · Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 62 Location: Australia

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 · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 6:31 am Post subject:

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. Cool

It's all a matter of my mood. Most directors think alto should be played in the middle.
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darby dylan · Joined: 30 Jul 2005 Posts: 63

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 · Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 223 Location: Alberta, Canada

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 · Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 35 Location: England

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!
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MySaxMax · Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 22

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 · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:00 pm Post subject:

Louis Scuderi · Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:26 am Post subject:

I started on tenor, so it feels natural for me to play my alto to the side.
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MySaxMax · Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Posts: 22

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 · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 10

[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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