Reed for beginner saxophonist and recommended beginner book?

Question

Just starting out on the saxophone but teaching myself - If I already play clarinet on a three and a half reed how do Saxophone reeds and Clarinet reeds correlate? Any idea what reed I should be playing on sax?
Also, can anybody recommend a good saxophone book for beginners?

Answer 1

The number of the reed depends on how soft the reed is, or in other words, lower the number easier to produce sound and the less in-tune, the higher the number, it takes more air to make a sound, but it's much more in-tune.



For people that have never used an instrument, go for a 1 and-a-half or a 2. (Rico Royal)

For people that have switched to saxophone, go for a 2 and a half. (Rico Royal)

For people with great breath support, 3. (Vandoran)

And for the professionals, 4+. (Vandoran)

If you looking to playing some jazz, use the Vandoran Java reeds.

Vandoran reeds are made and shipped from France

Each Vandoran reed comes in a package that keeps the humidity level the same.

Vandoran makes reeds for both saxophone and clarinet.

But also if you going to buy Vandoran reeds, becareful of fake products as they are imitations of high quality reeds.



Also, a good book to start on, is the "Standards of Excellence Book 1", a popular music/band book.

Most books come with a play-along CD, methods to play, and a fingering chart.



I highly recommend a private saxophone teacher, but they cost about $30-$50 for 30 or 60 minutes.



The difference between a clarinet reed and saxophone reed is that, saxophone reeds are much wider for the mouthpiece and usually cost more depending on the quality.

Answer 2

It is actually a myth that the higher strength you play, the better saxophonist you are. I know someone who used to play 4s because he thought they were for "pros" but later worked his way down to 3s when he liked the sound better. I would recommend starting with Vandoren Blue Box (Traditionals) in a 2.5 strength. It may be a bit too hard at first, but this will help build up your embouchure and lip muscles. Seeing that you have experience with the clarinet, you should already have some of these muscles built up. After playing on 2.5s for six months or so, I suggest moving up to a 3. If you practice every day for six months, you will most likely have to move up because you start choking off the reed.



As for book recommendations, I suggest Essential Elements. With this series, you can learn all of the fingerings for the normal range of the saxophone. Then you should purchase an etude book such as Ferling's or Selected Studies for Saxophone. Both of these etude books will help you work on articulations, finger speed, and basically coordinating your brain and fingers. The Ferling book is more challenging than the Selected Studies, so it should last you a while.

Answer 3

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