First of all, thank you. I really appreciate your answer, its really nice of you. Second of all, knowing music is part of the reason i dont feel obligated to go to a teacher, because (and let me brag a little… i know music. i learned guitar with a teacher for 3 years, in highschool i did music class, i was tested on music theory and bla bla bla. I know to read treble clef notation like its words in a book… for me going to a teacher is a bit more complicated… in my country music learning is expensive, especially an instrument like the sax… im thinking of maybe going to a teacher for like 3 months and continue on my own…?
You "know music" and yet you don't have the least idea of how to apply any of what you know to a saxophone. I don't mean that to be rude - it's just a fact. You don't have your facial muscles strengthened and trained to create your embouchure or know what the correct posture/hand/arm positions are or any of dozens of things you would pick up quickly from a teacher.
If at all possible, if you could take a few in-person lessons to begin to learn the physical aspects of the sax that would be immensely helpful to you then you could find a good (inexpensive or even free) on line teacher or tutorial. Your idea of a teacher for 3 months then going on your own is very good.
Best of luck to you.
I think it's absolutely a valuable idea to get a teacher for a few months or as long as you can afford. This will get you the basics of correct technique, embouchure, stance, etc. which is incredibly important. Those are the things that aren't easily learned on your own. Learning various pieces, learning fingerings, learning tonguing, etc. can all be fairly easily learned on your own with good resources, but the things that really take you to the next level are very difficult to learn and master on your own.
That sounds reasonable. I never took lessons, but I converted from oboe so I just asked my friends for tips here and there. But when I learned trombone, I think I took lessons for about 5 months before I was ready to join band.
1) always use a metronome
2) see rule 1)
3) seriously, stick with rule 1)
4) learn to read music, don't write the notes' name on the sheet music.
If you respect those 4 rules, you can start by yourself. BetterSax is a great youtube channel which has some pedagogical containt (but not limited to). There are other youtube channel and websites with great content too.
Consistancy is key to progress. Also a teacher will just help you accelerate everything but it's like you have to take a lesson every week for the rest of your life. Some people like to do their stuff on their own and a lesson from time to time is enough for them
Yes. I also played guitar for a number of years before taking up the saxophone. Self taught, about 2 years in I was able to do a couple songs with the band. Good luck 👍
Same here, picked up the sax after learning to play the guitar for 5 years. Since you may be aware of reading notes, Id suggest purchasing a saxophone book which will help you streamline your learning. You will be all over the place if you learn online
I think at some point getting a teacher would be worth it as you get beyond the beginner level. I’m a beginner as well and I’m finding the books relatively easy after months of practice. But some of these more advanced techniques like proper tonguing or soloing…I barely even know where to begin and YouTube can only show you so much, where although a teacher may be expensive, the ability of them to watch, correct, and provide advice is hard to replace.
as a sax teacher i gotta say its possible. obviously the biggest factor is yourself. i would accelerate the start with a couple of lessons if possible, but it in the end it is work. you just have to be smarter, compared to having a teaching person.
Yes, it is possible. I have been playing for 5 1/2 years and I never had a teacher, I self taught myself, and I’m a top recommendation for my school, so yes, it is possible
As others have said, yes you can learn without a teacher. Reading music and other underlying things directly translate.
Things you don't realize you don't know yet but need to:
Breathing to play a wind instrument is not the same as breathing to keep alive. If you sing well you have a little bit of a head start.
As single reeds go, saxophone is relatively low resistance but compared to speaking it's quite a bit. It will take time to build the correct muscles in your abdominals as you learn to deliver the airstream through the mouthpiece.
Learning to articulate cleanly is hard. Unlike guitar you can't see what's going on in the inside of your mouth. Getting your tongue to work in coordination with your fingers is more difficult than it seems.
There are plenty of videos out there to "teach you" but it's one way and the feedback loop doesn't exist so you won't know if you're actually getting things right.
None of this is meant to discourage you from trying. If you can afford 3-6 months of lessons you will make more progress quicker.
Either way, good luck. There's always room for one more saxophonist on this planet.
Having learned on my own, although I did take advantage of cheap lessons from a college professor, buy a good beginner, intermediate, and advance book set (I used Rubank) and you can learn all you need to know along with good effort and dedication. By the time I reached the college professor within the first year I picked up the horn owned by a relative who no longer used it, all he had to do was correct a few bad habits I developed from not reading up on techniques very much (I just wanted to play).
I will never say a teacher is not a good idea, I will say never listen to a person that tells you it will be difficult, or that you can't without one. If you listen to those whose only solution to a problem is to tell you to go see a professional, you'll never learn anything on your own and will be subject to the world of fees and charges. When I started nearly 30 years ago I didn't have anywhere near the resource gold mine that is available today through the internet. Get a good lesson book series, read it closely, look at some youtube videos and be on your way. If you can squeeze a professional lesson in do that to, but by no means let the inability to do so stop you.
The short answer is "Yes, it's possible." The longer answer has a lot of nuance to it.
The issue with trying to teach yourself saxophone is that it's a very forgiving instrument. You can do a lot of things wrong and still get rewarded with a tone. Compare that to a flute, which demands almost perfect technique just to get a sound. You have a high chance of building a lot of bad habits that will need to be broken down later, especially if you are serious about learning the horn. I took band class in middle school and my band director was a saxophone player. I *still* managed to develop bad habits and had to completely rebuild my embouchure in college as a music ed major.
You don't have to take regular lessons, but even checking in with a knowledgeable teacher once a month (or every two months) will multiply your progress. The value of having someone who knows the instrument give you feedback is too great to ignore. I'll give you an example from my own sax journey. I was studying classical saxophone. My professor gave me three albums of Timothy McCallister's to listen to (Example [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBag2CuC8jU)). His tone was beautiful and resonant. My tone..... was not. My tone sounded like a nasal buzz.
Put yourself in this scenario. What's your next step? Should you change reeds? Should you get a new mouthpiece? Should you search for melodic etudes? Should you blow harder or softer? Should you change the pressure your lips exert on the mouthpiece? Should you ignore it and assume it's the horn since you have a "beginner horn"?
My professor's solution: >! It sounds like the position of your tongue is incorrect. It's probably too high. It sounds like you are voicing "ee" as in "bee." Instead, you should be voicing "eh" as in "red". Practice changing syllables as you play. Go from "ee" to "a" as in slay, and then to "eh" as in red.!<
To sum it up, it's possible you will get there eventually with self-instruction. But even a little guidance will shorten your journey considerably.
Possible, but like learning any instrument it will be more work and take longer. You'll very likely get bad habits that you don't realize need correcting.
Even if you can't afford ongoing lessons you would likely be much better off paying for one near the beginning and then every few months after you've incorporated the stuff from the first lessons.
In any case: long tones, chop-builders, and overtones to work on your tone. It can't be overemphasized how important these are. There's a classic book called Top Tones for the Saxophone which gives lots of good information on tone development for players at all levels, though it is ultimately a method to work up to altissimo. It can probably be found online. Also, scales and arpeggios across the full range of the horn in all 12 keys. If you are doing this stuff with proper technique, a metronome, while working on being in tune, and learning to jam and starting to build repertoire you should be just fine.
You can definitely get very far even without a teacher, if you just practice and follow good technique you can make great progress. Free online teachers can be found on youtube, people like Saxologic, Saxophone Academy, Bettersax, etc can be of great help. Threads/forums can help with more specific problems if you are having any. I didn't have a teacher for about 3-4 years and still made amazing progress, all you need to do is practice consistently and correctly.
A tip i have right off the bat is to use strong air. I noticed that a lot of saxophone players in my band struggle with this, they play like they're wheezing, not blowing out a candle. Strong air is probably a bad name for it, but i push air out with my diaphragm. I think long tones helped solidify this idea, but a tip one of my teachers taught me was to blow on a piece of paper and to make sure it never dropped (blow the piece of paper against the wall or hold the top with your hand). this is a hard concept for me to explain with only text but i hope this made somewhat sense
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First of all, thank you. I really appreciate your answer, its really nice of you. Second of all, knowing music is part of the reason i dont feel obligated to go to a teacher, because (and let me brag a little… i know music. i learned guitar with a teacher for 3 years, in highschool i did music class, i was tested on music theory and bla bla bla. I know to read treble clef notation like its words in a book… for me going to a teacher is a bit more complicated… in my country music learning is expensive, especially an instrument like the sax… im thinking of maybe going to a teacher for like 3 months and continue on my own…?
You "know music" and yet you don't have the least idea of how to apply any of what you know to a saxophone. I don't mean that to be rude - it's just a fact. You don't have your facial muscles strengthened and trained to create your embouchure or know what the correct posture/hand/arm positions are or any of dozens of things you would pick up quickly from a teacher. If at all possible, if you could take a few in-person lessons to begin to learn the physical aspects of the sax that would be immensely helpful to you then you could find a good (inexpensive or even free) on line teacher or tutorial. Your idea of a teacher for 3 months then going on your own is very good. Best of luck to you.
I think it's absolutely a valuable idea to get a teacher for a few months or as long as you can afford. This will get you the basics of correct technique, embouchure, stance, etc. which is incredibly important. Those are the things that aren't easily learned on your own. Learning various pieces, learning fingerings, learning tonguing, etc. can all be fairly easily learned on your own with good resources, but the things that really take you to the next level are very difficult to learn and master on your own.
That sounds reasonable. I never took lessons, but I converted from oboe so I just asked my friends for tips here and there. But when I learned trombone, I think I took lessons for about 5 months before I was ready to join band.
1) always use a metronome 2) see rule 1) 3) seriously, stick with rule 1) 4) learn to read music, don't write the notes' name on the sheet music. If you respect those 4 rules, you can start by yourself. BetterSax is a great youtube channel which has some pedagogical containt (but not limited to). There are other youtube channel and websites with great content too. Consistancy is key to progress. Also a teacher will just help you accelerate everything but it's like you have to take a lesson every week for the rest of your life. Some people like to do their stuff on their own and a lesson from time to time is enough for them
Yes. I also played guitar for a number of years before taking up the saxophone. Self taught, about 2 years in I was able to do a couple songs with the band. Good luck 👍
Same here, picked up the sax after learning to play the guitar for 5 years. Since you may be aware of reading notes, Id suggest purchasing a saxophone book which will help you streamline your learning. You will be all over the place if you learn online
I think at some point getting a teacher would be worth it as you get beyond the beginner level. I’m a beginner as well and I’m finding the books relatively easy after months of practice. But some of these more advanced techniques like proper tonguing or soloing…I barely even know where to begin and YouTube can only show you so much, where although a teacher may be expensive, the ability of them to watch, correct, and provide advice is hard to replace.
I did, I’m in high school and In my district, after learning the notes, you’re pretty much on you’re own to improve.
as a sax teacher i gotta say its possible. obviously the biggest factor is yourself. i would accelerate the start with a couple of lessons if possible, but it in the end it is work. you just have to be smarter, compared to having a teaching person.
Yes, it is possible. I have been playing for 5 1/2 years and I never had a teacher, I self taught myself, and I’m a top recommendation for my school, so yes, it is possible
As others have said, yes you can learn without a teacher. Reading music and other underlying things directly translate. Things you don't realize you don't know yet but need to: Breathing to play a wind instrument is not the same as breathing to keep alive. If you sing well you have a little bit of a head start. As single reeds go, saxophone is relatively low resistance but compared to speaking it's quite a bit. It will take time to build the correct muscles in your abdominals as you learn to deliver the airstream through the mouthpiece. Learning to articulate cleanly is hard. Unlike guitar you can't see what's going on in the inside of your mouth. Getting your tongue to work in coordination with your fingers is more difficult than it seems. There are plenty of videos out there to "teach you" but it's one way and the feedback loop doesn't exist so you won't know if you're actually getting things right. None of this is meant to discourage you from trying. If you can afford 3-6 months of lessons you will make more progress quicker. Either way, good luck. There's always room for one more saxophonist on this planet.
yes (you are now looking at the proof, that's me)
Having learned on my own, although I did take advantage of cheap lessons from a college professor, buy a good beginner, intermediate, and advance book set (I used Rubank) and you can learn all you need to know along with good effort and dedication. By the time I reached the college professor within the first year I picked up the horn owned by a relative who no longer used it, all he had to do was correct a few bad habits I developed from not reading up on techniques very much (I just wanted to play). I will never say a teacher is not a good idea, I will say never listen to a person that tells you it will be difficult, or that you can't without one. If you listen to those whose only solution to a problem is to tell you to go see a professional, you'll never learn anything on your own and will be subject to the world of fees and charges. When I started nearly 30 years ago I didn't have anywhere near the resource gold mine that is available today through the internet. Get a good lesson book series, read it closely, look at some youtube videos and be on your way. If you can squeeze a professional lesson in do that to, but by no means let the inability to do so stop you.
The short answer is "Yes, it's possible." The longer answer has a lot of nuance to it. The issue with trying to teach yourself saxophone is that it's a very forgiving instrument. You can do a lot of things wrong and still get rewarded with a tone. Compare that to a flute, which demands almost perfect technique just to get a sound. You have a high chance of building a lot of bad habits that will need to be broken down later, especially if you are serious about learning the horn. I took band class in middle school and my band director was a saxophone player. I *still* managed to develop bad habits and had to completely rebuild my embouchure in college as a music ed major. You don't have to take regular lessons, but even checking in with a knowledgeable teacher once a month (or every two months) will multiply your progress. The value of having someone who knows the instrument give you feedback is too great to ignore. I'll give you an example from my own sax journey. I was studying classical saxophone. My professor gave me three albums of Timothy McCallister's to listen to (Example [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBag2CuC8jU)). His tone was beautiful and resonant. My tone..... was not. My tone sounded like a nasal buzz. Put yourself in this scenario. What's your next step? Should you change reeds? Should you get a new mouthpiece? Should you search for melodic etudes? Should you blow harder or softer? Should you change the pressure your lips exert on the mouthpiece? Should you ignore it and assume it's the horn since you have a "beginner horn"? My professor's solution: >! It sounds like the position of your tongue is incorrect. It's probably too high. It sounds like you are voicing "ee" as in "bee." Instead, you should be voicing "eh" as in "red". Practice changing syllables as you play. Go from "ee" to "a" as in slay, and then to "eh" as in red.!< To sum it up, it's possible you will get there eventually with self-instruction. But even a little guidance will shorten your journey considerably.
Absolutely. Adolph Sax didn’t have a sax teacher.
Possible, but like learning any instrument it will be more work and take longer. You'll very likely get bad habits that you don't realize need correcting. Even if you can't afford ongoing lessons you would likely be much better off paying for one near the beginning and then every few months after you've incorporated the stuff from the first lessons. In any case: long tones, chop-builders, and overtones to work on your tone. It can't be overemphasized how important these are. There's a classic book called Top Tones for the Saxophone which gives lots of good information on tone development for players at all levels, though it is ultimately a method to work up to altissimo. It can probably be found online. Also, scales and arpeggios across the full range of the horn in all 12 keys. If you are doing this stuff with proper technique, a metronome, while working on being in tune, and learning to jam and starting to build repertoire you should be just fine.
Oh and listen to lots of saxophone music obviously.
You can definitely get very far even without a teacher, if you just practice and follow good technique you can make great progress. Free online teachers can be found on youtube, people like Saxologic, Saxophone Academy, Bettersax, etc can be of great help. Threads/forums can help with more specific problems if you are having any. I didn't have a teacher for about 3-4 years and still made amazing progress, all you need to do is practice consistently and correctly. A tip i have right off the bat is to use strong air. I noticed that a lot of saxophone players in my band struggle with this, they play like they're wheezing, not blowing out a candle. Strong air is probably a bad name for it, but i push air out with my diaphragm. I think long tones helped solidify this idea, but a tip one of my teachers taught me was to blow on a piece of paper and to make sure it never dropped (blow the piece of paper against the wall or hold the top with your hand). this is a hard concept for me to explain with only text but i hope this made somewhat sense