There are four main types of saxophone;
Soprano,
Alto,
Tenor, and
Baritone. However, the alto is the easiest to play and the most popular for beginners so we’ll stick to that for this blog.
Sonata is a leading brand of premium student instruments designed specifically for beginners. The popular Sonata brand offers high quality and robust orchestral brass and woodwind instruments, such as the following Saxophone.
If you are looking for a fantastic quality student saxophone at a great price, look no further! This
Eb Alto Saxophone is made from high quality materials resulting in a robust, well-made instrument. It features gold lacquer on its body and keys, making for a lovely looking sax. The additional high F# key enables a greater range and is often specified as a requirement by teachers. This stunning instrument boasts a precise, durable design, beautiful finish and a great tone projection!
The instrument comes with everything you need to start playing, including a mouthpiece, mouthpiece cap, ligature, reed and neck strap. The outfit is completed with a stylish case featuring useful accessory pockets and backpack style straps. Everything is included to help you get started playing your new instrument.
In my opinion, this saxophone is great value for money for someone who doesn’t want to splash out on an expensive saxophone without comprising on quality. Alternatively, if you wanted to start learning the saxophone but aren’t 100% sure you still be playing in 5 years time, this is perfect and affordable. The Sonata Alto Sax is the perfect saxophone for beginners and a great choice for every aspiring saxophonist. It has been well established within the education sector. The brand is designed specifically for students and beginners and has been tried and tested in education environments over a number of years.
This saxophone is also available in a pack which includes everything you need. This includes 10 beginner reeds as they are easily chipped, a care kit to keep your saxophone in tip top condition, and a stand to protect your saxophone when not playing. All this for a reduced price.
Nuvo are well established in the world of plastic woodwind and have a range of instruments that enable young children to start learning at a very early age. Their latest creation,
jSax is set to introduce aspiring musicians to the world of saxophone by offering a simplified version of the instrument. The jSax features a traditional fingering system and will help the student to develop the correct embouchure and tuning skills. They can then be applied once the student is ready to move on to a traditional saxophone.
Colourful and durable, this modern looking instrument is pitched in C, making it a perfect saxophone for beginners and for use within a classroom environment. The instrument is crafted from lightweight polymer with silicone bell and synthetic pads. Thus making it 100% waterproof so you can play it wherever you like! Despite the waterproof construction, the Nuvo jSax has a surprisingly mellow, ear-pleasing and well balanced sound that will encourage you to play again and again. Thanks to its high quality, plastic body the jSax is reliable and requires very little care and maintenance. To clean your instrument, simply wash it in some warm, soapy water and let it drip dry. You're then good to go.
Although this can be seen as a bit of fun for advancing players, this saxophone is also perfect for beginners. There are less notes so you can learn the basics before upgrading to a full-size saxophone, such as basic notes, the correct embouchure and tuning skills. They are much smaller and lighter than a full-size saxophone. Therefore they are much easier to hold for smaller builds, creating an introduction to the world of saxophones.
Supplied with 2x Nuvo synthetic reeds, open hole key plugs, jSax fingering chart, o-ring grease and case, you have everything you need. When looking for replacement reads, Eb Clarinet reeds are suitable for this instrument.
Trevor James instruments are a world renown name, the result of 32 years of teacher discussions, play testing, performance workshops and quality research and design.
The Alphasax, in the key of Eb, has a full two octave chromatic facility using established finger positioning. This enable the smaller player to learn the alto saxophone using current study books. This Saxophone is perfect for students or those who struggle with weight and long reaches of traditional Alto Saxophones.
Some adjustments include the left hand palm keys (D#, E and F), right hand side keys (F# and C) and the low keys (B and Bb) being removed. The side G# key, and the low C, C# and D# have been redesigned so they're now easier to reach. The top D key has also been adjustable to fit smaller hands as this is normally quite hard to reach. After all these adjustments, the saxophone weighs only 1.86 kg which is a third lighter than a traditional saxophone. Thus making it much easier to play for smaller hands.
As for a full size alto saxophone, this Trevor James Classic II Alto Sax was made to fit into the distinctive, reasonably priced student saxophone category without compromising quality. With easy sound production, excellent build quality and an affordable price tag, it was a hit. This multi-award winning Alto Saxophone, designed for the new and improving player, produces a great sound and projection. It offering a level of quality and reliability not often found at this price range.
As such, Trevor James have gone with the ‘if it isn’t broke don’t fix it’ mind set. With some minor tweaks, the Classic II stays true to the design objectives of the original Horn all the way back in the distant 90s offering an instrument that is a perfect balance of quality and affordability. It features high quality Italian pads with metal reflectors, a high quality mouthpiece and a lightweight carry case with backpack style straps. It's free blowing qualities and full, rounded sound makes this an ideal saxophone for beginners and improving players.
Which one do you thinks best?
The
Yamaha YAS280 is a popular model for beginners. Yamaha's exceptional build and design quality provides the player with a highly responsive, resonant tone. The high quality keywork ensures fantastic playability at all times.
The YAS280 entry level Alto Saxophone is the new-improved version of the long-standing and bestselling YAS275. Yamaha have carried over the theme of high quality build, reliability and excellent intonation in its new model, making the YAS280 the leading choice for beginner saxophonists around the world. Yamaha instruments are all lightweight and ergonomic offering a comfortable playing experience which makes it an ideal choice for beginners.
There are a couple of new features on the YAS280 including a new sturdier neck receiver which offers fast response. Yamaha have made improvements to the low B-C# connection. This makes closing the key easier, meaning these low notes are more responsive giving the player more confidence. The saxophone also features the high F# key and front F mechanism which is essential for more advanced players. The front F mechanism will also make high passages easier to play. The YAS280 also features an adjustable thumb rest to help maximise comfort for the player. In a beautiful gold lacquer finish, its overall intonation is superb, which offers a lot of encouragement to beginners.
All in all, the YAS280 is the ideal saxophone for beginners who expects no compromise on quality. It really is a premium beginner saxophone, and will enable the player to reach at least a grade 5+ standard without having to swap to an intermediate saxophone. The outfit is completed with a Yamaha ligature, mouthpiece cap, neck sling, reed. It's all beautifully housed in a quality, protective, fitted case.
