My jaw joints have been getting all cracky and achey and it's freaking me out D: What do I do? Chill with the practicing? Any of you guys get this too?
Don't ever stop practicing even if it kills you. My jaw ached a lot when I started learning to play. Just take a couple of days off but don't ever stop.
If you're finding that you have to blow real hard to get a note then your reeds may not be warmed up. When you first start practicing each day blow through the sax without pressing any keys at all. That's the easiest way to start the reed working and requires the least amount of breath. Blow the sax like that for a minute & then press the first key to lower the note & blow through the sax for another minute. Do that with each key until you have them all pressed. This gradual conditioning of the reed loosens it up perfectly & makes it very easy to blow. If you start playing with most of the keys pressed in then the reed is going to be less flexible and will need extra effort to get it moving, but if you slowly condition the reed like I mentioned then when you press all the keys in the reed is much more flexible & easy to blow.
Maybe it's the weather that is effecting your joints? Whatever you do though don't stop playing. I bought a new alto sax a couple of days ago and I tried all types of reeds on it and the hard reeds made my jaw ache. But usually I can play the hard reeds easily. Lately however joints all over my body have been giving me trouble due to the seasonal change & the extra humidity.
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